Some news from the Sound Front

We have been working on a solution for the sound diffusion in the structure. At the beginning we investigated the possibility of having a system composed by several mp3 players connected to commercially available portable loudspeakers (similar to what is being used in Toddlers Room or Opus 7). After seeing the real structure in Miguel´s atelier it became evident that any commercially available solution would be strange and we should design something that would make sense (visually) with all the rest. In the process we spoke with Rui Penha, a dear friend and collaborator, and we decided to create an original solution which would solve not only the visual problems but also the sound (off course) and the synchronisation of mp3 files (which may or may not be an important question). The drawing and photos show the idea currently being developed:

1) We will have 8 pairs of loudspeakers that have inside a LilyPad2 mp3 connected to a circuit that hosts a “xbee” micro controller (Rui Penha´s circuit). The LilyPad2 mp3 has an amplifier, connections to 2 loudspeakers, and an SD card. We have chosen Phonestar SQ-2504 loudspeakers and developed wooden pieces that will host them as well as the electronics and battery. 

2) The idea of  using “xbees” is to create a wireless network that is controlled by a “xbee master”. The master sends information to the receivers (Rui Penha´s circuit) and they send information to the LiyPad2 mp3 player. In other words, the master allows to synchronise all players and it is programable (Arduino). It is possible to write a program with a final sequence of files to be played or a more or less randomised sequence.

3) The system is wireless (except for the connection between pairs of loudspeakers) and fits into the structure so it looks that sound is emanating from the space itself. This is really nice because all the ideas we talked about defining a space have now a very elegant solution: the structure is very minimal (well, not really, if we look at the amount of work and effort needed to produce it and to assemble it) and it is the interaction of lines (pieces of wood) and sound that will create the sensation of being immersed. It has a lot of empty space around but it is very effective in creating a very conformable sensation of being “inside”

Rui is still developing some aspects of the programming and it looks that the maximum number o mp3 files is going to be 30. I believe this is more than enough. It would mean that we could work with a total of 240 sound files which is far more than we can deal with (both musically and in terms of the work with Sandra and Pedro). The length of the files is only determined by the capacity of the the SD card, so we can have many hours of music.

During the first week we will not be working with the final version of the system, but that is not a problem as we have agreed to work with Live as a composing tool. In fact, we will only “close” the program in the xbee master when we will have made decisions about the sounds and the order they will appear. I have already a selection of mp3 files that I have created or processed and, off course, the idea is to work with everyone, and Nils in particular, towards a wider pool.

A few thoughts about working in sound/music

Following the experiments with portable sound I have been investigating some directions that would allow us to produce the music/sound content of ZYG as a "dialogue" between all of us during the residence at CCB. I have been doing some experiments and working with the equipment that I have at home (Computer: Mac; Software: Live/Absynth; Audio Interface: Fireface 400; Loudspeakers: 4  ST Twin R37, 1 ST Disc04 R35; 1 JBL Clip; 1 Altec Lansing Orbit iM-237) just to test concepts. The final equipment solution will have to be much simpler but I would like to test a few ideas more before committing to buying new things (essentially loudspeakers).

I have been exploring the idea of having 6-8 independent sound sources (loudspeakers), each with it´s own musical contents, creating a "space" / "atmosphere" of sounds that have their individuality but seem to interact with each other. This "interaction" is "illusionary" since it is created by the listening. What I have doing is working with 8 Live tracks, some Midi some Audio, and organising very simple patterns with different lengths. The difference in lengths means that new listening patterns are created when the patterns are repeated in the computer. It is just the basic principle that allows us to hear melodies when bells in churches or monuments are playing, something that was used a lot in minimal music. I will investigate further the concept of Tintinabullation which I think can give nice clues to further this idea. The fact that I am doing this in Live means that there is a lot of parameters that can easily be changed and the result is very interesting: it is possible to create atmospheres that have a lot coherence (mostly because of timbre) but seem to evolve all the time (something that only happens in our minds). It looks like a "conversation", or as Part said, referring to his use of "tintinnabulation" the gradual unfolding of patterns implicit in the sound itself, and the idea of a sound that is simultaneously static and in flux. 

The nice thing about this is that it would very easily provide us a tool to interact with Siri, Pedro and Sandra. In other words, music can be constructed as we go along in the residence. It will eventually have to be fixed by the end (I wish this was not the case, but for technical reasons maybe it is the right decision) but this could be done at a later stage of the residence. In an ideal situation we would have sets of Live that the performers could manipulate (with some kind of interface or sensors) but this would require a computer and an audio interface allocated and this might make things a bit difficult. The alternative is to export the final result(s) to independent audio tracks that will be played by mp3 players, one per loudspeaker.

A short video-report by Canal 180

A short video-report by Canal 180 was filmed at Pianoscópio

ZYG@Evento Caminho Percorrido, 5 Dezembro

ZYG was part of event Caminho Percorrido, an initiative of the Cultural Footprint Program that took place on December 5 at Mercado da Ribeira in Lisbon Market. It was a very lively meeting of the agents (portuguese and norwegian) and projects involved in the Program. The physical model of ZYG-Proto # 03 was exposed and we presented a talk about the ideas and work so far. The Prezi that was used is here.

A physical model of ZYG-Proto#3

This is a physical model of ZYC-Proto#3. As in the post with the drawings, this refers only to the structure (in wood). I included some of Gabriel´s Lego toys to give an impression of scale to the human body. One day we will have aliens, but not yet this time.

Some drawings of ZYG-Proto#3 (simplified version)

These are computer drawings of what I called initially the "latest version of  ZYG-Proto#2 (simplified version, i.e., without the mechanism that allows shaping the surface)" but now I refer to as ZYG-Proto#3.  I think it is clearer this way because there are important distinctions. They portrait the structure, to be made in wood, that could support a "skin" (or two) made of lycra. These drawings have been used to make a physical model (1:10) that should be ready to present on the even of the 5th of December. The showing on that occasion should be considered as an exercise that will allow us to analyse properly the proposals, not a commitment to a final decision.

Some Experiments on Sound

Here are some experiments on possibilities to use electronic sounds. I gathered pieces of equipment  that we used in several projects where non-convential sound (i.e. front of stage loudspeakers) was needed. Namely: 1) Super Tooth Disc04 (used in early stages of Cidades Invisíveis); 2) Altec-Lansing IMT227 (used in Opus 7 and BBPP); 3) Super Tooth DiscoTwin (used in Babelim); 4) Fonestar Vibration Loudspeakers (TDO15 and TDO25) (used in Pianoscópio and Babelim). I fed them with audio from BBPP coming from a mp3 player.

I was particularly interested in the idea of  portable sound sources that would allow "moving the sound around" (this would mean the possibility of reconfiguring the distribution of sound in space as well as playing with movement both for the body and the sound source. I was also interested in the idea of "feeling the sound", i.e.. tactile feed-back in addition to auditory. I started by using some very basic solutions, stereo foam eggs and balls in which I placed the Altec Lansing loud speaker. 

The sound suffers a lot (in volume and quality) but I think it is possible to find a solution that would preserve it. It is really nice to move to sound around to share it with others and above all to feel it (there is a lot of vibration). There are many possibilities to improve the volume and quality, either working with this type of material or with other. And off course the aspect can be whatever we want (see for example last image of a ball covered with the flocking technique). I believe that Super Tooths (both) would also produce interesting results but I did not have big enough eggs or spheres to put them inside. But only working with sound being fed via the audio input, not via bluetooth. My experience with bluetooth in several artistic projects tells me not to do it here, particularly if moving around. The vibration loudspeakers don´t work either (I was really keen about this since they are particularly effective in making the sterofoam to vibrate) and even if we would make solid balls or eggs rather than empty as it was the case, we would always have the problem of "shaking" and "turning upside-down" (I might have damaged the TDO25 in a later experiment which I describe)

I also experimented with an aluminium campanula from Babelim (I simply placed the Altec Lansing inside). I works really well both as an object to hold and move around and as a sound source. In fact the sound its louder and I dare to say better. Again, this might not be the right aspect as far as the finishing and material is concerned, but ut would not be very difficult to find good alternatives. The shape of the object, however, might be a bit self referencial.

 The experiments with vibrating loudspeakers are a bit difficult to interpret. I´ve using them in projects like Pianoscópio and Babelim with excellent results but in those circumstances they are placed on the harmonic board of pianos. The idea of having a sound-irradiating-floor is something that I started to think about well before the ZYG project was conceived (last image is an early sketch for an immersive space that I started to imagine after an experience of sound massage in pitagoric table). So, I tried hard stereo foam and some thin wood planks as well as wood boxes. The sound results are a bit disappointing (gets better with boxes) but the vibration with the stereo foam is great. It reminds me the experiments we did at CdM when we were working with deaf people but with much better results, I think. Feeling the vibrations in the body is great but I might have damaged the TDO25 while exploring the possibilities. Definitely they don´t like to be moved around. It could, however yield good results in the floor. It would always involve many wires.