here are a few more mixes produced using foundtracks.
static on the radio:
static on the radio is a simple experiment that involved randomly selecting five tracks from the paintbox & using only these to form a track. it consisted of two guitar tracks, one feedback track, some radio static & a cello cut. all music related & fuzzed-up, hence its name.
mapping the cello is like mapping a lover's body:
this one is a simple concept track. it takes the cello cut from the paintbox and layers it six times. it is a minature narrative about the difficulty of learning a new instrument.
scroll down to download this paintbox in full or click here to scroll through individual tracks.
Friday 26 October 2007
Monday 15 October 2007
test mixes
here are a couple of the mixs i produced during the testing phase of the project.
by the window:
this track was created largely from scraps. it incorporates two major sounds from the paintbox (the sound of car keys rattling & the scratching of a key across a doona cover miked closely). i combined with this two guitar tracks that were intended for nothing more than testing levels, & two harmonica tracks (i cannot play harmonica) that were captured only for the fun of attempting to record an instrument i cannot play. the result is a kind of bedroom folk-pop somewhere between the album leaf, iron & wine & early elliott smith. it is thorougly shambolic & completely accidental.
the scene where:
i created this one from a loop of a modem connecting to the internet. i added to it some very simple cello (reverbed half to death) and the sound of a mobile phone face sliding up & down (both in the paintbox). the result is extremely simplistic & intended to be the kind of thing you'd hear in a tense scene of a b-grade thriller. i'm not happy with it, but it's an interesting documentation of my process.
crept wide:
both the title & style of this track are derived from the artist grouper. liz harris does it far better, but again it's fascinating how such a small array of sounds can be used to create something atmospheric. this one is constructed from four simple voice notes, ambience from an open drain, the rattling of car keys, a small string of improvised lyrics, protools' reverse function & liberal amounts of reverb.
this track was created largely from scraps. it incorporates two major sounds from the paintbox (the sound of car keys rattling & the scratching of a key across a doona cover miked closely). i combined with this two guitar tracks that were intended for nothing more than testing levels, & two harmonica tracks (i cannot play harmonica) that were captured only for the fun of attempting to record an instrument i cannot play. the result is a kind of bedroom folk-pop somewhere between the album leaf, iron & wine & early elliott smith. it is thorougly shambolic & completely accidental.
i created this one from a loop of a modem connecting to the internet. i added to it some very simple cello (reverbed half to death) and the sound of a mobile phone face sliding up & down (both in the paintbox). the result is extremely simplistic & intended to be the kind of thing you'd hear in a tense scene of a b-grade thriller. i'm not happy with it, but it's an interesting documentation of my process.
both the title & style of this track are derived from the artist grouper. liz harris does it far better, but again it's fascinating how such a small array of sounds can be used to create something atmospheric. this one is constructed from four simple voice notes, ambience from an open drain, the rattling of car keys, a small string of improvised lyrics, protools' reverse function & liberal amounts of reverb.
Sunday 14 October 2007
foundtracks: an explanation
foundtracks: what is it?
foundtracks is a final year media project collated by sarah bell of rmit university, melbourne australia. it draws on the link between experimental sound & music, remix culture, copyright & aesthetics.
physically, it consists of a paintbox of sounds that the online participant can download & remix into ‘music’ that suits their own aesthetic preferences. the paintbox consists of raw sounds, recorded from scratch. these include real instrument sounds, field recordings, electronic beeps & glitches & other interesting sonic grabs. i will place my own initial & test mixes online & users can draw on/edit/remake these as well as constructing their own, thereby creating a constant flux of creation. nothing is ‘owned’ by any of the creators, it’s an experiment in creating & letting go.
i want participants to have their own clear identity as well as being a part of this remix community. therefore, users can download the sound files, access new sounds & read about the project on the foundtrack blog, however when they complete their own mixes, they will upload these onto their own blogs & trackback to the central blog so that others can hear them.
at this stage, there are only 25 tracks in the paintbox. i hope to add many, many more in the future.
foundtracks faq
q: so who is foundtracks targeted to?
a: more or less, anybody who is interested! it is a sound-based project, & therefore something that musicians, sound artists, spoken word performers and media students may particularly take to. but anybody with an interest in sound, some basic audio editing software & some free time at their disposal can have a go. this project isn't about high-fidelity recording and classical musicianship. it's about having a play with the properties of sound, why we like to hear things in particular patterns & how your interpretation varies from that of the next person. in short: it's for fun!
q: do i have to use exclusively sounds in the paintbox to create my mix?
a: absolutely not. the idea is that your contribution will reflect you. if you play an instrument, by all means integrate that into your piece. poets: construct a soundscape for your work. the idea is that the paintbox sounds will form the backbone of a mix - a point of similarity that binds the individual works together. however, individuality is the primary criteria, so feel free to use as many or as few of the paintbox sounds as you like.
q: i'm interested in participating - how do i do this?
a: firstly, you download the zip folder of sounds at the bottom of this page. then, you unzip this folder (using winzip or similar) & extract the sounds. then, you play! find things you like, things you can alter & eq & transform using your chosen audio software. create a track that you are happy with, then upload this to your own blog (either for stream or download, preferably both). if you do not have a blog, then you are welcome to email your contribution to the address in the contact info above with your details & i will place it on the central blog. if you do choose to upload onto your own blog, then please send a trackback to this blog & i will add you to the blogroll.
q: what does the creative commons information mean?
a: you can find the details of the cc license by clicking here. basically, this project operates under an attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license. which means three essential things:
1. if you produce work for this project, you are obligated to acknowledge that fact. the easiest way to do this is to post a line of text underneath the link to your work stating that it was produced as part of the foundtracks project. links = love.
2. anything you produce as part of this project cannot be used later on for commercial purposes. therefore, if you are a musician & use some of the paintbox tracks in a song, you are unable to later include this song on an album for commercial release. the whole idea of the project is the process of creation. making something, then giving it up. the license allows derivative works to be made, so you also acknowledge that another participant may remix your track to include as part of theirs.
3. you must share your work under the same license as the project operates under. so, you cannot suddenly attach a license allowing others to use your particular piece for commercial purposes, nor can you disallow derivative works. again, the best way to do this is to attach the license image & link (guidelines on doing this can be found here) as close as possible to the work you are tagging.
these are just some basic rules to keep the project operating in harmony. the number one criteria is to have a play & have fun.
any further questions can be directed to sarah bell (s3107861 at student dot rmit dot edu dot au)
foundtracks paintbox:
download here
(right click, save target as)
enjoy!
foundtracks is a final year media project collated by sarah bell of rmit university, melbourne australia. it draws on the link between experimental sound & music, remix culture, copyright & aesthetics.
physically, it consists of a paintbox of sounds that the online participant can download & remix into ‘music’ that suits their own aesthetic preferences. the paintbox consists of raw sounds, recorded from scratch. these include real instrument sounds, field recordings, electronic beeps & glitches & other interesting sonic grabs. i will place my own initial & test mixes online & users can draw on/edit/remake these as well as constructing their own, thereby creating a constant flux of creation. nothing is ‘owned’ by any of the creators, it’s an experiment in creating & letting go.
i want participants to have their own clear identity as well as being a part of this remix community. therefore, users can download the sound files, access new sounds & read about the project on the foundtrack blog, however when they complete their own mixes, they will upload these onto their own blogs & trackback to the central blog so that others can hear them.
at this stage, there are only 25 tracks in the paintbox. i hope to add many, many more in the future.
foundtracks faq
q: so who is foundtracks targeted to?
a: more or less, anybody who is interested! it is a sound-based project, & therefore something that musicians, sound artists, spoken word performers and media students may particularly take to. but anybody with an interest in sound, some basic audio editing software & some free time at their disposal can have a go. this project isn't about high-fidelity recording and classical musicianship. it's about having a play with the properties of sound, why we like to hear things in particular patterns & how your interpretation varies from that of the next person. in short: it's for fun!
q: do i have to use exclusively sounds in the paintbox to create my mix?
a: absolutely not. the idea is that your contribution will reflect you. if you play an instrument, by all means integrate that into your piece. poets: construct a soundscape for your work. the idea is that the paintbox sounds will form the backbone of a mix - a point of similarity that binds the individual works together. however, individuality is the primary criteria, so feel free to use as many or as few of the paintbox sounds as you like.
q: i'm interested in participating - how do i do this?
a: firstly, you download the zip folder of sounds at the bottom of this page. then, you unzip this folder (using winzip or similar) & extract the sounds. then, you play! find things you like, things you can alter & eq & transform using your chosen audio software. create a track that you are happy with, then upload this to your own blog (either for stream or download, preferably both). if you do not have a blog, then you are welcome to email your contribution to the address in the contact info above with your details & i will place it on the central blog. if you do choose to upload onto your own blog, then please send a trackback to this blog & i will add you to the blogroll.
q: what does the creative commons information mean?
a: you can find the details of the cc license by clicking here. basically, this project operates under an attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license. which means three essential things:
1. if you produce work for this project, you are obligated to acknowledge that fact. the easiest way to do this is to post a line of text underneath the link to your work stating that it was produced as part of the foundtracks project. links = love.
2. anything you produce as part of this project cannot be used later on for commercial purposes. therefore, if you are a musician & use some of the paintbox tracks in a song, you are unable to later include this song on an album for commercial release. the whole idea of the project is the process of creation. making something, then giving it up. the license allows derivative works to be made, so you also acknowledge that another participant may remix your track to include as part of theirs.
3. you must share your work under the same license as the project operates under. so, you cannot suddenly attach a license allowing others to use your particular piece for commercial purposes, nor can you disallow derivative works. again, the best way to do this is to attach the license image & link (guidelines on doing this can be found here) as close as possible to the work you are tagging.
these are just some basic rules to keep the project operating in harmony. the number one criteria is to have a play & have fun.
any further questions can be directed to sarah bell (s3107861 at student dot rmit dot edu dot au)
foundtracks paintbox:
(right click, save target as)
enjoy!
Thursday 23 August 2007
progress!
i am currently hard at work finalising what will become the very first sound toolbox for foundtracks! the first version of the project will go online within the next couple of weeks & then the ball will be rolling in earnest. so stay tuned & let those mouse-fingers build up some clicking power. foundtracks 1.1 will be upon us shortly!
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