Patterns is a minimalist piece for one sample and electronics. The sole sound material is a sample of one bell, which I stroke twice. This pattern of two bell strikes and two silences of different length is looped throughout the 30 minute piece. The regular pattern is manipulated first with different delays and the three LFOs of the modulation section of Ableton’s sampler. In the course of the piece further variation is introduced by starting the first of the bell strokes of the loop manually too in irregular intervals. These irregular patterns of bell strokes are manipulated then with a setting of INA GRM’s complex sampling tool Evolution and transformed into electronic sound. With the help of two other settings of Evolution and Ableton’s looper on two tracks to which the loop is sending its signal, the electronic sounds are multiplied. Different mixes of the five tracks further enhance variation.

Patterns is about repetition, but also about the juxtaposition of the percussive bell sound and the sustained electronic sounds the bell sounds are transformed into. A further layer of juxtaposition is that of the acoustic bell sounds and different levels of their electronic manipulation. Last but not least Patterns explores the possibilities of juxtaposing the repetition of a regular pattern with improvised elements.

You can read more about INA GRM’s tool Evolution in my previous blog post.

Patterns will be premiered on Facebook and YouTube as part of the experimental art meeting Under Szubcult online on December 19, 2020.

Here is the link to the Facebook event.