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AURAL AUTOMATA 2


This generative soundscape builds on the previous. It contains six sound sources, each of which is placed in a random location on the canvas. The volume of each sound source is controlled dynamically by the dark particle that drifts across the canvas. As the particle gets closer to a sound source, the volume of that sound increases; as the particle drifts further from a sound source, the volume of the sound decreases. A second particle, colored red, controls a lowpass frequency filter, dynamically modulating the background drones as a function of its proximity to each sound source.

The background uses three gradients, which are designed to simulate the shifting colors of the evening sky. The stop points for the gradients which are determined dynamically by the current volume of each sound source. As such, the background gradually evolves as the soundscape itself evolves.

The sound sources are classical guitar samples, recorded using a Tascam DR05 digital recorder, that are processed in real time, using the Web Audio API in the browser. (They are not pre-treated.) All but one of the samples (represented as the node with the distinct white ring) have been processed through a quasi-random convolution filter to give the sounds a sleepy, drone-like quality. Some of the samples are processed further and given a reverberation effect.

The soundscape is generative--it is created in real-time, via a structured, but quasi-random, process. It will play indefinitely and never repeat itself.

R. Chris Fraley
2017 July 11


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