sonic surrounds

here’s a sketch of an improv performance I’m posting as a reminder to resume this particular experiment when I have more free time after finishing the thesis.

this piece is done in Pd, using field recordings of a street cleaner machine; also some granulation controlled by a particle swarm simulation, providing some great organic bass sounds in the later stages (and mids earlier on); a glitch/pop generator run through a loop catcher; and an inertial-physical-model-controlled drone providing some slowly descending glue tones, though occasionally damaged by very slight dropouts serving as a reminder to use Pd with Jack for better reliability.

as i said, a sketch only, but with elements well worth a revisit. the swarm-granular-bass might be an interesting anchor for some warped dsp dubstep hybrid (!?).

 improv-pd-gran-swarm-etc: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I rediscovered a recording of a Metasense performance (Somaya Langley and Nick Mariette) from Electrofringe 2005. This was a surround sound performance - after some last minute speaker hauling by Govinda and others - and some channels were missing from the recording, but i was able to recover this nice extract and render it as a binaural file. enjoy!

 metasense electrofringe 2005 performance - extract [5:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some other recent and impending events I’m involved with:

A new version of my Sound Transit radio composition was commissioned by ABC Radio National and went to air on 11th Feb 2007. The piece includes wonderful narrations by some of the internationally-diverse field recording artists whose sounds I included. Some information and the podcast is available for a few more weeks here. Update: Derek Holzer has kindly hosted the file on sound transit servers here, along with several other compositions of sound transit material listed in a sound transit forum post.

On Monday at the Feb 2007 issue of Dorkbot Sydney, I’m doing a talk about building and using my DIY ambisonic microphone, and maybe a brief performance.

On Wednesday I’m doing a live improv performance at the first 2007 Loud Is Boring at the Front Gallery in Canberra. According to the blurb I wrote, I’ll be “processing field recordings of a stochastic nature, influenced mildly by the chaotic logic and flux of the Shanghai metropolis”. Expect to hear the sounds of the tourist tunnel under the bund, demolition of buildings, taxi and window recordings, and other snippets of random audio along the themes of china and random textures. I’m not going to be totally purist about my sources for this, although all sounds will be based on my own original recordings, played and processed in my own Pd patchwork.

 Sound Transit commissioned piece for ABC Radio National, by Nick Mariette with additional production by John Jacobs: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

My latest radio production for Sunday Night at the Movies (SNATM) on Sydney community radio station FBi 94.5 FM is now available as a Podcast (also at libsyn). The FBi site doesn’t currently mention this piece, but if you subscribe to the podcast it is available.

The fantastic story and narration is by Ben Falkenmire.

Here’s the promo blurb:
Nick Mariette and Ben Falkenmire take a bizarre journey to discover life’s lost answers - in a forgotten land where advice sprouts from inquisitive flamingos, nonsensical sand crystals and offensive cacti.

 Forgotten Land by Nick Mariette and Ben Falkenmire: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I performed live field recording processing with Lars Chresta of Ollo playing records at the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art Primavera Exhibition “Radio Event” back on 16th September 2006. Here’s a photo and stream/download audio of our set.

 Lars Chresta and Nick Mariette live at the MCA, 16th Sept 2006: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download