Dyad by hyperContour

Dyad by composer/sound artist hyperContour is a collection of ten music/sound pieces, some cinematic/flowing, some mechanical/cyclical, and some jagged/random, that utilize: (1) probability-based algorithmic software to generate musical material based on a pentatonic scale (C, D, F, G, A); (2) creative use of sidechaining to control the rhythmic interplay between the instruments and sounds; and (3) juxtapositions of acoustic instruments (sometimes voice) and synthetic sounds thru the sidechaining schemes.

The pentatonic scale was chosen for the project due to its tendency to sound consonant even when multiple pitches are thrown together by probability and/or chance (as experienced by anyone who has ever jammed on a piano using only the black keys). For variation, the scale was transposed to a different starting note for each piece. As mentioned, order and timing of each instrument's pentatonic material was generated using algorithmic/probability-based software. Ranges of values were specified for musical parameters such as note order, volume, duration, etc., and probabilities were assigned for each value. A balance was struck between the specificity of pitches and the probabilistic generation of rest of the musical parameters.

After generating plenty of musical material for each of the instruments, sidechaining was used to create rhythmic interplay between the instruments. Sidechaining is a production technique used extensively in the electronic/dance genres to control the amplitude of one sound based on the amplitude of another at a given moment. In those genres it is commonly implemented to lower the level of the bass the instant the kick drum plays so that both sounds can be maximally heard in the mix and have rhythmic interplay. In Dyad sidechaining was used to make a "slave" instrument either be heard or silenced by a "master" instrument when the "master" hit a certain volume threshold. In this way pairs of instruments, almost always one acoustic and one synthetic, were set up in rhythmic unisons or, in the case of one silencing the other, interlocking rhythms. In "Cycle Prayer", for example, when a drum or cymbal is played a synth sound is heard. In "Ad-lib Algorithm" (most clearly from 3:00 - 4:20) there are two pairings of instruments: synth A controls guitar A and synth B controls guitar B.

With the bulk of the main raw material created using these two techniques the last step was to finalize the overall arrangement and flow of each piece. This was accomplished in a traditional compositional manner: by imposing taste and aesthetic judgements to preserve/alter/add/subtract or do whatever necessary to make the pieces feel complete. The result is a collection that is united in concept, execution, and (somewhat) in style but in which the individual pieces are unique and idiosyncratic to the whole. And even though the album is heavy on process the pieces do convey emotions ranging from melancholy to poignancy to playfulness.

hyperContour.net