Wobbles & Drums

This week's ambient office jam, deeper and darker than last week.

New polyrhythmic module coming this Friday...

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posted by q*ben (4 comments total)

Very interesting. I'm assuming you composed this aleatorically, which can be amazing when it works -- as this piece clearly does.

I'm fascinated by design methods that use aleatoric processes as input into generative algorithms (this is the basic idea behind the visuals in my own Patchouli Project, but I haven't had much success applying the techniques to audio.

I like the effect that you get here from using pitch-bends with metallic bell tones, which seemed a little startling at first, but grew on me quickly -- a nice touch.
posted by TwoToneRow at 4:31 PM on March 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

It’s semi- aleatoric, which I think bridges it slightly into a more melodic place. The “wobble” is actually sequenced, and multiplied by random notes pulled from a major seven chord over a few octaves. Rhythms are originally very straightforward but with a varying amount of swing/jitter which introduces a lot of off beats. My goal was enough structure to make it feel like a song but loose enough to be truly ambient.

I’m a fan of generative techniques but I don’t actually like listening to it all that much, I’m trying to figure out in this new rig if I can find a middle ground that sounds right to me - there are a lot of people making more straightforward “songs” using more art house techniques (Hainbach, etc) and it meets a need I wasn’t aware of for more atonal instrumental music. I’ve been listening to it while I work and realized that maybe I could try to make some myself.
posted by q*ben at 10:24 PM on March 30, 2021

Also, the pitch bends are actually bending the harmonics on a modal tone generator, which is a lot - more ear friendly- like rapidly changing the tone bars on a Hammond organ. I’m using that technique again.
posted by q*ben at 10:27 PM on March 30, 2021

that was a nice soundscape. Funny artifact is that the last second, it sounds like the arm of my childhood turntable automatically lifting itself.
posted by not_on_display at 8:34 PM on March 31, 2021