Pink and Blue: Clusters and Layers of Time-Stretched Artefacts; Juxtaposition of Drones, Rapid Gestures, and Unaffected Blue Noise
Keywords: MP3, Data Compression, Artefacts, Noise, Composition, Aesthetics
Spectrogram showing a compilation of unencoded pink noise followed by six iterations of cascaded pink noise encoded at 8kbps and 24kHz. Bandwidth limitation can be seen between 0Hz and 4kHz, and birdies artefacts between 1kHz and 4kHz.
Spectrogram showing a compilation of unencoded blue noise followed by six iterations of cascaded blue noise encoded at 8kbps and 16kHz. Bandwidth limitation can be seen between 500Hz and 11kHz, and birdies artefacts can be seen between 1kHz and 2 kHz.
Spectrogram showing a compilation of unencoded blue noise followed by six iterations of cascaded blue noise encoded at 8kbps and 24kHz. Bandwidth limitation can be seen between 2kHz and 11kHz, signal gaps can be seen throughout.
The work is part of a research project that is investigating the production and aesthetic of MP3 data compression artefacts and how they can be used for creative purposes. By cascading colours of noise and transient signals through MP3 encoders set to low bitrates and sample rates, effects and artefacts have been generated and act as the base material for composing with. Additional signal processing is kept to time stretching and arrangement, allowing greater opportunity in time and space to hear the artefacts. This work uses pink and blue noise and exhibits several compression effects, including birdies, bandwidth limitation, and signal gaps. The work seeks to explore the sonic possibilities of a process and aesthetic that is essential to and ubiquitous throughout digital communication, and attempts to harness a set of sounds whose creative potential can still yet be examined.
