This blogpost focuses on synthesis techniques I’m considering using for the sound of the project. I started by mapping each sensory element to a sound design technique.
| Sensation | Sound Approach |
|---|---|
| Strobe lights / flickers | Rapid amplitude/pan modulation, gated bursts of white noise, glitchy grain delays. |
| Bass through your body | Sine/sub synths with slight LFO movement, tactile distortion, saturation. Use Max for Live’s Envelope Follower to modulate parameters from kick energy. |
| Sweat / humidity / heat | Sticky, close textures. Use convolution reverb with room IRs, compressed white noise layers, wet squelches, filtered water recordings. |
| Crowd movement / proximity | Doppler effect, subtle human shuffles, breathing samples, formant filtering. Use stereo field automation to create shifting density. |
| Overwhelming volume | Saturation, soft clipping, psychoacoustic enhancers (e.g., spectral spread, OTT), slight phase inconsistencies. |
| Flashing visuals / overwhelming stimulation | FM bursts, metallic tones, random modulation, fast macro automation. |
| Sensory confusion / intoxication | Microtonality, polymeter, tempo shifts, reversed/warped Foley, random note probability. Use Ableton’s Follow Actions to randomize structure. |
Next I made a set of pre-designed audio layers, each representing one sensation.
- “Sub Tactility” Layer: Low-passed sine bass + sine wave with modulated pitch/frequency shiver.
- “Sweat Room” Layer: Reverb impulses from steamy spaces, slow wet textures.
- “Strobe” Layer: Noise bursts gated with auto-panner or MIDI-triggered envelopes.
- “Crowd Pressure” Layer: Multiple panned breaths/footscrapes, modulated with proximity FX.
- “Euphoria Disorientation” Layer: FM drone pads with random detuning and LFO-modulated delays.
I made these as Ableton Racks with Macros for expressive live control.
Next I wanted to add movement to these elements I had created.
- Use Auto-Pan, Shaper, or LFO Tool to add motion to nearly everything.
- Design ambisonic reverb tails or use free spatial tools (e.g. IEM Plugin Suite) to place sounds in a 3D field.
- Automate reverb size/density to mimic space expansion/contraction.
- Sidechain upper layers not just to the kick—but also to each other for breathing rhythm.
Next I wanted to use my phone to capture real world samples to use in the project. I plan to capture:
- Footsteps in a warehouse
- People talking or laughing
- Bottles clinking
- My breath, heartbeat
- Ambience of a rave room Then resample, stretch, granulate, or spectral-freeze them.
Next I wanted to add structure and organize the piece like a sensory narrative. I went about this by adding markers to the set and composing elements in a cohesive manner.
- Anticipation (quiet crackles, space tones)
- Entry (crowd fades in, kick starts faint)
- Overload (textures slam in, rapid modulations)
- Flow state (deep groove, sweaty textures)
- Disorientation (glitches, reversals, tonal uncertainty)
- Release (high pads, crowd breath sounds, washout)
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