Obsolete Modernisms
Comprised of a tape loop, a semi-modular synthesizer, and a SuperCollider patch, this conscise yet synergistic setup provided an ambient sound-art installation.
In June of 2019, I premiered Obsolete Modernisms at the New England Conservatory of Music during the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP). As an electronics workshop fellow, I worked closely with festival faculty members John Mallia and Scott Deal to bring my vision to fruition.
I wanted to create a sound-art installation for the first time in my artistic career. Tape Music took up a big part of my work at this time and I knew it needed to be included. I created a drone on a loop with the Hans Zimmer Strings library from Spitfire and then got to coding.
I was exposed to SuperCollider through my late professor Dr. Mark Ballora at Penn State. I knew I needed to harness this newly discovered tool in my musical arsenal. I created three different physical modeling synths all using the Klank UGen. I made four tasks for these synths. Three of which being “melodic” and randomly triggering notes in a D-minor triad with the added fourth of G. The last task triggered a low-sounding bass impact every thirty seconds. In addition to these tasks, I coded a pattern to send midi out messages through a hardware interface to an analog synthesizer. The Make Noise 0‑coast compliments the cohesion of this rig. It allowed another tactile, physical implement to be viewed in plain sight.
This installation played for a continuous eight hours with the soundscape reverberating through the halls of the conservatory. All pieces of the rig were laid out on a table for viewers to see up close. A single par can with a deep purple gel frame set the mood for this ambient and meditative soundscape.
SuperCollider Code
// Obsolete Modernisms // New England Conservatory // Boston, Mass. // 06.22.2019
s.boot;
s.reboot;
s.plotTree;
MIDIClient.init;
(
var mOut = MIDIOut//.newByName("Scarlett 18i8 USB","Scarlett 18i8 USB").latency_(0.02);
p = Pbind(
\type,\midi,
\midicmd, \noteOn,
\midiout, mOut,
\chan, 0,
\freq, Prand([146.83,110,174.61,196],inf),
\dur, Prand([1,2,0.5],inf);
).play;
)
p.start;
p.stop;
(
SynthDef("Klank", {arg freq=520, pan= -1, mix=0.33;
var sig;
e=Env.perc(0.01,5);
i=Klank.ar(`[[freq, freq, freq, freq], nil, [2, 2, 2, 2]],PinkNoise.ar([0.01, 0.01]));
o=Pan2.ar(i,pan);
sig = FreeVerb.ar(o, mix, 0.80);
Out.ar(0, EnvGen.ar(e, doneAction:2)*sig*0.30)
}).add;
SynthDef("KlankLowest", {arg freq=520, pan=1, mix=0.33;
var sig;
e=Env.perc(0.01,5);
i=Klank.ar(`[[freq, freq, freq, freq], nil, [2, 2, 2, 2]],PinkNoise.ar([0.01, 0.01]));
o=FreeVerb.ar(i, mix, 0.80);
sig = Pan2.ar(o,pan);
Out.ar(0, EnvGen.ar(e, doneAction:2)*sig*0.30)
}).add;
SynthDef("KlankBoom", {arg freq=520, pan=0.5, mix=0.33;
var sig;
e=Env.perc(0.01,5);
i=Klank.ar(`[[freq, freq, freq, freq], nil, [2, 2, 2, 2]],PinkNoise.ar([0.01, 0.01]));
o=FreeVerb.ar(i, mix, 0.80);
sig = Pan2.ar(o,pan);
Out.ar(0, EnvGen.ar(e, doneAction:2)*sig*0.25)
}).add;
)
(
~padArrayTop=[587.33,698.46,783.99,880.00]; //D5,F5,G5,A5
~pad=Task({
inf.do({
arg item;
r=rrand(0, (~padArrayTop.size)-1);
f=~padArrayTop[r];
Synth("Klank",[freq: f,f,f,f]);
4.wait;
})
});
~padArrayLow=[349.23,392,440,293.66]; //Lower
~pad2=Task({
inf.do({
arg item;
r=rrand(0, (~padArrayLow.size)-1);
f=~padArrayLow[r];
Synth("Klank",[freq: f,f,f,f]);
2.wait;
})
});
~padArrayLowest=[146.83,220]; //D4,A4
~pad3=Task({
inf.do({
arg item;
r=rrand(0, (~padArrayLowest.size)-1);
f=~padArrayLowest[r];
Synth("KlankLowest",[freq: f,f]);
3.wait;
})
});
~boomArray=[36.71]; //D4,A4
~boom=Task({
inf.do({
arg item;
r=rrand(0, (~boomArray.size)-1);
f=~boomArray[r];
Synth("KlankBoom",[freq: f]);
30.wait;
})
});
)
~boom.start;
~boom.stop;
s.options.numOutputBusChannels=2;
(
//p.start(quant: 1);
~pad.start;
~pad2.start;
~pad3.start;
~boom.start;
)
(
p.stop;
~pad.stop;
~pad2.stop;
~pad3.stop;
~boom.stop;
)
s.meter;
