Stephen Germana
Autocatalytic is sound that is purely controlled by a patch of my own design in Max/MSP. Two sides of the patch are designated as the guitar side/scene and the synth side/scene. In between algorithmic interludes are solo sections of either guitar or synth. After an interval one side switches to the other. I conceived of it as a response to the idea of a concerto grosso, or a piece that alternates between a soloist and an orchestra.
In addition to the guitar and synth oscillations, there are moments that trigger found sounds of an elderly man playing his songs and his interaction with a sound engineer. I found these sounds on a cassette labeled "TOM" in pencil at a reuse center. The pathos created by the inclusion of these found recordings pushes Autocatalytic out of my control. In some ways it doesn't even feel like my work anymore. Maybe I just wrote an algorithm to frame these final songs of Tom.
