Using outboard FX and DAW signal processing to perform sound design material.

This project came to be as a method of generating abstract sound material that could be contextualised for a multimedia setting. The creation of raw abstract sound material has been a practice of multimedia artists since the conception of electronic music. It is a staple of the game audio industry, where creative liberties can be taken and a breadth of sound design approaches can be taken according to the task. The project will have a performative element to it that is twofold - The generation/sourcing of raw sound material, the playing of that material through a DAW FX chain, paired with videos/images that the material could represent. 

I will be using the following equipment:- Effects pedal unit consisting of distortion, delays, reverbs, tremolo, octavers. They will be fed through an FX Send and be activated with a varied of sounding devices such as guitars, self-oscillation (FX Send Feedback loop), Microphones pointing at various things. I have intentionally used inexpensive speakers and pedals as they are most likely to create surplus noise with cheaper components, all of this texture can be used later.

 
An important note about this project is that the intended outcome is not to create sound designed elements that are hyperreal and meticulous, as that is a more delicate process that requires a lot of layering. The intended outcome is to create an abundance of material that can be later processed and sculpted. Also, if the outcome of the project is more “musical” and abstracted, that is also desired as this could form an ambient bed of sound that helps set the tone of the environment. Two prominent examples of this abstracted approach are the work of Martin Stig Andersen (INSIDE, LIMBO) and Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill). Links to their work found below. 
 
https://martinstigandersen.com/  
http://www.akirayamaoka.jp/  

















Seen above is an initial experiment that uses contact microphones to sound a noisy FX chain. The mechanical whirring of the tape recorder is a great basis for the sound design of vehicles, mechs, ETC.

Here is the attached audio of the real time performance of this setup:



I found Akira Yamaoka’s granular, texture building approach to be a process that I kept being drawn to. I decided to attempt some granular processing of the captured audio, focusing mainly on movement and gesture, as opposed to leaning too much on FX chain processing. The stylistic results were rather varied, with some leaning more towards hyperreal sound design, and others being more abstracted and musical. 





















































In order to control the granular engine, I am using a simple MIDI controller (VMini). This controller has 4 MIDI CC Pots that are controlling Position, Transient, Pitch and Delay/Reverb amount.

















The intention of these sketches is not to score the visuals, it is to provide sound material that could be used as sound design layers when working to them.

Reflecting on initial experiments –  
The initial experiments were mixed in their results. On one hand, it was successful at creating a surplus of noise and texture. However, the sacrifice was in the control of the setup. It was difficult to “learn” the setup so that I could play it like an instrument and find the engaging areas of the setup that yielded desirable results. Regardless, I would still be useful to attempt to repurpose the captured audio as the basis of sound design and music. The next step is using a granular engine to scrub through the audio and play with specific parts in an attempt to repurpose them.

I want to attempt to improve this setup by using a sounding device that I have more direct control over. I have opted to use a guitar instead of no-input as I can use to create a mixture of tonal and unconventional sounds. I am inspired by the work of Fennesz and the breadth of texture he can get out of a guitar and highlight through Granular FX processing. This new setup should give me more control over what is outputted, especially when it comes to inducing feedback by physically drawing or recoiling the instrument to and from the amplifier. The trade-off is that the setup probably lends itself to ambient sounds as opposed to direct abstract texture. To mitigate this, I will greatly reduce the amount of reverb used at certain points. 
Here are links to a live performance and album by Fennesz that I found particularly inspiring: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x44uJCl1SwE - https://open.spotify.com/album/7JpOsq1F2A9aPr2fdacsOk?si=UdY9fPM7QWGc8NR5ffzXvw
































For the second experiment I decided to lean into the atmospheric approach, attempting to create a more surreal ambient sound using more conventionally tonal ways of sounding a guitar, with the idea being that once placed in a granular engine, it could resemble the distant drones of a dystopian city, indicative of large machinery and the hums and hisses of the future. The initial signal chain is roughly the same, with the delay placed at the end of the chain to give me the option to spin the whole signal out with an infinite feedback loop. The main change was using a bigger amplifier to get more weight out of my recording, with the intention of exploiting that in the granular engine.  
















                                                                                           Final Performance    
 

 

 

Overall, I think that focusing on one aesthetic in the end was more useful than trying to create a performative tool that could do too many things at once. This allowed me to learn the signal chain and lean into subtlety, which is most appropriate for an ambient signal processing machine. The addition of convolution in the reverb signal chain was a welcome one as it allowed me to morph the signal into shapes resembling real spaces or entities. When reflecting on this project in a game audio setting, it is clear that being able to “play” the ambience is advantageous when considering the storytelling and tension one may want to build when creating audio for moving image or interactive media.

If I were to do it differently, I would use a variety of different sounding objects to put through the initial signal chain, running out of a mixer and try to get as much possible out of an analogue setup.


Links to all visuals that aren't mine here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwZvajOHmh0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rub3x7oDYE4&t=1s