Ambient Music The Creative Process

Transcending Imagination - The Musical Creative Process

Creation of this music is through a process of what we call "Simulative Imagination," or simulating the imaginary, a synthetic formation of experiential, perceptual and imaginary states for emotional evocation which incorporates these 5 categories:

Defining Characteristics of the Music:

1. Artificial Aural Imagination:

Also named synthetic or machine imagination, this is defined as the artificial simulation of human imagination through sound using special purpose machinery, computer programs and artificial neural networks which is used as a creative tool and balanced out with the human composer's musicianship and creativeness.

2. Binaural:

Refers to the normal way we perceive sound. "Bi" meaning both or 2 and "aural" referring to the sense of hearing. Soundwaves reach the ear at different time intervals and volume levels and this auditory information is then processed in the brain's auditory cortex (part of the temporal lobe). "Binaural recordings" is a method of recording sound that uses 2 microphones to create the sensation of being in the room or environmental space where the music is present. The technology goes back to 1881 with the théâtrophone (theatre phone), invented by Clément Ader consisting of carbon telephone microphones that were installed along the the Opera Garnier. "Binaural recordings" are used to create a sense of 3D spatial realism and distance that is optimised for headphones.

3. Ambient Music:

May bear some resemblances to Shamanic music where the Shaman's attention is directed inward. Objects, places and creatures possess a spiritual essence and rhythmic dimensions of the music are associated with the natural world. French composer Erik Satie had created an early form of ambient called 'Musique d'ameublement' which described a type of music that could be played to create background atmosphere rather than being the focus of attention. Ambient music as defined in more modern terms relates to our sonic surroundings, emphasising tonality, atmosphere, melodic repetition and most importantly unobtrusiveness from layers of aural textures. There is also an association to the ambience of environmental field recordings. Ambient music can help to bring about a sense of reflection and meditative awareness or elicit past memories and emotional connectivity.

4. Generative Music:

Is a term defined by Brian Eno to describe a type of music that is different, ever-changing, and systemic (created by a system). The system can refer to a set of things, principles or instructions working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network to form a unifying whole. Generative music is also 1 of 2 main sub fields in the area of 'Music Machine and Deep Learning,' with the other being 'Music Information Retrieval' (MIR) an interdisciplinary science of informational retrieving to categorise, direct or construct music.

5. Acoustic Ecology

Also known as ecoacoustics, this is a discipline that studies the relationship between human beings and their external environment with sound being its intermediary. Acoustic Ecology was founded by the composer R Murray Schafer and his team at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver Canada as part of the World Soundscape Project.

Hearing and technological innovation in the audio space: Immersive audio and beyond

There are many terms, buzzwords and claims when it comes to discussing new audio technology and sound, some of which may be rooted in scientific research whilst others may be based on opinions and speculation, this can also follow popular trends where disagreements about what is better sounding can easily ensue often with a strong critique about the other side of the argument. Despite these debates many of the most memorable recordings in the past have been made with very modest technology, operating on basic principles of physics, earlier recording equipment is still used to this day, fit for purpose and having stood the test of time.

It is also interesting to consider one's own auditory system and hearing range, under the right conditions human hearing can go as low as 12Hz and as high as 28kHz. Though most commonly ranges from 20Hz to 20kHz. During our lifetime our sense of hearing naturally declines, usually starting at the age of around 8 years onwards. Lifestyles can also contribute to hearing loss especially in environments where the noise level is higher. We all experience listening to an array of different sounds on a daily basis as we interact in our world and our brains constantly filter out what is necessary, this also extends to how much we may recollect and comprehend the sounds we hear. So the way one may process sound can vary greatly from person to person, highlighting the subjective nature of audio and our own biological limitations as human beings to audibly distinguish certain sounds as it is interpreted in the brain.

A question can be posed, are the presumed innovative audio technologies marketed to a wide user base really as groundbreaking as they make out, and hold true? especially in the areas of immersive sound and spatial audio which is heavily commercialised now, where mass produced headphones and miniature loudspeakers and built in microphones are the convenient monitor of choice in our mobile world (a kind of one size fits all approach). Let's not forget the important contribution by James West the unsung African American inventor and acoustician who invented the polymer foil electret microphone in 1962 which is commonly used because of it's accuracy, reliability and low cost. 90 per cent of all microphones today are electrets and James West's technology continues to be incorporated in most consumer devices such as telephones, hearing aids and audio recording devices, we can already see how much of an impact his historical invention has had on consumer technology which remains unchanged because it doesn't need to be altered.

Even in the field of surround sound, 4 track quadraphonic recordings have been around since the 1960s, pioneered by engineers such as Thomas Mowrey, with multichannel experiments being made as far back as the 1930s. Though there are some merits, as far as the technology goes today, it can only extend within the parameters of our own biological physiology, with our auditory senses being no exception, and consideration should also be given to the various differences in our hearing faculties as well as the shape and size of our ears and head, which for each person will determine how long the sound will will travel through the ear canal and vibrate the eardrum.

So perhaps finding ways of individually customising accurate audio measurements tailored to each person's unique ears may be a good starting point in advancement, which is where past techniques such as century old binaural recording practices, later evolving into products such as the Realiser' by Smyth Research have addressed this dilemma. Smyth Research have also been able to go a step further by using binaural emulation software to work in unison with hardware through Head Related Transfer Functions (HRTF), a set of mathematical instructions characterising how an ear source receives a sound from a point in virtual space allowing correct spatial positioning. Other notable innovations in software includes the usage of Ambisonics, a full sphere surround format and both a spatialisation algorithm and recording technique that was first developed in the UK during the 1970s by a group of researchers including Michael Gerzon of the Oxford Mathematics Institute, this format can be decoded to any speaker array. More recently there has been an updated version, Higher Order Ambisonics (HOA) extending its mathematical formulations to use more channels capturing additional spatial detail.

The recording source can be a restrictive factor as well as the methods by which the original recording was done, hence there is so much to be gained from observing the practices of early phonograph pioneers whom even with constraints found a way to capture sound convincingly. Edison's first listeners had reportedly fainted at the sound of their own voices having heard themselves on wax cylinder for the very first time, emphasising how real the experience must of felt to them. With this in mind there are also clear physical limitations in the process of capturing audio to consider. We've been mindful of all the aforementioned conundrums in the creation of our music, which will affect the listener. Perhaps more attention could be on how we individually experience the sounds around us, developing an understanding of our own physiology, and taking the time to test out and find what works. We also hope you can approach the music in a similar fashion, and take the time to find what resonates with you.

In pursuit of technology or 'The Emperor's New Clothes?'

There is quite a trend to pursue the latest technology and abandon the old. However much of the technology today has origins in past innovations having existed already in different forms, technology can be viewed as the acquiring of knowledge that leads to the invention and application of tools which may enhance aspects of our day to day lives. Technological advancement therefore may be thought of as a rediscovery of that which has come before and a modification of past ideas creating functional implements adjusted to our times. Yet even in the field of audio there is often a constant push towards using the most recent technologies advertised as a necessity without questioning why, in reality this may not be any more beneficial than the preceding technology it replaced, does one really need to constantly upgrade? it may be more useful to allow oneself to pause and being content with what one has.

Access to all

We use salvaged PCs and would like to acknowledge the legacies of Mark E Dean, an African American computer engineer that developed the 'ISA bus' and '1GHz computer processor chip.' Most of the computers that we use to program the music are recycled custom built machines from discarded decommissioned servers, all our hardware equipment and software is easily available, and it is possible with patience to assemble your own phonograph or PC from parts sourced online which can be a rewarding experience. Contact us if you'd like any guidance with DIY computer builds or would like to know more about the equipment, a link about the studio is located on the Angakut Recordings site here.

We also believe in using open source software giving the user the right to study, change and share the programming code, some of the software tools used for our music include:

(Open Source)

*ChucK

*Magenta Studio

*Pytorch

*Sparta Spatial Audio Suite

*Ubuntu Studio

(Non Open Source)

*DearVR Pro Spatializer

*Noatikl

*Reaper

*Zylia Studio Pro

So take a break, disconnect from all this technology and when you're ready to continue on this site, reconnect, and let the music accompany you on your journey.

Angakut

Further Reading and Related Links:

*A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism by Paul Youngquist (2016)

*Afrofuturism the World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture by YTasha L Womack (2013)

*Algorithmic Music - David Hope and EMI by Chris Garcia (2015)

*Ambisonics - A Practical Theory by Franz Zotter and Matthias Frank (2019)

*Audio Super Resolution Using Neural Networks by Kuleshov, Enam, Ermo (2017)

*A Year with Swollen Appendices by Brian Eno (1996)

*Between Couch & Piano: Psychoanalysis, Music, Art & Neuroscience by Gilbert Rose (2004)

*Bizarre Stuff you can Make in Your Kitchen: Edison's Phonograph by Brian Carusella (2008)

*Black Inventors Crafting Over 200 Years of Success by Keith Holmes (2012)

*Circuit Bending - Build Your Own Alien Instruments by Reed Ghazala (2005)