Golden | Various
TRANS002
Net Release Date - June 2005
Codec: MP3 Variable Bit Rate; Highest Quality
Physical in August 2007
Edition 50

This release has been taken offline. To purchase the CDR of uncompressed audio in custon die-cut self-latching cover please see the online store.

Wide-ranging interpretations of the Golden Mean.

The Golden Mean is perhaps the best known ratio in the world. If one produces a series by adding two consecutive terms to arrive at the next term (0,1,2,3,5,8,13...etc.) then as the numbers increase the factor each term is larger than the previous term approaches it's limit; 1.6180339887... It is this limit that is often called the "Divine Proportion,” and it and its reciprocal have been widely drawn upon for inspiration and explanation in the natural sciences, architecture, engineering, art and music. Numerous classical and modern composers have works interpreting this natural phenomenon. Proven itself to provide direction to so many we decided to ask some current sound-artists to consider producing a work inspired by this math. Far from sounding similar and formulaic these works are wide-ranging taking the listener through 11 distinct sound-worlds.

1) Nautilus Pompilus | Jos Smolders
Duration (5'02") Size (4.63 MB)

The Fibonacci work consists of a range of frequency tracks which are starting and rising according to the laws of the Fibonacci range. the frequencies start at 55 hz after which 89hz, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, 6765, 10,946, and 17,711 follow. The intervals between one frequency starting after the other follow a negative range. So the second frequency starts at 98 seconds, then the interval gradually decreases (61, 36, etc - 0.5 sec). I have tried to stick very closely to mathematics but of course as a composer you also have to deal with other aspects. Therefore some parts have been 'dressed' with quite noisey little sounds.

I was inspired by the beautiful Nautlilus Pompilius, a wonderful sea animal (dating back millions of years) which impressed me a couple years ago in a huge sea aquarium in Cherbourg (France). It drifted in a vertical column of water, staring back at these stupid samples of homo sapiens by which it was imprisoned.

www.earlabs.org

2) Goldene Schnitte | Elektronengehirn
Duration (5'02) (7.50 MB)

For the piece I programmed some sound sources based on Fibonacci equations in PD and Max/MSP to generate source-material for the composition process. Even the occuring short sequences are not played or pre-programmend but are
the result by using these equations.

www.elektronengehirn.de

3) 5 Ratios of Pipes | Toshiya Tsunoda
Duration (3'24") Size (4.21 MB)
Special thanks to Reiji Matsushima

Information of the recording:

1) L ch 1000mm : R ch 1618mm
2) L ch 1000mm : R ch 1382mm
3) L ch 1000mm : R ch 1272mm
4) L ch 1000mm : R ch 1236mm
5) L ch 1000mm : R ch 1118mm

www.bremsstrahlung-recordings.org/artists/tsunoda.php

4) 101104 | Dan Warburton
Duration (5:01) Size (5.77MB)

Sourced from sound files recorded in Domecy-sur-le-Vault, France, April 18th 2004.

www.stasisfield.com/artists/warburton.html

5) kdi dctb[i] | Toy Bizarre
Duration (3’34”) Size (5.97 MB)

Composed 27th april 2005 (TBS)
Composed only with fire & heat sounds (1999)
Copyright SACEM

www.ingeos.org

6) Embedded Systems of Unfolding | Dale Lloyd
Duration (3’34”) Size (8.06 MB)

Created from dried leaves (recorded at Camp Long, West Seattle) and electronic sounds, including calculated tone frequencies based on a Fibonacci Ratio sequence:

440, 880, 293.33, 293.33, 176, 660, 264, 165, 1,100.00, 733.33, 275, 1,173,33, 704.

I used calculated frequencies, not tempered frequencies (which are what pianos are normally tuned to in Western music to improve tonality when playing in various keys). The frequencies used in this piece were unaltered after their creation but were
used in various combinations to create tone clusters.

For Fibonacci Ratio sequence and frequency reference, refer to the following chart: here

www.and-oar.org/dalelloyd.html

7) Zahav M’mutsah | brekexkexkoaxkoax
Duration (3’21”) Size (3.11 MB)

I have always been skeptical of the golden mean's use in music (and I am even more skeptical after reading Charles Madden's "Fractals in Music"). The primary effect of the GM is visual: can it be effectively translated to music? I do not think so. The GM ratio of frequencies seems rather arbitrary and not interesting in itself. In composing the large scale structure of a piece, for a ten minute piece, arranging a point of development at the GM ratio seemingly doesn't make any difference from a development point thirty seconds before or after. The GM is even more meaningless when it comes to rhythm (if you tell me that the answer in the "shave and a haircut" knock comes at the GM point, I will hit you). Zahav M'mutsah uses the golden mean to generate a series of modulations which then act upon a recording of processed string sounds. I approached the GM in this manner after hours of experimenting on countless frequency ratios, developing GM chords and finding nothing suitable for my purposes. The time changes of the modulations, and the modulations themselves, are somewhat arbitrary; the musical effect of the piece would not be changed if I calculated these ratios with an abacus instead of four decimal places on an electronic calculator. I am eager to hear how other creative people approached this problem.

http://home.grandecom.net/~jronsen/

8) Nautilus | Alex Keller
Duration (3’10”) Size (3.78 MB)

I'm interested in the propensity of non-organic forms to imply organic forms and behaviors. A few of my other pieces have worked with this idea, creating natural-sounding behaviors using harsh digital textures. Squinting at the right angles of a tesellated golden rectange can yield a similar effect, suggesting the smooth curve of a nautilus shell.

For Nautilus I used software that lets me create sound from digital images. Manipulated images that used to get pitch interval information as well as event durations from the proportions suggested by the golden mean.

www.alexkeller.net

9) leaves (golden) | Brent Fariss
Duration (5’00”) Size (7.56 MB)

I have always been fascinated with the idea that the golden ratio and Fibonacci sequence are constantly found in nature (leaves, pinecones, flowers, etc…). For leaves (golden), I created 8 “unstable” electronic sounds and looked for patterns relating back to the Fibonacci sequence/golden mean. All pitch material was derived from intervals following the Fibonacci sequence. Events were organized following the Fibonacci sequence in relation to an established tempo. The Golden Section provides the formal proportions for the piece. All sounds are seen as “living objects” and are constantly developing in this way.

www.spectralhouse.com

10) Fiboharmiculations | Josh Russell
Duration (1’14”) Size (1.32MB)

Acoustic guitar tuned so that the dominant frequencies emitted when the 7th fret harmonics are tapped are all in the Golden ratio to the root frequency. The numbers on the left are the dominant frequencies obtained with the guitar in standard tuning. The strings were then tuned so that the dominant frequencies were changed to the numbers on the right.

E - 991 ----> 1080
B - 733 ----> 671
G - 582 ----> 671
D - 431 ----> 416
A - 323 ----> 416
E - 259

Harmonics tapped, sampled, modified, and used as source material for composition.

www.bremsstrahlung-recordings.org/artists/russell.php

11) Implements | John Kannenberg
Duration (4’51”) Size (7.28 MB)

Based on four source recordings of various writing utensils, Implements makes several references to the Golden Ratio. I first calculated the amount of time in minutes equivalent to the Golden Ratio (1.618033989 is approximately 1 minute 37 seconds) and used this as the basis for the duration of the track (1:37 x 3 = 4:51).
I recorded myself using chalk and slate for 4:51 writing out the Fibonacci Numbers (a sequence of numbers where each member is the sum of the previous two numbers; as the numbers get larger, the ratio between any two of them approaches a limit which is equal to the Golden Ratio). Using graphite on paper, I then recorded myself writing the quadratic equation which produces the Golden Ratio as many times as was possible for the duration of 1:37. Ink on paper was used to make a drawing (and recording) of the Golden Rectangle, which also has a duration of 1:37. Finally, I recorded myself for another 1:37 segment using a computer keyboard to repeatedly type variations on the continued fraction of pi

(22/7, 223/71, 355/113, 104348/33215, and 103993/33102).

These recordings were then sequenced against each other using three sonically manipulated variations of each running concurrently - three versions of the 4:51 chalk recording, then the three variations of the graphite, ink and keyboard recordings, arranged on a timeline like this:

Although the recordings are rigidly arranged in the sequence, they are subsequently manipulated to alter their individual volume and prominence in the sound field, lending a feeling of randomness to the structure of the final piece.

www.johnkannenberg.com