Year end Sonic-mash: the soundscape!
First: a BIG thank you to all the contributors, this wouldn’t have been possible without the sounds!
How did this work?
The Max/MSP patch works by playing random files in a random sequence and from random points within the files. If left by itself it can play these files back in this random order to create a never-ending soundscape. Although, there are a few controls to help design the way it sounds:
- Play length of each file (Eg.: If it’s set at 4000ms, it would play back a sound for 4000ms and then crossfade into the next sound)
- Fade length – crossfade length (from 0ms to 1ms less than the play length)
- Speed/pitch: Vari-speed playback control
- Random type: Urn (random without repeats), Drunk (Randomised but ‘drunken’), Random (random with unpredictable repeats), Counter (sequential playback)
The outputs were connected to a channel strip type interface, from which the signal was sent (parallel) to a reverb and delay plugin.
What you hear below are sounds that were contributed (thank you again!) and then generated and ‘performed’ using the above mentioned controls with a MIDI controller. I recorded a few takes and this was the one I preferred the most. I’ve also included a screengrab of the patch at work, for the curious.
Have a great sounding year ahead!