Generative music applications (as albums)

Several months ago I came across the website of Batuhan Bozkurt: http://www.earslap.com/ - He made the flash game Otomata, which I think I found in a watmm thread. He has a lot of other, more detailed applications and tools on his site, mostly supercollider based.

This thread is about the program "Laconicism": http://www.earslap.c...ease-laconicism

It's a really rewarding thing to listen to and engage in. The sliders are beautifully responsive, and the way you can flip through different tracks of various styles makes me feel like I'm listening to an album. It gets me excited about the potential for computer programs to act as album releases.

video:

http://vimeo.com/7875283

Also, I love the cover art that appears when you open the program. It's simple, but it changes every time. Generative art for generative albums..!

So, can anyone recommend similar stuff?? I love this and I want to find more standalone applications showcasing generative compositions.

i figured this was the future of music. user controlled albums, it really is

glad to see its being done. i don't know anything else but in the future i'll be working on something like this

you mix the two CD's cd randomly

done ages ago for Koan but i'm not sure what it sounds like

this guy made a post on Reddit yesterday. that Otomata game is excellent. i want more stuff like this, would pay good money too. the possibilities are really high.

whoops... not Otomata, I meant Circuli. need to try Otomata

yeah i want more! imagining an application that could generate oversteps-style tracks really lights me up. the ones in laconicism are only a line of code each, which gives them that stark demoscene-style poetic-programming beauty, but also makes me wish for something with more compositional development.

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves.

more recommends please??

  On 2/29/2012 at 3:44 AM, Boxus said:

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves. more recommends please??

Definitely possible with something like Max/Msp - hell I managed it with Jeskola Buzz and I'm an idiot (unfortunately I can't post the track at the moment though as it's on a compilation thing that's being released real soon)

Brian Eno's app for the iPod/phone/pad "Bloom" is well worth the couple of bucks it cost.

Karlheinz Essl has some cool stuff here

Leafcutter John's Forester is very neat.

Maybe I'm old fashioned and I did play with Koan when it came out but to me the magic is in someone creating it and their struggle to get what they make heard. Music isn't just about how it sounds its also about the story of its creation. Anyways who knows maybe it will be the future but it'll be dull one I believe.

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:00 AM, chenGOD said:

Brian Eno's app for the iPod/phone/pad "Bloom" is well worth the couple of bucks it cost.

 

Karlheinz Essl has some cool stuff here

Leafcutter John's Forester is very neat.

cheers! getting Forester now, looks sweet.

  On 3/1/2012 at 7:42 PM, Promo said:

Maybe I'm old fashioned and I did play with Koan when it came out but to me the magic is in someone creating it and their struggle to get what they make heard. Music isn't just about how it sounds its also about the story of its creation. Anyways who knows maybe it will be the future but it'll be dull one I believe.

how is someone creating and publicizing a track different from someone creating and publicizing an interactive track? generative does not have to mean compositionally random and pointless.

i think it takes an immense amount of creative talent to balance your compositional ideas with factors like chance and interactivity, but still control the way those factors integrate with the piece enough to make sure the output will always be consistent with your vision.

of course it's possible to make boring/lazy generative music, but that's why i'm on the lookout for generative programs with more soul, ones which feel enough like coherent works of art to be similar to albums.

  On 2/29/2012 at 5:36 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 3:44 AM, Boxus said:

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves. more recommends please??

Definitely possible with something like Max/Msp - hell I managed it with Jeskola Buzz and I'm an idiot (unfortunately I can't post the track at the moment though as it's on a compilation thing that's being released real soon)

the Nord G2 is also good for this and probably a but easier to use

  On 3/1/2012 at 9:00 AM, chenGOD said:

Brian Eno's app for the iPod/phone/pad "Bloom" is well worth the couple of bucks it cost.

 

Karlheinz Essl has some cool stuff here

Leafcutter John's Forester is very neat.

Didn't know Leafcutter made software. Sadly, I can't get it to work, but I didn't read any tutorials yet.

Murve - forester is old software, it might not run on some of these newfangled machines.

I'm working on something like this in SC at the moment.

It will probably take forever to see the light of day though.

  On 2/29/2012 at 5:36 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 3:44 AM, Boxus said:

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves. more recommends please??

Definitely possible with something like Max/Msp - hell I managed it with Jeskola Buzz and I'm an idiot (unfortunately I can't post the track at the moment though as it's on a compilation thing that's being released real soon)

This is the track I did using this method (the compilation has just been released today -

(If the direct link doesn't work it's the track Parameter Window from here - http://www.archive.org/details/siro332VariousArtists-TerminalWindow2 )

Back when I was producing my last album The Treehouse Symposium [ :) ], I had an idea to have an app made where samples for each track would be displayed launchpad style. But I didn't (don't) have the capability of doing it.

  On 3/14/2012 at 6:41 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 5:36 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 3:44 AM, Boxus said:

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves. more recommends please??

Definitely possible with something like Max/Msp - hell I managed it with Jeskola Buzz and I'm an idiot (unfortunately I can't post the track at the moment though as it's on a compilation thing that's being released real soon)

This is the track I did using this method (the compilation has just been released today -

http://www.archive.org/download/siro332VariousArtists-TerminalWindow2/08-Cubus-ParameterWindow.mp3 (If the direct link doesn't work it's the track Parameter Window from here - http://www.archive.org/details/siro332VariousArtists-TerminalWindow2 )

thanks for this, I thought parts of it were beautiful. Maybe it's the classicist in me but I wished your human hand took those parts and integrated it into something with more direction!

My favorite generative album is Mileece - Formations.

  On 3/15/2012 at 6:47 PM, A/D said:

Maybe it's the classicist in me but I wished your human hand took those parts and integrated it into something with more direction!

Yeah it's the one thing I'm trying to work out how to do when composing using this method. I can create a section that I'm happy with but it's sort of like an infinite moment with no start or end and I'm just fading up and down the parts - so yeah, I've got to learn how to construct a structure to the pieces ...

http://www.icarus.nu/FFD/

I thought I had already replied to this thread, but obviously not!

The latest icarus album has been released as 1000 unique variations. It (well, the version I have) is very good. I have joined the user mailing list and now listened to 3 other versions - the differences are subtle but definitely noticable when you listen to tracks back to back.

Track lengths, structure, tone, drum programming... all vary but still leave you with the same overall feeling of the track in question. Hoping to get hold of a few other copies for further comparisons. Great project.

  On 3/14/2012 at 6:41 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 5:36 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 2/29/2012 at 3:44 AM, Boxus said:

i'd love to see a program where tracks would be more purposefully structured, with different voices dropping in and out at certain times, but with the listener still able to control how each voice behaves. more recommends please??

Definitely possible with something like Max/Msp - hell I managed it with Jeskola Buzz and I'm an idiot (unfortunately I can't post the track at the moment though as it's on a compilation thing that's being released real soon)

This is the track I did using this method (the compilation has just been released today -

http://www.archive.org/download/siro332VariousArtists-TerminalWindow2/08-Cubus-ParameterWindow.mp3

 

(If the direct link doesn't work it's the track Parameter Window from here - http://www.archive.o...TerminalWindow2 )

nice one, really mesmerizing atmosphere. what sort of parameters are controlled generatively?

  On 3/15/2012 at 9:31 PM, feltcher said:

http://www.icarus.nu/FFD/

 

I thought I had already replied to this thread, but obviously not!

The latest icarus album has been released as 1000 unique variations. It (well, the version I have) is very good. I have joined the user mailing list and now listened to 3 other versions - the differences are subtle but definitely noticable when you listen to tracks back to back.

 

Track lengths, structure, tone, drum programming... all vary but still leave you with the same overall feeling of the track in question. Hoping to get hold of a few other copies for further comparisons. Great project.

fuck yeah. this is exactly the kind of thing i want to see more of. it reminds me of the album art on draft 7.30, the way that each version is different but conveys pretty much the same feeling. the album sounds sick too, i might have to get a copy ITERATION when the money flows.