Composition Project, Live Coding Blog

I started this project by focusing on the sound first and then creating visuals to match. I had a bunch of ideas—I wanted some acid 303s, amen break drums, and to incorporate elements from my first demo in class. But I also wanted it to have a techno feel. So, I built all these sounds and then started stitching them together into a composition.

The biggest challenge was that some of the sounds didn’t really fit together. To fix that, I made some ambient sounds and drums that suited the composition better, which ended up making the track slower than I originally planned. I was aiming for more of an ambient techno vibe—something faster. I also wanted to use the amen break throughout the whole track, but it didn’t quite fit, so I just included it right before the chorus.

For me, the defining sound of this piece is the 303s—I’m a huge fan of them. They have this raw, chaotic energy, which is what I love about them. That’s also why I wanted the visuals to feel chaotic. The visuals have three sections, all messy and intense, which was exactly what I was going for. I usually focus more on sound, but this time, I actually had more fun working on the visuals.

Overall I am very happy with the composition. As for the sound, the drop right now feels a little too “stiff” (if that makes sense) but I find it to be a good transition to the superhoover.

Here is the code:

Tidal

setcps(120/60/4)


start = fast 2 $ s "feelfx"
  >| note (scale "<india>" ("[<-7 -3 -1>,0,2]*<1>") + "[c1,c2]")
  #legato 1
  #end 0.3
  #lpf(segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ sine) #lpq 0.3 #hpf 200

start2 = slow 4 $ swingBy (1/10) 8 $ s "<dbs*198 dbs*386 dbs*780>" # gain "[1 0.8 1.3 0.8]*4" #lpf (segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ sine) # amp 2
hush
--drums
sdrums = stack[struct ("1 1 1 [1 0 <0 0 1 0> <0 1>]") $ s "dbs:3" # gain 1.2 #room 2, whenmod 16 15 (stut 4 1 0.065) $ n "~ 12 ~ 10" # s "dbs:2" # legato (choose[0.2,1]) # gain 1] # gain 1.2
d12 $ fast 4 $ ccn "2*128" # ccv "<100 0 8 0 10 0>" # s "midi"

sfx = stack[sound "808bd [bd [bd dbs:1]] <dbs:1 dbs:1:2> [~ ~ <~ bd> bd]" # n "1" # speed "<1 1 1 0.8>",sound "~ glitch ~ [dbs:3 [glitch glitch]]" # n "2 2 2 4 " # speed "1.3" # pan sine,sound "[~ glitch ~ glitch] [~ hc] [~ [hc hc]] [glitch hc] " # n "[0 <9 7> 0 <8 9>] 0 0 [1 3] ",sound "glitch(<9 5 12>,16)" # n "0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7" #speed "<3 1> 2 1 1 <5 2>" # pan saw] #shape 0.2 # hpf 2000 #krush 4

acidfx =  whenmod 24 20 (# speed "1.2") $ every 2 (rev) $ whenmod 8 6 (stut' 6 0.065 (|* speed 0.2)) $ sometimesBy 0.1 (# room 0.9) $ struct ("1(5,16,<0 1 2>)") $ randslice 2 $ s "<acid:1 acid:0 acid:2>" |+ n "5!6 <14 0>" # legato (choose[0.6,0.8]) # sz 0.3 #room 0.3 #hpf 400 #gain 1
d13 $ ccn "3*128"  # ccv "< 50 127 <100 127> 10 100 12 45 25 90 >"  # s "midi"


--ambient
do{
d1 $ start;
d10 $ slow 12 $ ccn "0*128" # ccv (segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ sine) # s "midi"
}

hush

--dbs
do{
d2 $ start2;
d11 $ slow 64 $ ccn "1*128" # ccv (segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ saw) # s "midi"
}

d2 silence

--DRUMS
do{
d3 $ sdrums;
d12 $ fast 4 $ ccn "2*128" # ccv "<100 0 8 0 10 0>" # s "midi"
}

hush

--acid fx
do{
d4 $ acidfx;
d13 $ ccn "3*128"  # ccv "< 50 127 <100 127> 10 100 12 45 25 90 >"  # s "midi"
}

--sfx
 d5 $ sfx

-- takeout drums
do{
d3 $ silence;
d12 $ silence
}

--takeout sfx
d5 $ silence

-- takeout  dbs
do{
d2 $ silence;
d11 $ silence
}

--takeout acid (not before riser)
do{
d4 $ silence;
d13 $ silence
}

-- superhoover (last)
 d15 $ silence

--takeout acid + riser
do{
  d1 $ silence; 
  d9 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ seqP [
    (0, 1, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0"),
    (1, 2, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0"),
    (2, 3, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0*2"),
    (3, 4, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0*4"),
    (4, 5, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0*8"),
    (5, 7, randslice 2 $striate 8 $ s "acid:0*16" #pan saw),
    (7,18, slow 2 $ s "amenbrother:1" #gain 1.2)
  ]  #cut 5;
}

-- This is drop part I
 d15 $ s "superhoover" >| note ((scale "major" "<2 4 0 6>" + "f4")) #distort 1
 #lpf(range 200 600 $ sine) #hpq 1


-- Drop part II
do{
  d10 $ slow 12 $ ccn "0*128" # ccv (segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ sine) # s "midi";
  --dbs
  --d2 $ start2;
  d11 $ slow 64 $ ccn "1*128" # ccv (segment(100/0.75) $ fast (8/0.75) $ range 200 400 $ saw) # s "midi";
  --DRUMS
  d3 $ sdrums;
  d12 $ fast 4 $ ccn "2*128" # ccv "<100 0 8 0 10 0>" # s "midi";
  --acid fx
  d4 $ acidfx;
  d13 $ ccn "3*128"  # ccv "< 50 127 <100 127> 10 100 12 45 25 90 >"  # s "midi";
  --sfx
   d5 $ sfx;
}

d1 $ silence


hush

Hydra



//start without dbs
speed = 0.5
shape(2,0.2,0.9)
.color(10,0,()=>cc[0],100)
.scale(0.4)
.repeat(1.0009)
.modulateRotate(o0, ()=>cc[0]*-5)
.scale(0.9).modulate(noise(()=>cc[0],2))
.rotate(3) // DBS ->>>.diff(src(o0).scale(0.9).mask(shape(4,0.9,0.01)).rotate(()=>cc[1]**2))
.out(o0)

hush()

//DRUMS
s0.initImage('C:/Users/Zakarya/Downloads/LARRY.gif')
src(s0).blend(src(s0).diff(o1).scale(1.01),1.0005)
.layer(
  src(s0)
  .scale(()=> 0.09 + ccActual[2]*0.01)
  .luma(.2)
  .invert()
  .contrast(2)
  .scrollX(.1, -0.01)
  //.modulatePixelate(src(s0), [250, 500, 10001]
)
.out(o0);

hush()

//ACID
speed = 0.5
shape(2,0.02)
.modulate(noise(1, 10))
.color(10,0,()=>Math.random(),100)
.scale(0.09) //interesting (0.09) & scale (100)
.repeat(1.9)
.modulateRotate(s0,()=>ccActual[3]*-50)
.scale(10).modulate(noise(()=>cc[3]**1001,1))
.rotate(1)
.diff(src(o0).scale(0.9).mask(shape(2,0.999,0.01)).rotate(()=>cc[3]*0.01))
//.pixelate(1,1000)
.out(o0)


hush()

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