Nature Timers; Periodicity

violet · 2021-07-27T21:57:16.292Z

have really been enjoying playing sets that last as long as my tape. a little less than an hour at the slowest speed has been perfect for developing structure/improv without getting lost in the details

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zebra · 2021-07-30T17:16:25.352Z

every time i cook steel cut oats (at least in this one pan), there is a development of bubble structures.

first there are many small bubbles in evident chaos. eventually a system of large bubbles begins to form in the center, surrounded by a churning fuzz of small ones.

the formation and destruction of the large bubbles eventually attains a definite galloping rhythm! from the next room i can mistake it for a perturbed mechanical system, like shoes in a dryer. up close it is clearly more perturbed than mechanical… maybe my brain is providing the structure when a certain audible frequency band is emphasized by distance.

if i wanted a preposterous project right now maybe i’d work on a cellular dynamata model of my oatmeal pot.

this video was taken just past the peak i would say
https://catfact.net/msc/VID_20210728_080705.mp4

(plus i’m probably cooking my oats too hot)

Starthief · 2021-07-30T17:35:39.411Z

Cellular oatamata?

robotfunk · 2021-07-30T17:48:12.275Z

I bought a copper still a few months ago and have been fermenting whatnot to put in it. The bubbles emitted from the water lock when CO2 escapes are something I have been meaning to record with a piezo mic. Can be periodic but also chaotic. You can force a burst by pressing the lid and change the temperature to increase or decrease the bubbles.

dianus · 2021-07-30T17:56:19.270Z

ERD Breath/Licht seems to fit this technique. Breath has a heated coil attached for producing smoke, laser is directed through the smoke onto Licht, which has a kind of photo-sensor to produce strange CV from this relationship.

ERD/BREATH allows for controlled summoning and nourishment of (artificial and benevolent) demons, for the offering of sacrificial vapours, and for any modular use of multiple incenses or other smoke-producing resins, herbs and natural substances. A small sample of sage is included for preliminary cleansing of the modular environ. This should be placed on the middle wire heating element which will become very hot and should not be touched.

The burnt offering is a wolf’s eye, storax gum, cassia, balsam gum and whatever is valued among the spices.

To use ERD/LICHT with ERD/BREATH a low power laser can be used, passing through smoke and particles to impact close or on the LICHT sensor (situated underneath the centre of the two cut out arcs) depending on the strength of the beam. Some adjustment will be necessary.

I don’t know if anyone else has seen this, but there is a Korean film called 달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은? (Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?) The director produced the film over 7 years, waiting patiently for the passing of seasons for certain scenes. I find this inspiring and imagine a synthesizer working on a similar mechanism. NLC sloths has a very satisfying long scale modulation which is the closest approximation I’ve experienced.

tehn · 2021-07-30T18:38:16.188Z

roasting fingerling potatoes, sliced in half, covered in olive oil

when pulled out of the oven upon completion there is a high-pitched drone storm— a cloud of oscillators, mixed with crackling. as everything cools the pitches drop, not all at the same rate, until the whole thing ceases over a few minutes.

i’ve been meaning to record it and pitch it down (so it’s a little more, uhm, chill)

infinitedigits · 2021-07-30T19:16:36.676Z

thanks for reviving my question - I still think about it a lot. there’s many things around me that I wish I had a recorder/video to capture. yesterday I heard these really cool periodicity from a train letting off steam that I wish I recorded. some other ideas of periodicity:

leafing through pages of a book
footsteps
bike tire spinning (inspired synth)
faucet (pretty easy to control and record!)

dianus:

laser is directed through the smoke onto Licht, which has a kind of photo-sensor to produce strange CV

ooh I love this idea! using photoresistors can go a long way as cv modulators.

tehn:

roasting fingerling potatoes, sliced in half, covered in olive oil

there is great periodicity in cooking of food. also chewing food is a good periodic motion. speaking of food and motion, my roommate used to make these amazing okonomiyaki pancakes that have dancing bonito flakes. some naive motion capture might be able to capture some of the periodicity in these things.

zebra:

every time i cook steel cut oats (at least in this one pan), there is a development of bubble structures.

that bubbling oatmeal seems to be unreasonably cool sound source (speed up 10x and then paulstretched, no other fx):

fourhoarder · 2021-08-08T15:15:17.243Z

all kettles are different, of course, but the one we have now has self selected over lesser aspirants, and as part of its appeal has a great round of startup noises. crackles and groans, it also has that satisfying white noise, and this is all before the bubbles. seems like a few well selected kettles heating up could be some part of a musical act.

scotttburton · 2022-05-26T18:47:41.361Z

Been a long time, but I saw a clip yesterday that reminded me of this thread----here’s a Danny Gatton guitar solo where he uses his cigarette as a natural timer!

timp · 2023-03-08T23:44:52.864Z

I managed to get a Ladik Bounce B160 module - simulating bouncing ball… a few examples using SSF Bass drum & Perc modules

Tyler · 2023-03-09T04:19:01.384Z

My dishwasher has a steady lilting groove. It gives different tonalities and rhythms depending on what pans go where and how they’re positioned. The different wash stages are almost like a song cycle. Sometimes I sing along.

timp · 2023-05-01T20:24:05.777Z

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wheelersounds · 2023-05-01T20:35:12.420Z

I can’t find the album right now unfortunately, but someone released recordings of air slowly escaping a plastic bottle of carbonated water, opening it so slightly as to only allow a very small amount of air to escape. She super-close stereo mic’d it and it has all of these incredible pitch envelopes, overlapping periodicities, and dynamic shifts. I wonder how long the recording would be if she waited until the sounds stopped (the soda went flat)…

hermbot · 2023-05-01T21:21:14.819Z

bphenix · 2023-05-02T00:19:18.859Z

Trying to find the name, but about 8 years ago, likely part of NMASS festival… anyhow, there was this electro-acoustic show that was a combination of dripping water, little mechanical devices both in and out of bowls of water, and tall cans of rice being slowly cooked. It was fantastic.

By controlling the height of the cans, the amount of water and rice, the artist could influence the timing as well as pitch and timbre but at the same time was beholden to the physical properties and reactions over time.

I’ve also seen tidal data used for periodic influence but using the source is hardly portable to a studio or performance venue.

timp · 2023-05-02T01:25:47.385Z

I saw a similar but simpler idea in a Sound Art book ages ago (like decades) where the Artist had collected up lots of very small stones & pebbles, and filled a container with them. Then added water & froze it solid. They then suspended the frozen block, hanging it above a resonant object/sheet of steel or something (sorry, a bit vague)
Anyway as the block of ice melted, single stones would slowly break free & drop… I guess speed of melting would depend on ambient temperature…

Did a search & found the artist:

Mineko Grimmer

Los Angeles Times – 9 Aug 92

Sculpturing With Sound : Mineko Grimmer uses ice, pebbles and other materials...

If you own a Mineko Grimmer sculpture, you don't just look at it.

Artist talk

SenseObjects · 2023-05-02T15:09:15.241Z

Light an incense stick, and when it goes out, sets over. I find the Nippon Kodo Morning Star brand joss sticks burn for ~25 minutes. (Useful as a meditation timer as well.) You could maybe spotlight it so the shadow is projected onto a wall so everyone can see it.

slowsounds · 2023-05-02T15:15:30.822Z

this the one you mean? such a good album!

wheelersounds · 2023-05-02T17:24:26.435Z

Yes! Thank you, buying it now so I can’t ever lose it again.

robbie · 2023-05-02T17:28:24.278Z

SenseObjects:

Light an incense stick, and when it goes out, sets over.

Or the Our Modern Times version: 50p in the ’leccy meter and the fun is over when the lights go out.