Infinite Horizon
the non-deterministic trance project
This neat little box was the culmination of my major in Computer Music at CNMA (what was then ACAT). I had demonstrated using SuperCollider that a non-deterministic sequencer was capable of creating contemporary dance music but being a full hardware artist I needed to get the system into a useable form.
The basic concept behind it is that most "classic" dance music is so formulaic it should be easy for a computer to generate. Generating all patterns and sequences from a small set of rules the unit is able to deliver new and original tracks in realtime. The orginal implementation ran autonomously but the tracks lacked the (often criticized as predictable) build up/down structure so critical in forming a flow. Rather than trying to implement such a complex concept in such a simple and elegant piece of code I decided this task should be performed by a human.
"People can do the work, so that machines have time to think" (B(if)tek, 2000)
Onboard there are 5 sequencer channels:
- Chord This forms the base from which all the other sequencers derive their notes.
- Lead 1 The most complex of the channels, it is capable of generating different length patterns and variations on loops of the pattern.
- Lead 2 Based loosely on Roland's (uintentionally) hugely influential TB-303 sequencer, ties and slides included. Especially effective combined with legato and/or portamento voicing.
- Bass 1 The most simple of the channels, it was the basis for and shares all of its code with Lead 1.
- Bass 2 Similar to Lead 2 but biased specifically for basslines.
As the picture shows the controls are very minimal, the big red button being the most obvious. It arms all channels to generate new patterns at the end of the 8 bars, effectively creating a new track. Then there are the 3 groups of controls across the different 5 channels:
- Mute Deferred latching switch with LED indicator.
- Forward/Back Generates a new pattern or restores the previous one.
- Clock Shift Slides the clock by a 16th for that channel.
Combined with my Yamaha RM1x and A4000 it makes a compact liveact, and simply changing the soundset can move the "genre" of the resulting music. Here is a recording of the box in action live with a trance soundset (including live x0x drums from myself), Infinite Horizon - First Live Dump
V2 is on the way, but the technology is still not for sale.