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This algorithm simply generates a random note within an octave range, choosing from the note set or scale defined in the script.   There are five possible voices (VOICE 1 to 5), each of which can be assigned their own NOTE length, OCTave, % chance of occurrence, and VELocity.

You can see the parameters for each VOICE listed to the right of the panel:

The script is made active with the ‘Geo Generator’ button at the top left, and you can mute the input MIDI there as well if you like.  Once active, the script will start playing upon receiving a note, or else when the PLAY switch is turned on.

You can click on the little keyboard to include or exclude notes, or else choose from some PRESET scales.  There is an option for HALF TEMPO if you want to use it to generate random backdrops.  GeoGenerator will chase tempo changes if used in a sequencer.

LIVE TRANSPOSE allows you to transpose the output of the GeoGenerator with your keyboard.  If you play middle C (MIDI 60), the transpose is 0.  Above or below middle C will transpose the output.

DOWNLOAD THE SCRIPT

Requires Kontakt 5.1 or later.   GeoGenerator works best placed before any other scripts in the KSP chain.

For the curious who don’t yet have Geosonics, and existing users who want some power-tips, I’ve made some walkthrough videos to help clarify the way the instrument is structured, and exactly how the original Chris Watson recordings work with the sound design material, etc etc.

It’s taken all week for even this meagre result – I don’t know if it’s the same for everyone (I suspect not), but personally I find that making these things is always an intoxicating mixture of minor technical niggles and searing embarrassment.

Anyway, I hope they help someone!

 Building A Preset From Scratch

 Jammer Overview

 Effects & The Space Processor

PLAY THE SOUND OF THE NORTH POLE – BBC’S CHRIS WATSON MAKES ‘VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT’

Acclaimed nature & wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson is behind an amazing ‘virtual’ musical instrument – a piece of software that allows the user to play music created with sounds from the North Pole, the Kalahari Desert, Venezuelan swamps and more.

The ‘virtual musical instrument’ – known as Geosonics – was developed with London sound-software company Soniccouture. They first contacted Watson – known for his BAFTA award winning work on BBC’s Frozen Planet and Springwatch – in 2011, after hearing some of Chris’ recordings made using huge expanses of wire in remote parts of Australia.

James from Soniccouture says : ‘We were privileged to work with Chris because we wanted to create sounds with a very real, natural dimension to them. With Chris we had access to sounds that you literally can’t get anywhere else – he has crawled inside glaciers and fried himself in the desert for these recordings!’

VIDEO

A Short Video Of Geosonics can be seen on Youtube :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mMBOjRTTnoE

Chris Watson talks about the recordings used in Geosonics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1jvq6Y1tT3A http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=guSu1DLC8Cw http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rrtb-N7lb5g http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aEfATLuYpfw

As part of our upcoming Geosonics release, I spoke to Chris Watson over skype to find out some background to the many field recordings featured in the product. What unfurled was a fascinating discussion, adding more colour and depth to the recordings than I could have imagined. Tales of glaciers, baked river beds in the Kalahari, Volcanos in Iceland and of course, the very sound of the North Pole.

The Swamp Interview:

The Ice & Water Interview:

The Wires Interview:

The Wind Interview :

You often hear this kind of effect in horror movie soundtracks, and in certain contemporary classical music.  It’s no big secret that I love this sort of stuff.

The script generates extra notes near the input MIDI note, and using a knob or controller you can move the notes nearer or further away from the centre pitch.   This is different from a fist cluster on a piano since we generate pitches “in between” the distinct MIDI notes, so these are microtonal clusters in a sense.

You can set the number of Voices between 1 and 12.   For each voice there is a deviation amount, seen at the bottom of the interface here as Dev 1 through Dev 12.   These are cent deviations from the played pitch.  Obviously Cluster will use a lot of polyphony if generating 12 voices for each input note.

The Cluster knob can be controlled with the Deviate CC controller, so you can perform or sequence moving away from unison to maximum cluster and back again to unison.    Randomize will generate a set of Deviations within the set Range, and has a gaussian distribution so notes closer to the centre are more likely than notes further away from the centre. In the drop down menu you can set the Deviations to be recalculated for each note if you like.

DOWNLOAD THE SCRIPT

Requires Kontakt 4.2.4 or later.