Selected

audio works






radio guest mixes, 2022 - _?



perched, march 2022




‘May The Embers Of Resistance Burn Fierce & Bright’ , fundraiser compilation, Janushoved 

released March 11, 2022



                 
                                         
stasis_relief, march 2022




self-released March 1st, 2022








moment form with gab_i on fsr.live, 2022







things + vibrations, august 2020



self-released August 10, 2020








volts incertains, march 2020

volts incertains was composed over a month, utilizing predominantly unprocessed sounds sourced from a modular synthesizer. Serving as both an exercise and exploration in sound creation and research, the composition seeks to capture the bruitism-like characteristics inherent in modular synthesis, manifesting as evolving entities within diverse sonic spaces. The recorded material prominently features synthesis techniques such as noise, subtractive, and Karplus–Strong, strategically employed to align with the intended acousmatic and organic direction of the piece.



The creative process commenced with the collection of a diverse array of recordings, with a deliberate emphasis on prioritizing timbre over pitch during the assembly of each patch. The incorporation of self-running modulation sources, complemented by manual tweaking of parameters, aimed to infuse the output with gestural vivacity and a nuanced sense of 'natural modulation.' Given the generative nature of many patches, intentional hand operation over slight parameter fluctuations introduced a "behavioral layer" (Farnell, Andy. Designing Sound. MIT Press, 2010.) to the sound objects. Subsequently, recordings were categorized based on timbral families, with inappropriate recordings being excluded, resulting in a methodical selection of snippets for placement in the DAW session.

Once this organizational framework was established, the focus shifted to the timbral morphing aspect of the composition. This involved connecting disparate audio files, layering them coherently, and recording small gestures as transitional bridges between drastically different timbres. This procedural approach became the structural methodology guiding the progression of the piece.

Semantically, the piece exemplifies the potential for heightened acousmatic effects achievable through modular synthesis techniques. The composition generates a diverse array of sound objects within quasi-discernable spaces, showcasing the expansive sonic possibilities inherent in this methodological approach.

Improv@CIRRMT
T-Stick Music Creation Project, February 2020, La Vitrola, Montreal QC


Selected to participate in the 2020 T-Stick Music Creation Project, the Concordia Laptop Orchestra, in collaboration with Kasey Pocius, presented their original composition for the sopranino T-Stick during the improv@CIRMMT nights. These events are dedicated to electroacoustic improvisation and feature musicians from the CIRMMT (Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology) community. The T-Stick, a musical and gestural controller, is designed to detect interactions with the performer, including touching, tapping, twisting, tilting, squeezing, shaking, and more.

The composition explores collaborative mappings within a laptop orchestra setting, emphasizing the significance of synchronous and asynchronous gestures. Sensor data from the T-Stick soloist is transmitted to orchestra members via a network connection, allowing them to integrate this data into their individual performance setups (such as Max MSP, Super Collider, Reaktor, etc.). While the mapping of the soloist's personal sound synthesis engines remains constant throughout the performance, accompanying members have the freedom to dynamically alter their mappings during the piece.

Guided by a graphic score to maintain compositional vision and structure across members, each orchestra member independently decides how to respond to the soloist's gestural data and sonic material. This approach blurs the distinction between perfected digital synchronicity and organic dialogue among musicians, leading to the emergence of new playing techniques. The T-Stick soloist unknowingly collaboratively plays instruments such as hardware synthesizers with other members, a feat challenging for a solo performer. Although performers are informed of the soloist's gestures in advance, synchronization enables the orchestra to follow gestures that may not be visible from their playing positions, allowing the soloist to focus on making gestures visible to the audience.

The composition also delves into novel spatialization concepts originally conceived for a quadraphonic system. The soloist's material is spatialized across all four speakers, correlating with the direction of the performer's gestures and the orientation of the T-Stick. Orchestra members each receive a stereo pair, placed in either the front or back stereo pairs of the speaker system. Individual members can then determine in real-time how the T-Stick influences their spatialization within the stereo pair, further enhancing differentiation within the soundscape.









Instrumentarium (MAX MSP/Jitter), December 2019, Montreal, QC, Concordia University


This project aimed to explore the intersection between architecture and sound in a transdisciplinary manner. It involved the creation of a generative Max MSP patch with integrated live effect processing, which was performed live on November 28th, 2019.

The primary objective was to offer a synesthetic perspective on urban buildings. Drawing from personal experiences and academic studies, the project sought to address the potentially detrimental impact of urban infrastructures on the psycho-physical conditions of citizens. Reference was made to George Simmel's essay, "The Metropolis and the Mental Life," where he discussed the psychological conditions arising from city living in the 1920s.

The negative effects described by Simmel, such as the "intensification of nervous stimulation" leading to a blasé attitude, prompted the project to explore ways of conceptually relating to the complex architectural structures of a city. Sound emerged as the medium for addressing this challenge and translating the utilitarian, expressive, and synesthetic aspects of building structures.

The exploration drew inspiration from the work of Jean-François Augoyard and Henry Torgue at the Centre for Research on Sonic Space and the Urban Environment (CRESSON) in Grenoble, France. Their publication, "Sonic Experience: A Guide to Everyday Sounds," delves into the interactions between the physical environment, socio-cultural factors, and individual perception. The work focuses on the soundscape of urban life, analyzing acoustic properties and rehabilitating general acoustic awareness.

Augoyard and Torgue's research emphasizes how constructed spaces influence the propagation of sound sources and, consequently, the orientation of people's movements. The project aimed to apply this understanding to creatively engage with the architectural features of the city.

The project sought to redefine the pragmatic values of architecture, emphasizing the role of the environment as an instrumentarium shaping human relations and the management of urban space. It incorporated interdisciplinary methods, including acoustical measurement, spatial descriptions, and psychological surveys, to analyze sound phenomena in situ.


















Untitled (49) (Max/MSP), April 2019, Montreal, QC, Concordia University

Inspired by pointillism painting techniques, Untitled (49) employs the concept of 'clicks' and brief sound impulses as analogous to a painter's small dots of color, creating an auditory representation devoid of recognizable subject matter. This abstract composition, presented in a five-channel format, guides the listener through the evolutionary formation of diverse soundscapes, achieved through the interaction of a varied palette of processed individual impulses.

Crafted over several weeks, the piece was composed by collaging numerous live-processed recordings of conglomerated impulses and clicks generated on a MAX/MSP patch. Emphasizing perceptual impressions, the 5.1 composition actively engages the listener's interaural level difference distribution. The significant frequency spectrum, manifested through rotational occurrences, sporadic point source events, and the utilization of both reverberated and dry signals, invites the audience into a perceptually rich space with various discernible movements and depths, whether real or imagined.




Spatial étude (Supercollider), February 2019, Montreal, QC, Concordia University


This brief étude serves as both an application and interpretation of concepts and practices explored during presentations in the spring semester of 2019. The research focused on ambisonics and wave field synthesis, recognizing them as competing solutions addressing the challenge of recreating a sonic presence through the careful analysis and reconstruction of a sound field or sound object's acoustic properties.

Ambisonics analyzes harmonic modes of radiation to recreate a sonic presence, while wave field synthesis spatially truncates the sound field into spatio-temporal frames. Both approaches treat sound objects as point sources, separate from their acoustic diffusion properties. The étude concentrates on spatialization, implementing a DIY approach in SuperCollider.

The patch creates movement for a point source (mono sound file) around a circular array of 8 speakers. The source plays through all speakers, but an amplitude envelope is applied to each, distributing the signal's amplitude across the array based on a sine-shaped window. Adjusting the sine window's width alters the envelopment of the sound. Additionally, a reverb is applied to all channels, with parameters influenced by a scaled version of the signal's amplitude window. This mimics the dominance of the reverberated version as a sound approaches and vice versa.

Inspired by the HEXAGRAM system, the patch is designed to be transportable and adaptable to any number and configuration of speakers, akin to VBAP. While technically crude and not highly efficient from a programming perspective, it proves effective from a psychoacoustic standpoint. Over time, its perceived defects have become points of departure for an improvisational approach, providing a more creatively engaging perspective on the explored concepts.