A prototype of the trigger device. Using drumsticks to hit the six
rubber pads, MIDI files can be triggered.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Particulate Remixer uses the rhythmic and physical intensity of drumming as a physical way to find new combinations of digital files in a way that a mouse or touchpad would not allow.   This project is a hardware trigger device and MAX/MSP patch that allows live remixing of speeches, books on tape, music, and any other recorded audio.   Audio recordings are cut into discreet parts (syllables, notes, words, etc) and triggered by playing a device that looks something like a xylophone.

Three components will be developed: the hardware trigger device, the MAX/MSP patch, and a performance using the device.   During the development of the performance I will travel to Elsewhere Artist Collaborative and work with their extensive collection of vintage vinyl records and 78's, then continue on a tour of the east coast.

Detailed instructions for building the trigger device and the MAX/MSP patch will be released to the public to be used or modified.

Detail of the trigger device prototype. Contact microphones, held in pieces of foam, are
mounted inside each rubber piece.

 

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Media is being generated faster than anyone can consume it.   The air around us is saturated with radio and television signals; iPods are in nearly every bag and with the relative ease of computer recording, cheap CDR's, and MySpace nearly anyone can release a CD.   This begs the question "why create new media when there is an overabundance of raw material to be recycled?" Since the beginning of phonographic recording, the use of pre-existing audio has been part of sound art - from the Futurists to hip hop turntablism to groups like Matmos making records entirely from found sound.   I am interested in ways of making new work that uses its source material in its entirety.   There is no scrap or remainder, every part is used to build something wholly new but composed entirely of its source. Particulate Remixer is a tool for just that.   Composed of a hardware trigger device and a MAX/MSP patch, Particulate Remixer allows a performer to react like one would with any other physical instrument and remix existing audio recordings (speeches, audio books, music, field recordings, or any other source).

The back of the trigger device prototype. 1/4" cables run from each trigger
pad to a Roland trigger-to-MIDI converter.

TRIGGER DEVICE

The trigger device is, at this stage, essentially a MIDI trigger built like a xylophone.   Six rubber pads are mounted to a frame with contact microphones under each pad.   A trigger-to-MIDI device recognizes when each pad is struck with a drumstick or mallet and sends a signal, via a MIDI to USB converter, to a computer.


MAX/MSP PATCH

The MAX/MSP patch takes a MIDI signal from the trigger device and plays a discreet section of an audio recording.   Imagine the trigger device with a line coming out of each of its six trigger pads.   This line represents a linear audio recording, say a speech by George W. Bush.   The speech is cut into discreet parts beforehand, in this case into words or syllables.   Each word is saved as a separate file, but numbered to remain in their original order.   When the trigger pad assigned to this recording is hit, the MAX/MSP patch plays the first word of the recording.   When struck again, the patch plays the second word, and so on.   With each trigger pad assigned to a different recording, hitting the pads will result in a remixing of these sounds into a new sonic experience using only pre-existing audio.

 

A diagram of a second generation trigger device using flat rubber panels,
an aluminum frame, and the same 1/4" jacks.

 

FINAL PROJECT OUTCOME

The final form of Particulate Remixer would be threefold: a piece of hardware, a MAX/MSP patch, and a series of performances using this equipment.   In keeping with the open-source spirit of Eyebeam the hardware would be released online as detailed instructions for construction and the MAX/MSP patch available for download as a standalone application.

Plans have begun for a spring tour of the east coast where this piece would feature prominently.   The first stop of the tour is a short residency at Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, a former thrift store turned experimental museum in Greensboro, North Carolina.   At Elsewhere I would work for a week gathering material from their extensive collection of vintage vinyl records and 78's.   A performance is to be developed from these records and performed at Elsewhere and the other stops of the tour along with other performances developed while at Eyebeam.