Author: Alfie Wall
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Shepard Tone
I have been reading Music, Cognition, and Computerized sound (An Introduction to Psychoacoustics) by Perry R. Cook, and it’s been inspiring for me. Today I decided to see if I could figure out how to make a Shepard tone from scratch, and this is how my process went. I started by thinking about how a…
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Messing Around in Ableton
Today I decided to take a different approach to working in Ableton, less about trying to finish a track or “be productive,” and more about just having fun with sound. After reading that interview with Hekt and thinking about how he treats production as a playful, open ended process, I felt inspired to do the…
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Hekt’s attitude towards ‘fun’ in production
I recently came across Hekt (Jesper Nørbæk)‘s track ‘Front’ while listening to a dj mix from Unearth and Guide on Reprezent Radio on soundcloud, and I was just so intruigued by the sound design initially, I used shazam and luckily it worked so i could see who made it. What drew me in was first…
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Thinking about Gamelan and Ritual
I’ve been interested in Indonesian gamelan music for a while and wanted to research it more properly. I came across a thesis by I Wayan Sudirana called Gamelan Gong Luang: Ritual, Time, Place, Music, and Change in a Balinese Sacred Ensemble, and it was honestly a lot more interesting than I expected. I’d listened to…
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“Awareness II”: How VALE Is Using Bass Music to Celebrate Neurodiversity
I was reading this article on Rendah Mag about Awareness II, the charity compilation VALE put out for Autism Awareness Month, and I found it really interesting. It’s the second volume of a project they started in 2020, featuring 27 artists contributing 21 tracks. All the proceeds go to Music for Autism. It’s cool how…
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Embodied Sound: Feeling the Rave
Rave music often focuses on texture, rhythm, production, or genre. One thing that doesn’t get discussed as much is the physical sensation of sound. In this blogpost I want to discuss this. Different frequencies can be felt in different areas of the body. Sub-bass (under 60 Hz) in feet and chest, Mid-bass (60–200 Hz) in…
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Collaborative Plan
This blogpost is a plan we worked on together in class. We discussed, and decided on the name “Tactile frequencies”. Our plan is to create a piece of audio intended for radio, with the intention of conveying the sensations experienced at raves. I shared Iglooghost’s Lei Disk broadcast with my group members for inspiration. We…
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Iglooghost Lei Disk Case Study
Iglooghost’s Lei Disk is a combination of a fictional archaeological study and a DJ mix. I am a massive fan of his worldbuilding and musical style. My intention is to understand audience reception and gain an understanding of more niche radio art though ananlysis of this piece. Released on July 20, 2021, Iglooghost’s Lei Disk…
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Synthesizing the Rave as a Full-Body Sensory Experience
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,…
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Sensations experienced at raves (particularly deconstructed club music)
I discussed with my partners for this project and decided to write a bit about examples of sensations which one can experience at raves. Auditory Visual Olfactory Taste Tactile