Doug McCausland: intersect // interstice

Music 220a Homework 5 Submission / Proof of Concept Miniature

In this piece, I am testing what was in my opinion one of the most successful synthesis methods I utilized in the previous assignment submission: "// SUBLIMATE", which further expands on my work using modeled duffing oscillators (paired with some granular synthesis and DSP). Further however, I wanted specifically to test the compositional / sonic boundaries of what can be accomplished with three interacting "voices". As such, I wanted to test the sonic capabilities of three synthesis models at the same time - forming a "digital trio" of sorts. Using Max/MSP and ChucK to run the synthesis code / control mappings, I then created each of the performances using a mapped HID (gametrak / PS4 controller) and finally did some minor mixing in REAPER. Using an HID to craft the performances allowed me a particularly nuanced approach for controlling the duffing circuits, granting me quick and careful control of damping, filter Q, gain, pitch, modulation (and mod rate), panning in the stereo field, and finally the gentle application of some distortion. I was particularly pleased that while utilizing this approach with only three voices, I can already cover a lot of ground between complete spectral saturation and very sparse / delicate textures - but further, I was also able to ascertain what kinds of behaviors speak well in regards to gestural content and the behaviors of the circuits.

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intersect // interstice, Audio

intersect // interstice