Matt Webb sent me this: a Flash-based mixing game. So far, so much like a million others. However, this one’s different, as the samples are derived from you recording found ambient sounds from a fictional, nicely illustrated city (e.g. a builder’s hammering; someone humming; chatter in a café; radio static; windchimes etc.) There’s a backstory, featuring characters shouting out, "Bring me the sound of the city! … The sound of the city!." Which is just great.
Once you’ve collated a few sounds, it’s back to the classic Flash mixing desk to put them together. Which ain’t easy (interface could do with a bit of work here). The timing’s really erratic for a start. It seems to encourage odd meters (which part of me likes, but it’s hardly the club fodder the narrative implies its looking for.) I managed to make something frankly unlistenable, took it to the club, and the "crowdometer’s" needle flickered into the exalted "Lovin’ It!" mode. One of the more receptive audiences I’ve had.
It’s by Luke Whittaker, rather lovely, and gently diverting for 20 minutes or so.
A Break In The Road [req. Flash]
[via Matt – ta!]
The Sound of the City
Luke Whittaker brings a great new project to the web: A Break in the Road. Travel the city sampling all