2020
The idea for this algorithmic composition series originates from a reflection on a particular form of representing human identity in the digital world: the account. Throughout our digital lives, we are often required to enter our first and last name in order to gain access to certain services and to enter digital spaces. In doing so, we create and distribute many textual, disembodied representations of ourselves across the entire network.
Each time we log in somewhere, the machine greets and observes one of these simulacra. It is very likely that our accounts will outlive us, and until they are closed, the machine keeps track of our traces. I began to wonder what further meaning our names might have for machines that are becoming increasingly human-like. One function of a name among humans is to be called. What might our name sound like if a machine were to pronounce it, while taking the time necessary to capture our entire digital footprint?
In order to search for an artistic response to this question, I created the algorithmic composition system YNATS.
This system generates miniature pieces from the interpretation of two separate text inputs (first name and last name). The letters determine almost all parameters of the piece on different levels: material, form, type of sound processing, and parameter curves. First, each letter is assigned a number, which is interpreted as a point on a control curve. The names are then transformed into audio signals using a synthetic voice and stored. These files are subsequently stretched extremely through time stretching, played back, and analyzed in real time so that each of them controls an oscillator. Finally, the audio signals are processed through separate sound-processing stages, distributed across the stereo field, and recorded.
The system allows manual adjustments of certain parameters both in real time and in advance. Through a trial-and-error approach, it becomes possible to generate different sonic results from the same original material.
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The analog character of the timbre and the long-winded progression of the miniatures deliberately recall the aesthetic of Roland Kayn, whose work Simultan (1972) opened the door for me to the world of cybernetics.
