This track was born during the late winter in Boston, MA, and completed while on spring break from my teaching work. It features a lot of layered synth sequences and a soaring melodic line on top - I think it turned out to be a rather warm, exuberant song.

On the technical side, it started with some new sounds I made in FM8 and grew from there, using a variety of different software synths.


Shores_v1.0

This is a live set performed at 808 Gallery at Boston University on 6/19/14 as part of the Mobius Infuse Series. This is a very large and open space, estimated around 200,000 ft^3. Listeners were encouraged to explore the space and listen from different locations, as sounds could be perceived differently throughout the gallery due to the dimensions and dynamic acoustics of the room.

Matthew Azevedo & Derek Hoffend, Live Performance at 808 Gallery, Boston MA

This is the first track on the new Aether Chroma album Soft Power.
Planned release date 2/13/15

Mastered by Matthew Azevedo at M-Works in Cambridge, MA

Singularity

This is a 2-channel recording taken from my sound-sculpture called Sonotron. 

http://www.derekhoffend.com/sonotron.html

Sonotron is an immersive 12-channel sound-sculpture that is meant to be experienced by sitting or laying inside for a sustained period of time. There are 12 channels, going to 10 speaker drivers in the top half of the piece, and 2 bass-shakers attached to the bed. Through the bed transduction, frequencies can be felt directly in body.

The sounds in Sonotron are generated in real-time. 36 sets of sine-wave frequencies are rotated independently and semi-randomly from channel to channel. Other randomized parameters include amplitude, distance, and mono-aural beating. The tonal structure stays the same but the harmonic and pulsing variations change over time. Some listeners have drawn comparisons to the qualities of a singing-bowl or sustained Om chant.

This recording was not made inside the center of the piece, but rather by pulling directly from 2 of the 12 channels of the audio interface hardware. The result is different from the live experience but works very well in headphones and stereo playback, particularly in headphones and speakers that can play back 30 Hz.  Frequency differentiation, mono-aural beating, and motion of the tones are very discernible.


Sonotron 2-Channel Mix

Here is a recording direct off my mixer from my Aether Chroma set at AS220 in Providence RI, on March 10th 2016, as part of the 'Space Travel on a Thursday' show.

1st and 2nd songs are off Soft Power, 3rd and 4th tracks are unreleased but completed songs getting ready for the next album, and the 5th song was semi-improvised from a new idea that took form a few days ago. That track was pretty raw for me but I really wanted to play something fresh and newly designed for this show :) It will probably evolve into a new song for the next album :)

First song of the set did not make it onto the recording but it was Singularity from Soft Power.

Live set at AS220 in Providence, RI: 'Space Travel on a Thursday' show

Most recent mix of Shores, posted previously on this page :)


Shores_V2

Direct recording off my mixer of Aether Chroma set at Deep Thoughts record store in Jamaica Plain, Boston on August 25th, 2016.

Event included performances by TIME, Full Color, and V.E. Shen.