Phonogenesis

Outside of composition, one of my biggest hobbies has been studying and building synthesizer circuitry. This overtime has led to an endless fascination with modular synthesizers, especially those created by Bob Moog in the 70s. When I was lucky enough to get my hands on a modern replica of one of Moog’s classic synths, the Model 55, I wanted to incorporate it into my music as soon as I could. This piece is my first attempt at doing just that. Every sound in the fixed tape accompaniment of this work was created using the synth and edited in software in various ways. The final sound file has 135 unique tracks, all playing along with the synth, which uses a combination of oscillators, white noise, and modulators that, among other things, unpredictably effects the signal so that each sound produced is completely random. The form is continuous, with a small return of the beginning textures near the end.