#22

I like the idea that any intelligence we do detect won’t be interested in us and just pass us by (see Arthur C. Clarke (don’t want to spoiler the specific book), ʻOumuamua) so I imagined this piece as a sparse collection of different contacts across the vastness of space passing us by from a distance

I used contact mic, coil pickup and other field recordings with added reverb, delay and bit crushing along with sounds from 0-Coast and Jogging House’s sample pack.

5 Likes
#23

“It was all going so well, until the computers started talking to each other…”

8 Likes
#24

Greetings :alien:
just participating locally within this thread this time. i have a max patch as my contribution which anyone is welcome to use.

i wanted to create something which elucidates some form of our mathematical understanding, instinctually felt within sound
first thing i thought of was any harmonic series(because when i hear harmonics, my ears seem to grasp them instinctually first before perceiving each individual harmonic in a more intellectually specific way)

i wanted to start with the fibonacci series as my harmonic multipliers since it occurs in nature, but as i experimented, i noticed that taking a number set where you base everything on the golden-ratio itself(1.618… * 1.618… * etc.), provides a set which is very similar to the Fibonacci series of integers(keep in mind, human computers are not accurate enough to give me infinite precision for the golden-ratio).
overall, the patch is the result of trying to use numbers from this set(shown at the right-side of the patch), as parameters for everything: a noise generator goes through filter banks whose harmonics are tuned according to the golden-ratio, and eventually feeds into the phase-modulation of one cycle~ object. (the patch is Max8 specific because of the MC objects which expand everything to 5 channels before summing down to stereo giving it a nice expansive wash)
one last thing: pulsars will likely be the most accurate form of clock both humans and aliens can sync to. to jam with aliens, we could sync everything to a pulsar and to mimic this, i set the metro at a frequency which is a multiple of PulsarB0329+54’s ‘rotational frequency’(5x this frequency-period to allow for slower evolution of the sound). this is the brightest pulsar in our northern hemisphere and was also used by the brilliant spectral composer, Grisey, long ago:

i’ve pasted the patch below, but here’s a short video to show it in action:


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:beers: :alien:

6 Likes
#25

After my initial ideas became overwhelming, I opted to pick up my Yamaha Tenori-On and use a pulsing sound that I knew was available.

As I played with it, I got the idea that my simple noodling also represented a kind of first contact with the instrument – since I’d forgotten much of how to use it.

9 Likes
#26


A very fun prompt. Inspired by everything from film and sci/fi to the notion of a “handshake” as intelligence attempt negotiate understanding. I have to admit I have thought about this idea more than a little as I firmly believe we have created “artificial intelligences” and can’t understand or communicate very well with them, much less other intelligences already here (dolphins, whales, corvids). This was in mind as we have a lively exchange in the beginning of the piece which ends up slowing down with the sample of a person reading what might have been Pi, but goes awry. Oddly the public domain movie the sample came from was about a hoax communication with Mars.

7 Likes
#27

This is my first time here! Artist Name: Samplehound. Track Name: An Alien Presence.

An orchestral piece based on a motif built from the first 3 primes. The pattern is played from the beginning but initially it’s scarcely audible and only emerges from the background when the piano joins. String lines join the piece and when the bass parts come in they also play the motif, quietly at first, but getting gradually louder. The string lines fade away leaving just the bass instruments. The power of the aliens is revealed!

Made using Cubase and Kontakt (Arkhis, the Grandeur piano, Spitfire Chamber strings). The piece started from the basic 2-3-5 pattern and built up from there.

disquiet0453

8 Likes
#28

beautiful! and welcome to the Junto!

1 Like
#29

Thank you Northwoods!

1 Like
#30

https://soundcloud.com/ohm-research/fev-disquiet0453

2 Likes
#31

I imagined a distant communications station picking up the attempted first contact between two alien races. None of it makes sense to the listener, but it’s fascinating to listen to and imagine what was being said and what the outcome of the contact was.

Technical things.
Picked a random guitar sample. Played different chord notes in a random pattern. Did some layering and stretching of various takes to create something that sounded random and unintelligible, but also somewhat structured. I don’t know if I succeeded or not in replicating my initial vision.

3 Likes
#32

This is mostly mangling sine waves and pink noise with the modular. Applying various modulation from envelope generators and LFOs, ring modulated, filtered and recorded into Ableton.

I also recorded our fridge both directly and using inductive coils to capture the surrounding electro-magnetic fields.

I arranged the recordings and added some panning, a little reverb and some distressed speaker effects to create the finished track.

It occurred to me the sign of technological advancement might be as simple as the buzzing of a fridge picked out from all the background signals of the universe. I also like the line from Radiohead’s Karma Police ; “He buzzes like a fridge / He’s like a detuned radio.”

6 Likes
#33

I think I’ve got the playlist up to date, but as always, if your track seems missing, let me know. Thanks, everyone.

1 Like
#34

My first thought was of the Voyager mission with the golden disk. I used the timing of the Hydrogen decay and the cosmic background of one of the classical pieces to lay the foundation over which noise and signal play out.

4 Likes
#35

Imaginary first alien contact messages from Space … or, from Earth? :wink:

4 Likes
#36

This was a recording of a kettle boiling, but it seemed to be communicating with me, so I tried to tune that in… and this is the result. “Small moves, Ellie… small moves.”

4 Likes
#37

Semi generative piece using NodeBeat, Shoom, and some telegraph samples.

3 Likes
#38

This is marvelous. It feels like intercepted actual communication. And the video is delightful (and inspires me to get the modular out and do something with EARS soon).

2 Likes
#39

I used an audio recording of the first TV broadcast and then a melange of recordings of electromagnetic radiation from various pieces of technology around my apartment, to mimic the background radiation of the universe. All sounds, aside from the sampled text, are EMF, recorded using the Crank Sturgeon CroMagnet transducer pickup.

4 Likes
#40

Hi Marc,

I hope you’re keeping well.

My track is missing - possibly because it was private. It’s now public.

It’s the Samplehound track ‘An Alien Presence’.

Many thanks

Rich

1 Like
#41

Thanks. It’s in there now. Much appreciated.

1 Like