the 12 tracks presented here are the results of a rather extensive collaboration between Key Ransone ( small cruel party )
and Tom Cox ( tac ) that occurred during 1993 through 1994 – in the computer the materials were symbolized by discrete
bits of information, that could be stripped down, processed, and then reassembled back into a whole – tapes were sent
back and forth from Seattle WA to Gray TN, with changes directed at each other over a period of time – in this way the
computer itself became quite influential in attributing certain aspects of the finished composition – this ensured a change
in the materials,

digital : the left-brain is responsible for digital manipulations -
analog : the right-brain is responsible for analog activity –

even though it was not intentional, or even desired by design – the original analog materials flowed from one source to
another, from one tape into another tape, and from a speaker into a microphone – the system used was limited to
working with audio files of a small size, roughly two minutes, and was constrained in the amount of alterations that could
be carried out before the system would hang up and necessitate a reboot sequence to free up system resources and
available memory – aspects that would normally be decisions, were taken out of my control, and controlled by the means
being used – i knew nothing of the

digital : “step-at-a-time” processes
analog : “all at once” perception

source of the tapes i received, or of what processes may be taking place with the tapes i sent – these early computer
experiments were done in 22kHz/8 bit/mono resolution, so a lot of information was lost from the original form, but not
enough to be unusable, or even undesirable – the consequences of this technique are similar to the use of an equalizer,
but with less control, and there being a dependence on the characteristics of the speaker cabinet in use, as well as the
attributes of the microphone used to pick up the varying frequencies – the length of these tracks were dictated by
restrictions of system memory, computational

digital : discrete, separate bits
analog : smooth and continuous

processing ability, and software functionality – neither did Key have any idea what was happening on my end other than
the resulting sounds that were contained on each successive exchange – merely a by-product in the attempt to further an
ongoing development in a continuing collaboration – this allowed for a kind of detachment from the compositional
process that i had not experienced before - the “analog” track, as well as the original materials used in the “digital”
tracks, were processed in many ways, however one technique that was being experimented with at that time was to play
back a series of sounds through a speaker cabinet

digital : spot / dot
analog : lump / sphere

lying on the floor, and to use a microphone, going into another tape recorder, to pick out different portions of the –
tracks 1 through 11 were composed on a computer system from source materials that had their origin in an analog form
– given this method i was able to work with the sounds in an almost tangible manner, dealing with the materials in a
cohesive whole - just another step in the evolution of the work – this resolution is quite some distance from the more
normal 44kHz/16 bit/stereo digital standard, which is in turn some distance from naturally occurring analog sonic activity
– track 12 was composed on analog

digital : the digital input is being transmitted so fast and effectively that the individual bits are not noticed -
analog : incoming sympathetic vibrations feels like an analog process -

equipment and then sampled into a computer as a digital representation – a difference of letting the materials out in the
open to be molded and sculpted, as opposed to confining them into a small box in which to be cut into little pieces for
reorganization in discrete, separate units through accumulated steps - sounds coming from different speakers in the
cabinet, and from the port hole, and from different angles around the cabinet – at the time of composing the 11 “digital”
tracks, this lower resolution was used due to limitations of the current configuration of equipment and computational
capabilities –

digital : breaks our view of the world into bits
analog : our view of the world is made up of continuously varying perceptions

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page