Greg Wilder

Tag: fixed media

  • Plume

    Plume

    Plume (for piano and computer) is one of a series of artistic collaborations with custom software called Isomer.

    Work on Plume began with the selection of six chainsaw sound recordings. Often source sounds are chosen for their personal relationship or meaning to the composer, but these recordings were picked solely for their rich harmonic content (vibrant rhythmic activity!) and strong harmonic fundamentals (good for harmony!).

    Why six different chainsaw recordings? So that they share sonic (and therefore musical) characteristics when processed by the Isomer software. The hope is that they feel closely related (but not too similar) so that when combined, they form a single, unified musical expression.

    November 2018 | Piano and Fixed Media

    Process

    One of the most challenging aspects of making music with spectral deconstruction methods is the development of coherent musical form. In a previous work called After October, I solved this problem by choosing source material with a relatively long duration and manually slowing the pacing of musical events. The use of a single source facilitated musical cohesion.

    With Plume, I wanted to develop musical form using sonically-related sources with a short duration that required the use of repeated material. To do this, I used relatively few output layers in the initial presentation of ideas and saved unused layers for the later repetition of material.

    I achieved additional variation through orchestration and spatialization. Because the chainsaws start and stop at distinct points in the source recordings, the entrances of musical layers appear close together. Orchestrating with sounds that feature sharp transients and fast decay times provided ample opportunity to vary the resonance and reverberation techniques applied to repeated gestures.

    Production

    For reasons described above, Plume was orchestrated with sounds that are struck, plucked, and strummed. The big question during production was — how to effectively alter resonance without always giving away the process?

    The answer required the development of synth and reverb patches and some fairly extreme EQ. Specifically, I relied on high-quality emulations of the Roland Jupiter-8 and an Oberheim SEM to shadow some of the foreground material. To create especially “darker” spaces I scooped out higher frequencies from the sources before sending the result through a few choice Lexicon spaces.

    Given the high-energy nature of these attack transients, mastering compression required several ritual dances and a highly versatile tool — the Rupert Neve Master Buss Processor. Among other things, this incredible unit provided the necessary sculpting of the mid/side frequencies.

    An early version of this work was created on March 27th, 2017 and was rendered for fixed media (without piano).

    March 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

     

  • After October

    After October

    After October is dedicated to my friend and mentor, Allan Schindler. It is part of a series of artistic collaborations with custom software called Isomer.

    When I arrived at Eastman in 1996, I had just about given up. I was convinced there was no way to coax music worth hearing from a computer. That is, until I learned from Allan Schindler’s example.

    Allan passed away suddenly in October 2018. This work is a small tribute to his inspiration and ever-lasting influence in my life.

    October 2018 | Fixed Media, Stereo

    Sources

    The material for this work comes from a single extended recording of a quiet (early-morning) street intersection in New York City.

    Very few vehicles pass close by, but the distant sound of car horns, people walking, people speaking, and even high-pitched break squeals combine with the din of the city to produce a naturally breathing sonic tapestry that’s rich in harmonic content.

    Sounds of life echo in the distance and the listener is forced to experience them alone — as an outsider.

    Process

    At its core, After October is a simple duet between an oboe and bass clarinet. The peaceful counterpoint is gently coaxed from slow-moving monophonic partial layers found in the source recording.

    Soft synthesized leads shadow and support each solo instrument while a wonderful emulation of an Oberheim SEM (processed by the amazing Trax Phase Vocoder from IRCAM) keeps the track honest by providing moments of unpredictable motion.

    Ultimately, the rendered performance is meant to evoke the feeling of an acoustic ensemble.

    Production

    It was important to create a sonic atmosphere where acoustic and electronic sounds coexist without competition. Where does the bass clarinet end and the electronic lead begin?

    My greatest challenge in production was to define a clear sense of space and separation between naturally thick and heavy sounds. To do this, each sound was isolated and carefully sculpted to avoid encroaching on the others. The result is a single, unified expression that subtly morphs between varying identities.

    Light spatialization was added to create the impression of a liquid-filled, slow-motion environment — as if the listener’s inner world has slowed down while the rest of the world passes by at its normal pace.

     

    An early version of this work was created on March 23rd, 2017. It was originally rendered as a duet between an alto flute and bass clarinet.

    March 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

  • Out of that Dark Hall and Wander

    Out of that Dark Hall and Wander

    How she longed to get out of that dark hall and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains, but she could not even get her head through the doorway. “Oh,” said Alice, “how I wish I could shut up like a telescope! I think I could, if I only knew how to begin.”

    Out of that Dark Hall and Wander is a love poem dedicated to Alison.

    August 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

    Sources

    The source material for this work comes from the spectral deconstruction of an audio track from a not-so-famous 1970’s horror film. The original audio is edited and highly time-compressed, leaving a rough outline of the dramatic pacing and more than enough rich harmonic content to keep the lights on for days.

    Look after the senses, and the sounds will look after themselves.

    Process

    Out of that Dark Hall and Wander is the result of work conducted over several years to compose music directly from real-world sounds using a process I call spectral deconstruction. (You can read more about the software I’ve created for this purpose and how the collaboration works elsewhere on this website.)

    This work represents significant enhancements over previous collaborations between myself and the software. Most notably, improvements in the interpretation of musical events in their near-term context, clarity of orchestration, and the development of large-scale form.

    I’ll write about these advances in more technical detail at a later date, but suffice it to say that Out of that Dark Hall and Wander expresses a cohesive form (in nine sections), distinct motivic relationships that move between timbral families, and orchestrational elements that establish clear roles and maintain their characteristic identity throughout.

    Production

    The aim of this production was simple; present a clean representation of the music. Whenever “real” sounds were used, every attempt was made to keep them in the context of their natural environment, warts and all.

     

  • Bundles of Superstition

    Bundles of Superstition

    Bundles of Superstition began as a spectral experiment. A short musique concrète work that was carefully assembled to explore the general properties of Isomer’s model analysis over a wide range of sonic sources.

    February 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

    To help foster a familiar musical setting, I separated the resulting material into a small group of foreground instruments (harpsichord and a few solo woodwinds) and accompaniment (concrète samples). I selected several partial areas to provide material for the solo instruments, while numerous layers of upper partials created trigger points for the concrète sources.

    The effect is that of a rather free monodic line colored by extreme (often unrealistic) orchestration choices.

  • Other Tiny Magic

    Other Tiny Magic

    Other Tiny Magic is part of a series of artistic collaborations with custom software called Isomer using a process I call spectral deconstruction.

    How this process unfolded during the creation of Other Tiny Magic is described below…

    February 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

    Sources

    Other Tiny Magic started life as a short recording (~3 min) of an actor reciting a dramatic monologue. This particular recording was chosen for its sonic potential (extreme emotional range and spectral variation) and served as an experiment to test if an expressive human voice might translate into a reasonably coherent musical experience.

    Process

    Instead of relying on analysis and resynthesis techniques to directly transform audio, custom software called Isomer was used to deconstruct source sounds into corresponding models. The software then interpreted the resulting layers of the sound models as musical language and generated output that could be shaped into a complete musical work by the composer.

    To help present a familiar musical setting, I separated the material into a solo instrument (marimba) and accompaniment (concrète). I selected several active partial areas within the vocal range to provide material for the solo marimba, while numerous layers of upper partials (sibilance) created trigger points for the concrète sources.

    Production

    Given the frenetic surface created by the marimba and the heavy presence of concrète sources, it was necessary to separate the sounds into layers using various spatialization techniques.

    The marimba tracks were routed to two separate buses: one with a fairly direct signal and one that contributed a dramatic, ghost-like effect through some fancy phase shifting and resonant filtering. The concrète sources were routed through four buses with varying degrees of spatialization.

    The resulting effect is that of an otherworldly marimba performance shadowed closely by hundreds of familiar (but out of place) sounds swirling around the listener.

     

  • Dead Man’s Palace

    Dead Man’s Palace

    Dead Man’s Palace is the result of a short piano improvisation I performed from some sketches.

    January 2017 | Fixed Media, Stereo

    To create the current recorded version, I exchanged the piano for harp (and organ) and added a few bits of ambient landscape to hold it all together.

    I plan to expand this sketch into a proper work for piano and electronics, but for now it remains a simple meditation that is (oddly enough) 100% human generated.