Anybody remember Cosecha? And the fun we had pulling together PS011, recently released by the outstanding PublicSpaces netlabel?
Well, Mr Fonseca and I require your help again. Our newly formed collaboration, Half-BIT will be providing an art sound installation at Netaudio’s EXPANDING 09 Festival on 14 November in Barcelona.
Half-BIT is all about collaboration. It’s our raison d’être. It’s how the whole project was kicked off. And we want it to be global. Our first track started life as a wonderful IDM piece from Alka’s Dog Lost in the Woods album. It was remixed by Fernando Fonseca, then remixed again by me. None of us have actually met. Alka is based in New Jersey, Fernando kicks around Barcelona and I inhabit the far less urban-cool, though equally chic 
Cheshire, UK.
What we need from you
Just like Cosecha, Fernando has asked me to seek parameters to create a new source file for him to glitch the hell out of for a sound installation on 14 November (when I’ll be tucked up in front of Faithless at Manchester’s Warehouse Project). And we need YOU to help with those parameters.
This time, I intend to use two of my favourite VSTs: Ohm Force’s Symptohm and BigSeq2 from Audio Damage. I’ll request some parameter values to create the sound (e.g. send me a number between 1 and 5000) and you’ll tweet back with your number. Just like Cosecha, I’m not going to disclose which values are being requested, but unlike Cosecha, I anticipate far fewer requests being made of the contributors. (Promise!)
Once I’ve handed our sound over to Fernando, he’s going to work even more collaborative magic to create a very special piece for Barcelona.
Play your part by adding a comment below with your Twitter username, or tweet us up with #halfbitbarcelona in your tweet.
We’ll keep you informed of progress via our favourite collaborative social networking wonder-drug: Twitter.
The Contributors
The following people / organisations have volunteered to respond to data requests.
@_alka
@BlueEydGlambert
@dust_bunnies
@fbish
@groovecriminals
@heuristicmusic
@HipGnosis23
@leeconnolly
@LucidAcid
@madebyrobot
@publicspaceslab
@pure_tone
@retorta
@ronsens
Sound 1 – Ohm Force Symptohm Output [30/10/2009]
Thank you to all the contributors for providing numbers today. Below you’ll find a SoundCloud player which previews the three bar loop your numbers have generated. Don’t get too excited just yet. There’s a second stage to the process where we mash this up using Audio Damage’s BigSeq2.
The table below illustrates how the sound was generated from the numbers supplied:
| Parameter | Request | Received | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Note | 1-12 | 5 | @alka |
| Note | 1-12 | 5 | @BlueEydGlambert |
| Note | 1-12 | 12 | @dust_bunnies |
| Note | 1-12 | 3 | @fbish |
| Repeat (0) Reverse (1) | 0-1 | 1 | @groovecriminals |
| Tempo | 110-180 | 123 | @heuristicmusic |
| Beats | 2, 4, 8 or 16 | 8 | @HipGnosis13 |
| Loop Length | 1-4 | 3 | @leeconnolly |
| Symptohm Sample | 1-123 | 72 | @LucidAcid |
| Slide Time | 1-4000 | 1 | @madebyrobot |
| Morphing | 1-6 | 3 | @PublicSpacesLab |
| VCA | -30 – +4 | -7 | @pure_tone |
| VCF Cutoff | 60-8000 | 4358 | @retorta |
| Voice Filter Type | 1-3 | 2 | @ronsens |
None of the contributors was aware of the parameter for which they were submitting a value. The request simply read (for example), “Please send me a number between 1 and 4000 (inclusive). Thanks.”
Phase 1
Here’s how the loop was generated:
The first four contributors provided the notes for the loop. I preselected C major scale and with 12 notes in an octave we have a pattern of E, E, C, D.
Parameter 5 governs whether the pattern should then repeat or reverse (0 for repeat, 1 for reverse). So the second four notes are D, C, E, E.
Parameter 6 establishes the tempo of the loop: 123bpm. Parameter 7 sets the note length: 2 being a minim, 4 a crotchet, 8 a quaver and 16 a semiquaver. The loop length was established as 3 bars by Lee Connolly. The sample preset from Symptohm is 72 (literally counting through the sample files in the Symptohm library!) and the remaining four parameters establish the filters applied.
Loop 1 – Symptohm
Symptohm (Half-BIT #Netaudio) by Half-BIT
More to come! Stage 2 will be the mash up and sequencing in Audio Damage’s BigSeq2.
Phase 2
Here’s how the loop was generated:
Phase 2 of our Netaudio project applied a VST plugin named BigSeq2 from Audio Damage to the source file above. Once again, the values were requested without conveying to the contributors which parameters they governed. The table below illustrates how the values were applied:
| Parameter | Request | Received | Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preset | 1-40 | 25 | @alka |
| VCA Step Size | 4, 8, 16 or 32 | 4 | @BlueEydGlambert |
| VCA Gate | 1-100 | 43 | @dust_bunnies |
| VCA Decay | 1-70 | 36 | @fbish |
| Filter Type | 1-6 | 5 | @groovecriminals |
| Filter Frequency | 40-2000 | 1688 | @HipGnosis13 |
| Filter Resonance | 0-100 | 76 | @HipGnosis13 |
| Delay Time | 1-8 | 8 | @leeconnolly |
| Delay Feedback | 0-100 | 37 | @LucidAcid |
| Delay Send | 1-100 | 40 | @madebyrobot |
| Bit Rate | 1-100 | 89 | @PublicSpacesLab |
| Bit Depth | 8-24 | 19 | @pure_tone |
| Distort Fuzz | 0-20 | 15 | @retorta |
| Distort Warp | 0-20 | 17 | @ronsens |
Loop 2 – Symptohm plus BigSeq2
Thank you to all the contributors. That’s my bit done. Now it’s over to you, F.
Naranjo de Bulnes is my working of the Cosecha file. The track was inspired not only by the sounds generated by the random sound, but also the 2500m peak in the Picos de Europa.
After a couple of listens to Cosecha, I began to hear hard, edgy sounds and decided that mountains and the challenges they present would be my synesthesia. Pulling this piece together and referring to various photos of Naranjo de Bulnes has rekindled my interest in climbing. I might just have to pull that gear out of the attic and have at it again. Once mixed and mastered, this track will be included in the Somió release, Deva.
Cosecha has been a fantastic exercise in sound design – something very new to me. Having to work with only one source file to create all the elements of this track was a hugely enjoyable challenge.
Stream MP3:
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With neither fanfare nor drum roll, the patience of more than a dozen contributors will finally be rewarded.
Background
The idea was sparked from eavesdropping a late night Twitter chat between @fjfonseca and @boomtopper about data bending – something with which I was completely unfamiliar, but which immediately caught my imagination.
I began to think about other ways which might exist for creating a sound from an unconventional source and how the sound might then be manipulated into something rhythmic, melodic, musical.
As I switched off the laptop and tried to sleep, my mind raced. How could I gather random data to create a sound? Then it occurred to me that the source had been staring me in the face the whole time. Twitter.
What a fabulous and relevant way to experiment in social sound design! I already shared a network with many people who would (hopefully) be interested in contributing.
Tweet A Sound
Tweet A Sound from Andrew Spitz seemed the obvious choice for generating the sound since it allowed me to break down the parameters into discrete elements and make several requests for random contributions. What’s more, Tweet a Sound had been created to promote social sound design.
I sent out 11 requests – one for each parameter listed below – to each contributor, randomizing the order in which they were sent and added responses to a spreadsheet as they replied. I then created the #tas file below using the parameters strictly in the order that they had been received.
- carrier frequency
- carrier wave
- wave shape
- modulation index envelope
- harmonicity
- time
- waveshape frequency
- volume
- waveshaper envelope
- amplitude envelope
- effects
The #tas string
#tas 295 988 1702 8 1337 7779 37 456 3009 532 3357 1459 1964 808 504 1986 7552 9848 88 5325 5150 7654 909 42 440 2103 22 6750 583 43 1 4091 37652 52 74 42 39 13 31 21 9974
If you’re a Mac user, download Tweet A Sound and enter the string above (including #tas) to hear the sound. Otherwise, just click the flash player below.
The Contributors
The significance of numbers submitted was often in evidence. Birthdays, anniversaries, Douglas Adams, 808s, 303s, album titles – they all featured (though I don’t think I had a 40 and with all the buzz about Akai’s imminent APC release, that was a surprise!) To me, the fact that numbers had meaning to contributors really enhances the project.
If you’re a contributor, you’ll spot some of your numbers above and you’ll notice that some you sent over aren’t included. Why? Well, I knew I had more contributors than required, and for certain parameters, only one value was needed. So data were incorporated on a first-in basis.
The contributors who kindly lent their time were:
@ambienteer
@DavidMcSherry
@boardyuk
@mrbitterness
@UBLF
@auditorycanvas
@fjfonseca
@madebyrobot
@DigitalDoyle
@leeconnolly
@groovecriminals
@rozz3r
@jaymoy
@soundplusdesign
@bigmanbeats
@hugoverweij
@sync24
Cosecha – The Random Sound
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What Next?
Cosecha (meaning “harvest” in Spanish) is the name I’m giving to the random sound and the title of the piece I plan to create from it. But this should NOT be the only composition.
Collaborate and Experiment
I’d like to invite anybody and everybody to use this sound to create a piece of their own.
The single “rule” I’d like to stipulate is that cosecha.wav or cosecha.aif is the only source sound used in your creation. How many times you incorporate it, manipulate it (slice, reverse, whatever) and the filters and effects applied are entirely your choice.
If you decide to use the cosecha sound, please let me know so that I can link to your work and/or post your audio file here.
Download The Source File
Cosecha – The Compositions
PS011 VA – Cosecha by PublicSpacesLab
I’m looking for volunteers to help create a random sound to feature in a new IDM track. It won’t be painful and involves no thinking and virtually no effort!
The only thing you’ll need to do is send me a number each time I ask.
Every so often, I’ll DM a request for a random number of so many digits. An example tweet would be:
“Please send me a number greater than 1 and less than 1000″ or “Please send me a 0 or 1″.
Your responses will form values for a range of FM synthesis parameters so you’ll play a direct part in generation of the overall sound. The values will be entered in order of receipt and will govern factors such as:
- carrier frequency
- carrier wave
- wave shape
- modulation index envelope
- harmonicity
- time
- waveshape frequency
- volume
- waveshaper envelope
- amplitude envelope
- effects
Tweet A Sound
In the spirit of this social experiment, I’ll be using Andrew Spitz’s lovely Tweet A Sound application to generate the sound. Contributors won’t be told which parameter I’m requesting a value for. I’ve scrambled the order in the list above, so no clues there either!
What if the random sound is awful?
There’s a high probability that the resulting noise will be less than musical but irrespective of how it sounds, it will be incorporated.
If you’d like to help, just let me know! Send a tweet to @kieronjames or respond to this blog post.
Project Contributors (updated as I get a moment!):
@ambienteer
@DavidMcSherry
@boardyuk
@mrbitterness
@UBLF
@auditorycanvas
@fjfonseca
@madebyrobot
@DigitalDoyle
@leeconnolly
@groovecriminals
@rozz3r
@jaymoy
@soundplusdesign
@bigmanbeats
@hugoverweij
@sync24
