Daily Inspiration for the Sound Designer

[Drew Stephenson]

I'll bookmark that for later - add it to the list of projects...

[Martin Walker]

Collection of Homemade Electronic Musical Instruments Part I

Collection of MIDI controllers based on the Teensy modules that emulate natural musical instruments.

Now watch these instruments in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... R99__dW-_k

Sometimes, to get the most appropriate results, you'll benefit from building a controller that mimics a real-world instrument. Wonderful DIY work from laserr20 here!

Martin

[Martin Walker]

Cicadas v1.0 - Building an artificial soundscape

"The Cicadas are tiny robotic insects, each one capable of a unique "call" tone, that can take part in different types of sound installations.

"Building an artificial soundscape" is a video documentation about the first breed of Cicadas, caught while busily creating a new, mediterranean soundscape for the Hasenheide Park in Berlin.

The Cicadas are built and programmed by Michele Pedrazzi, a.k.a. Bob Meanza."

https://vimeo.com/74065419

This is quite delightful!

Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

Love that!

[Folderol]

[Martin Walker]

Neo 1.0 the first prototype

To celebrate my landmark 14,000th post here on the SOS Forums, here's an inspirational and in my opinion very beautiful sequencer creation by talented designer Lola Gielen.

"After years of fruitless effort to become a musician, I almost gave up. But then I decided instead of trying to master an instrument, I would make an instrument that needed neither years of practice nor any talent to play.

Neo's base is a circular matrix. On the rows of Neo’s base you can put down marbles and the Neo loops over them as pins on a barrel organ. Next to the base there is a collection of external sensory modules that influence the sound, the speed of the loop or make their own sounds.

For Neo you don't need rhythm, perfect pitch or years of practice, Just play."

The proof of the pudding as they say...

Watch the short video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4EkVehm48M

Martin

[Arpangel]

Neo 1.0 the first prototype

To celebrate my landmark 14,000th post here on the SOS Forums, here's an inspirational and in my opinion very beautiful sequencer creation by talented designer Lola Gielen.

Neo.jpg

"After years of fruitless effort to become a musician, I almost gave up. But then I decided instead of trying to master an instrument, I would make an instrument that needed neither years of practice nor any talent to play.

Neo's base is a circular matrix. On the rows of Neo’s base you can put down marbles and the Neo loops over them as pins on a barrel organ. Next to the base there is a collection of external sensory modules that influence the sound, the speed of the loop or make their own sounds.

For Neo you don't need rhythm, perfect pitch or years of practice, Just play."

The proof of the pudding as they say...

Watch the short video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4EkVehm48M

Martin

This reminds me in an oblique way of the Buchla Arbitary Function Generator.
But a bit easier to use!

[Drew Stephenson]

Reminds me a bit of the video you posted recently about the chap who makes new instruments - because there is no 'way' to play them, anybody can.

[Martin Walker]

Gordon Monahan - Speaker Swinging

Time to top up your inspiration with some new sounds methinks:

"First performed in 1982, this piece uses 9 sine/square wave oscillators broadcast over 3 loudspeakers that are swung in circles by 3 performers. This video was produced in 1987 and is edited to just over 7 minutes, while a live performance of the piece lasts approximately 25 minutes. For more information visit http://www.gordonmonahan.com"

Now watch the performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... elDUry0_eo

Radical!

Martin

[ManFromGlass]

I remember Gordon mentioning how an audience member suddenly decided to leave mid-performance while the speakers were swinging above the audience.
He stood up right in the path of an approaching speaker. I don’t think the speaker was damaged.

[Martin Walker]

Ouch! I'm almost surprised that health and safety regulations didn't kick in to insist that the swinging loudspeakers must never be swung anywhere near the audience

Have you seen any of Gordon's performances yourself then MFG?

Martin

[ManFromGlass]

A few. He lives a half hour away and every summer hosts the Electric Eclectics festival on their farm. An outdoor event presenting the interestingly experimental to the really out there experimental all performed live and loud! Great fun. Gordon likes to dress in his best vintage polyester attire for that weekend. He rarely performs his works but is happy to jump in on keys or guitar if the mood strikes.

[Martin Walker]

MAGLEVDRUMMER

I do so enjoy DIY instruments, especially when they are as delightfully 'Heath Robinson' as this "Magnetically levitated random drummer thing made with elastic bands satee prikkers and golf karton"



Now watch it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pbH-2E ... e=youtu.be

Martin

[Drew Stephenson]

I particularly like the wood sounds!

[N i g e l]

A cheerful little dity for Christmas

Hyperbubble - "A Synthesizer for Christmas"

https://vimeo.com/81973720

[N i g e l]

I have a few outrageously long reverb presets which I have always thought of as just lush sounding equations.
It was nice to find out that there are some actual, accoustically interesting, gigantic spaces in the real world...

Inchindown oil tank + starter pistol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLUcOFwZvyY

This is an old oil storage tank hollowed out from rock and lined with 18" concrete.
Size: 237m x 9m x 13.5m

[Drew Stephenson]

I wonder if anyone has modelled that?

[N i g e l]

For hours of reverb fun, the impulse response is available at freesound, just waiting to be downloaded & popped into a convolving reverb.

https://freesound.org/people/acs272/packs/13598/

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The starter pistol will add its own colouration, so the impulse might need tweeked.

[Drew Stephenson]

oooh, might give that a go when my set up is back up and running.
Thanks

[Wonks]

For all those who say there's no 'arm in owning a synth...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSKBtEBRWi4

[Drew Stephenson]

That's pretty hard core!

[Martin Walker]

It's definitely the time for an update for this inspirational thread. Here's a new product, announced only a few days ago (on 28th March , so it's NOT an April Fool joke), that's so unusual that it merits mentioning here.

The Agnew Analog Vacuum Tube Electrochemical Synthesizer: Type 8001



"This is a unique electrochemical synthesizer, generating strange sounds through chemical reactions occurring in the built in reactor cell. The reactor cell acts as a miniature galvanic bath, with a selection of different electrode materials offering a wide range of sounds. The generated electrical signals are then amplified by means of vacuum tube electronics, which include inductor filters and feedback loops to further spice thing up."

It looks stunning, and sounds most intriguing too, but it's still unclear whether this unit, “Handcrafted for a harsh noise artist from Slovenia” is a one-off build or going to be available to others.

Have a look and listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIbCc4o ... e=emb_logo

More info here: https://agnewanalog.com/blog/the-vacuum ... -8001.html

Martin

[Folderol]

Well that's certainly, ummm, different!
Now if they'd used ECC33, EF39A and 5R4 valves it would look really stunning

Oh, and definitely with greater warmth

[Martin Walker]

DRY LIGHTS

In my never-ending quest to search out inspirational material for the sound designer, here's a classic example of what can happen when you team up with an experimental film maker.

"A trip through an electric desert, Dry Lights unfolds in an imagined environment of cacti and canyons, moving from hidden caves to lonely cliffs along pulsating rivers of light.
This experimental film lies somewhere between a site-specific installation and a performance, where choreographed lights meet organic landscapes."

https://vimeo.com/128877443

Xavier Chassaing: Director, Producer, Executive producer, Editing, Lighting, Clarisse rendering, Compositing, Environment TD designer, SFX.

Thomas Vaquié: Music and Sound Design

Wonderful!

Martin