Scape is a generative music app for iOS that was created by Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers. Brian Eno is a very well known musician, producer, thinker and all around really smart person. Peter Chilvers seems to tick all of the same boxes aside from the "very well known" one. I suggest you check out his website (button link below) to learn more about his music and software. I found it to be very interesting.
The Scape app has a unique interface as shown at left. You have different colored boxes on the right that are moods and boxes on the left hand side that give selections of various back ground patterns and melodic elements. These can all be changed in real time. The various shaped elements are musical events and they follow rules in their sonic behavior.
The Scape app has a unique interface as shown at left. You have different colored boxes on the right that are moods and boxes on the left hand side that give selections of various back ground patterns and melodic elements. These can all be changed in real time. The various shaped elements are musical events and they follow rules in their sonic behavior.
You can move the elements around on the screen and they interact with each other depending on where they are placed and if they touch and overlap. Some of the letter E shaped things and the diamond shapes can be quite loud and jarring if you aren't expecting it. The E shapes are bell-like sounds and the diamonds tend towards cinematic "giant drums in a cave". The app comes with 15 pre fabricated Scapes. You can save and share your own sonic masterpieces and share them via e-mail. There is also a random generation option if swiping proves to be too much of a chore. As you explore the options new elements appear each time you re-open the app. So you start with a certain palette and find your colors expanding each time you use Scape.
How does it sound? Well, it sounds terrific. I have no doubt that it will be used by some to make entire compositions and albums. It's simple, fun, and you get great sounding results with minimal effort. If anything it is almost too simple to use. I think that with some imagination you can (and should) put your own stamp on things. For my demo I recorded four segments using Scape and then did some editing to make things flow. You can get interesting results by slowing down or speeding up the playback speed, reversing the playback and applying your own effects in your DAW or hardware system. I have done most of these techniques in my demo track. So everything you hear began with Scape and was prodded in to shape. The final mix was three stereo tracks.
I have another composition that I am working on where I took the same basic tracks and ran each through a chain of outboard effects that were manipulated in real time during playback. This is how I will use this app for the most part, as a starting point. Your soundscapes are ripe for running through a granular synthesis engine, or as a subtle layer that is heavily filtered and reverberated, running in the background of a track. It is a great source for raw material that can be used, or even... abused, and taken in new directions. The interface invites experimentation. If you own an iPad and even dabble in abstract electronic sound I'd say it's a keeper.
How does it sound? Well, it sounds terrific. I have no doubt that it will be used by some to make entire compositions and albums. It's simple, fun, and you get great sounding results with minimal effort. If anything it is almost too simple to use. I think that with some imagination you can (and should) put your own stamp on things. For my demo I recorded four segments using Scape and then did some editing to make things flow. You can get interesting results by slowing down or speeding up the playback speed, reversing the playback and applying your own effects in your DAW or hardware system. I have done most of these techniques in my demo track. So everything you hear began with Scape and was prodded in to shape. The final mix was three stereo tracks.
I have another composition that I am working on where I took the same basic tracks and ran each through a chain of outboard effects that were manipulated in real time during playback. This is how I will use this app for the most part, as a starting point. Your soundscapes are ripe for running through a granular synthesis engine, or as a subtle layer that is heavily filtered and reverberated, running in the background of a track. It is a great source for raw material that can be used, or even... abused, and taken in new directions. The interface invites experimentation. If you own an iPad and even dabble in abstract electronic sound I'd say it's a keeper.
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