The hardest part of the composition for me was actually settling on what to include and what to exclude from the final piece. I had so many ideas but I only wanted to include ones that made sense together in my mind. My main goal for this project was to see how far I can push one single line of code (for visuals). I started with one line and then I manipulated it a bit to create the different sections that give off different vibes. I also tried to change little things within each section to make it feel different (live! and improvised-ish). As I mentioned earlier, the hardest part was to actually decide on what to include and what to tweak because I realized that there’s so much one can do with just a single line of code.
Initially I had a beat drop, but when I was going over my composition piece again I decided to remove it. I wanted my piece to have a more steady curve rather than a peak and a base line.
My composition is structured in sections. Some sections are of similar vibes whereas other sections are contrasting.
This is the general sequencing of the sections, however I tweak things around as I go so the sections aren’t very definite:
Visuals: A – B – C – D – B
Audio: A – (A+B) – (A’+C) – C – A
I am layering the sounds and slowly removing some of the layers towards the end. I am also editing the visuals in each section to create transitions.
The code:
Hydra:
osc(2,0.01,1).rotate(1.8).layer(osc(10,0,1).color(4,0,10).luma(()=>cc[0]*9,10)).modulate(noise(()=>(cc[0])*2,.2)).rotate(()=>cc[0]*0.2).out(o0)
// ......................................10.....................
//..4.................................................
//.................................................0...100....
osc(1,.01,1).layer(osc(5,.01,5).color(0,0,20).rotate(1.2)).modulate(noise(()=>(cc[0])*6,.9)).rotate(()=>cc[0]*.5).out(o0)
//play around with color end at 1,1,20
//.....................50
//.....................500
osc(2,0.1,1).layer(osc(20,0,1).color(1,1,4)).modulate(noise(()=>(cc[0])*10)).out()
//play around with color, end at 12,2,5
osc(4,0.01,1).color(1,1,0).rotate(1).layer(osc(5,0,1).color(1,1,10).luma(()=>cc[0]*8,9)).modulate(noise(2,.2)).out(o0)
//40
//400
hush()
Tidal:
d3 $ ccv "0 20 64 127" # ccn "0" # s "midi"
first
second
third
d2 silence
d4 silence
first
d1 silence
hush
second= do
d1 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ slow 2 $ s "peri:8"
>| note (scale "<minor major enigmatic>" ("[<2 5 -3 8>]*8") + "[c5,c9]")
first = do
d2 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ s "bd sd bd"
d4 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ s "808bd:2 cp ~ cp" # speed 3
third = do
d1 $ sound "[<techno:1 glitch(3,8) sundance:2>, ~ bd*2]" # room 1.2 # crush 8
My project draws inspiration from the tragic beauty of human ambition and its inevitable unraveling. It mirrors the story of Itachi Uchiha and the Akatsuki—a tale of sacrifice, idealism, and the fragile line between unity and destruction.
The first act symbolizes Itachi’s life: a solitary figure burdened by impossible choices. Like a bird caged by duty, he sacrificed his own peace to protect others, yet became a villain in the eyes of those he loved. This duality—the hidden cost of “greater good”—fuels the emotional core of the piece.
The second act shifts to Akatsuki’s founding philosophy: a desperate belief that peace could be forced through control. Their vision wasn’t born from cruelty but from the scars of war—a distorted hope that unity might emerge if humanity was stripped of free will. It’s a reflection of how trauma can twist even noble intentions into something monstrous.
The third act honors the group’s origins—three orphans who dreamed of healing a broken world. Their early bonds were pure, a fragile alliance against suffering. But as power grew, so did divisions. Greed, ego, and conflicting ideologies poisoned their unity, mirroring how movements often lose their way when scale replaces purpose.
The final collapse isn’t just about failure—it’s a warning. Societies built on suppression, even with grand ideals, crumble when empathy dies.
Live Demo
TidalCycle Code
do
d1 $ ccv "0 20 64 127" # ccn "0" # s "midi"
d2 $ rotL 1 $ every 4 (# ccv (fast 2 (range 127 0 saw))) $ ccv (segment 128 (range 127 0 saw)) # ccn "1" # s "midi"
d3 $ ccv (segment 128 (slow 4 (range 127 0 saw))) # ccn "2" # s "midi"
d10 $ ccv "10 40 80 127" # ccn "3" # s "midi"
hush
d11 $ s "birds:3" # gain 0.5
d4 $ slow 4 $ note "c'maj d'min a'min g'maj" # s "superpiano"
# legato 1
# djf 0.3
# gain 0.85
# sustain 1.75
d11 silence
d5 $ slow 4 $ note "c3*4 d4*4 a3*8 g3*4" # s "superhammond:5"
# legato 0.5
xfade 4 $ "bd <hh hh*2 hh*4> sd <hh [hh bd]>"
# room 0.2
d6 $ s "~ cp" # gain 1
once $ s "auto:3"
d7 $ jux rev $ slow 4 $ arp "up down diverge converge" $ note "c'maj'4*2 d'min'4*2 a4'min'4*2 g4'maj'4*2" # s "supervibe"
d8 $ hurry 2 $ s "bd hh sd hh"
do {
d6 silence;
d8 silence;
d1 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ seqP [
(0,1, s "[bd*2] [hh cp]"),
(1,2, s "[bd*4] [hh cp]")
] # gain (slow 4 (range 0.8 1 saw));
once $ s "auto:3";
d5 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ seqP [
(0, 1, s "~ cp"),
(1, 2, s "~ cp*2")
] # speed (slow 4 $ range 0.5 2 tri)
# pan (slow 8 $ sine);
d3 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ seqP [
(0, 2, s "hh*8")
] # gain (slow 4 $ range 0.7 1.2 saw);
d4 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ seqP [
(0, 1, s "~ arpy"),
(1, 2, s "arpy(3,8)"),
(2, 3, s "arpy(5,8)"),
(3, 4, s "arpy(8,8)"),
(4, 5, fast 0.5 $ s "superhoover" >| note (arp "updown" (scale "minor" ("<5,2,4,6>"+"[0 0 2 5]") + "c4")) # room 0.3)
] # note (scale "minor" $ run 8)
# cutoff (slow 4 $ range 300 3000 sine)
# resonance 0.2 # gain 1.2;
hush
}
The theme I had for this composition project was recreating nature, or more specifically, a tropical jungle. The reason was pretty simple — I grew up in Taiwan, where we were always graced with sunlight and a hot, tropical climate, and this warm, happy feeling was what I missed the most during my time in Berlin and New York last year, so I wanted to recreate this atmosphere for all of us to enjoy. I also thought the idea of attempting to portray nature through technology — which is anything but natural — would be fun. 🙂
After a lot of fooling around, trying various audio samples, and playing with how each instrument will harmonize, I created a composition with a bright, happy, and somewhat dreamlike vibe, both in terms of its visuals and its audio. I first began by picking out some sounds that I found myself drawn to, such as the pelog scale, the sine instrument/audio, usage of claps, beats with unexpected irregular rhythms once in a while, etc., and then once I started assembling them together, I tweaked some parts to make them harmonize with each other.
Creating a build-up as well as brainstorming what my big “drop” was going to be was a bit more difficult because I felt this “pressure” to make them “catchy” and carry impact. While I did want it to be somewhat pleasant to the vast majority of the audience’s ears, I also didn’t want them to be too generic because there seemed to be certain formulas for both the build-up and the drop that a lot of people use in their compositions. I did end up using the classic acceleration of rhythm and the pitch for my build-up, but my drop ended up straying a lot from what a classic “beat drop” might look like because I didn’t want to use any overpowering bass or beat but rather wanted to create a more full and rich harmony of all the instruments I’ve been using up to this point with an addition of sounds like birds chirping, multiple sine melodies that mimic the songbirds, etc.
For my visuals, I used a lot of vibrant colors and waves/rounded lines/circles. I also imported an image of the jungle at the end to match my beat drop as a “big reveal” of the composition’s final destination.
I want to describe the feeling of a sudden rain in this project.
The soundtrack is divided into 4 parts: introduction, beats, chords and additional sounds. Before the rain started, there were some sounds of insects, indicating it was a tranquil summer night. After the bass sounded, it started raining, and the raindrops fell onto different objects. The chord described the vibe of the rain. It started light and gentle, became harder and stronger, and finally diminished. The visuals also simulate the rain by using noise and circles to imitate how raindrops fall onto water.
I’m going for a dark/sinister vibe for the piece, I’m still trying to nail down the sounds and make them match the visuals better, as well as try and get better/more captivating visuals on hydra.
I am trying to still extract the brainwave data from the csv and map it to a hydra function and get a visual from there. But I made a basic set of some sounds and flow for the composition. Alot of work is needed on it to sound like a composition.