One long track with a pixelized cover... it's another solo recording!

I've become really interested in generative music systems recently. I'm especially interested in setting up loops that feedback on themselves - especially multiple loops that depend on and control each other. When setup properly, these feedback systems seem almost alive at times. It is my intention to someday program a fully computerized improv partner based on feedback loops that will listen to sound input and create accompaniments without any additional human interaction.

This preoccupation has infected my brain... I woke up early Saturday morning with my head full of programming and recording ideas. Things like "Sierpinski Loops" and "Tracker Loop with Instability" and "Neighbor Harmonization" had come to me in that time between slumber and consciousness. They make sense to me, I swear.

In those early, semi-lucid morning hours, I took the opportunity to quickly prototype a few of these ideas and began recording. Some setups were too stable and boring. A few created noisy and very unstable processes. Like Golidlocks: too hot, too cold. But this one was just right...

It is a MIDI sequencer playing an A3(or A2 or A4... I can't recall) every 8 seconds. The sequencer feeds 4 different synths, a DX-10 sim, a JX-10 sim, an electric piano sim, and an acoustic piano sim. These synths are mixed together to produce a single tone. This tone is then fed into 4 spectral equalizers which pass only certain portions of the signal. Each of the 4 equalizers is connected to a long delay set to different lengths related to the 8 second loop. As the piece plays, I gradually adjust the instrument mix, equalizer settings, and delay settings to create several different sounds.

While this system is not completely independent of human interaction, there are long stretches in this recording where I am not tweaking anything that still sound quite dynamic and alive. I'm certain with a little more programming to add some intelligence, this could be a very basic improvisational partner.

Anyway, here's the track/album/EP/poop.

Surrent - Harmonic A