Technical Requirements

I: The Edge by Supercompact Wormhole Propulsion utilizes a combination of analog and digital technologies to create a musical narrative that explores humanity’s relationship with technology. The crew on board the ship become too blinded by the power of their vessel’s technology to see the failings of their mission. As they pass through a wormhole, directed at the edge of the universe they are temporarily one with their spacecraft, but they become forever alienated from their own humanity. An interplay between older analog technology (sound on vinyl, tape samples, guitar, etc.) and new technology (tangible user interfaces, digital audio workstations, etc.) is present throughout the 16 tracks of I: The Edge, one that is a more harmonious relationship between humanity and technology than the story they tell. The presentation of the album will combined with Mac Pepler’s interactive video installation and Steve Wright’s interactive sculptures, so please refer to their reports for the technologies they are utilizing. However, physical copies of the album will be printed onto vinyl and CD for free distribution in the gallery, as well as a being available online for free download on the project’s website.

Analog recording technology is required for the recording of I: The Edge. Mics, mixers, and compressors are necessary for recording any part of the album that requires an acoustic instrument. High quality analog mics and mixers produce much higher sound quality than digital mixers and small built-in computer microphones. Reel-to-reel tape recorders and analog compressors give the album a certain sound that is reminiscent of older recordings. These pieces of analog recording equipment give a more organic sound to I: The Edge, and represent the humans on board the ship.

Digital Audio Workstations and other computer programs for processing audio (Processing and Pure Data sketches) act as a main song building tools. DAWs, such as Pro Tools and Ableton Live, are where all audio is sent and each track is processed and mixed. Processing and PD sketches gives me complete control over the sonic palette of my recordings, as I can process incoming audio signals to the minutest degree through the depth of programming. Digital programs allow me to synthesize sounds that would not be possible otherwise, and they create multiple virtual spaces for digital recording. As well as being excellent environments for complex audio processing, DAWs and other programs represent the incredibly advanced spaceship and the technology that surrounds the crew.

HTML5 will be required to make a website for hosting the digital copy of the album and the documentation. The website will be programmed using Dreamweaver. An extended experience can be created with the website, as extra content can be uploaded and shared. The free download of the album demonstrates my personal view of digital copyright, but also allows for easier distribution.

The album will be printed on vinyl and CD for distribution at the gallery. The vinyl, CD, and digital download copies of the album represent humanities shift to a more digital and ephemeral form. I: The Edge is split into three segments, and over the course of these parts the humans shift from their organic selves (vinyl), to something resembling a trans-human (CD), and finally to nothing (digital download).

I am well accustomed to all the audio technology mentioned, and Processing is a language I use frequently. Pure Data and HTML5 are programming languages that I am not completely comfortable with. CD and vinyl printing will have to be conducted by a business, as I do not have access to such equipment.

DAWs have been a part of my sound creation for a couple years now. Processing is a comfortable environment for creating tangible user interfaces, and programming in general is something I can wrap my head around.

Pure Data and HTML5 will be two programming languages with which I will have re-familiarize myself. The Internet is vast resource for tutorials on both of these programming languages, and as I have been programming for many years now, I do not find it difficult to learn new programming languages.