sarana

Live setup taking shape

sarana — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:50:18 +0000

The sound clip presents a generative fine grained microtonal ambient music process. The system as it is presented here doesn’t need any live human input. I have given certain parameters and limits in which the process functions and acts as a composition tool.

In the ready live setup I’ll introduce a couple of hardware synths that are controlled by the microtonal midi messages derived from the original source material. In this demo I have set the base time to 5 seconds, which I have then multiplied in eight different ways to create a rhytmic pattern of independent cycles.

The timers trigger an FFT patch to pick eight strongest frequencies at the given time. The original vocal sample loops out of sync of the process, so the picked frequencies never quite repeat themselves.

The original sample can be heard in the background. It is resynthesized by eight independent sine wave oscillators, four channel karplus-strong string modelling patch and two channel granular synthesis derived from the original sample.

The second demo uses the same parameters, but the original sound is a recording of rail yard at night. The granular process uses a whistle of a train as the basic waveform.

The process can take any live or recorded input and decorate it with an ambient soundscape. During a live set I will concentrate on the sound processing, and I will also introduce a microtonal keyboard which allows me to play along with any source material. The tuning system is completely fluid and is based on the frequencies than any musical system.

a brief demonstration of the new live setup at an electronic music soirée

sarana — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:31 +0000

Live at Boom Festival 2012

sarana — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:44:16 +0000

I will be performing a two hour live set at the Boom Festival 2012 – The festival opens on 28th of July and closes on 4th of August.

The set will present a completely new live setup based on spectral analysis and super fine grained microtonality, and the technical details will be encompassed with beauty and serenity.

Featured on Sadayatana

sarana — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:29:12 +0000

Sarana ambient experimental piece Kartan ala from archive vol.5 was featured on Sadayatana dark ambient experimental podcast.

The Podcast: http://sadayatana.com/2011/10/51-black-city
Archive volume: http://archive.org/details/sarana_archives_vol_05_another_planet

Thank you Sadayatana.

Advancing methods

sarana — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 13:04:48 +0000

I have advanced my setup a bit. Here’s a demo of a real time spectral process where audio is analyzed and reconstructed with eight sine wave oscillators.

I have used this kind of process before too, but this is more fine grained and delicate. It’s based only on frequencies and not on any kind of existent tuning system (even though it may mimic one). Besides amplitudes of the frequencies are extracted and reused.

The system allows me to input for example a single waveform with uneven frequency distribution of harmonics and use that as the base. It’s not very difficult to add option for reading color information and use live video as the source too. There really are no limits.

The original vocal recording is from the Freesound user Digifishmusic: Katy_Sings_LaaOooAaa.wav

Archive vol. 14 released

sarana — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:18:57 +0000

http://www.archive.org/details/Sarana_Archives_Vol_14_Closed_Distances

The last tracks of 1999 are now available for listening and downloading.

New devices

sarana — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:46:21 +0000

I have recently acquired Access Virus TI2, which will be an integral part of my future live performances. I’ll no longer play live music with the devices I’ve played so far, and ESQ-1 and Polysix have been retired to studio use only. I’m building a completely new setup and completely new style of creating music live, and the setup will also be much easier to carry around.

I need to abandon the methods and automations, preset rules and systems and break through to something much more unique and personal. I will create my own fluid and infinite tuning system as well as integrate myself physically with the music creation process via my brainwaves. The process is just at the beginning. The devices of the former setup had become an intuitive part of me over the years, and to have a decent touch with the new ones takes a bit time.

Clouds resounding

sarana — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:14:33 +0000

The insides of a thunder cloud can sound exactly like someone banging a steel plate. The same sound used in a movie would sound lame. The emotional contact needs to be strong because it has to be succesfully repeated.

In reality everything is unique. Every moment is a perfect rendition whether it was lame or exploding the senses.

Updates

sarana — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:04:00 +0000

New track posted on extra. The piece is loosely based on sarana material. It’s a collaboration tune by Master Margherita and YoYo.

I have also added a set of my drawings back to the renovated extra-page.

Signs of Spring

sarana — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:30:50 +0000

Winds blow over a bare road and create snow dunes, which span from one side of the road to some way over it. The road is coated with an uneven layer of barely frozen ice, which the sun thaws again by noon. The snow particles from the adjacent field flow over the shapeshifting layer and each of them makes a single sound. The friction of myriad of ice crystals create pure high pitched hiss, that undulates along the surface of the road by the providence of the wind.