HyPER MIX: Sent To Analyze Lifeforms (1991)

1. They appear boring…should we bother?
2. Why not…let’s sample their digital intelligence.
3. What do they do and why do they do it???
4. Evaluate data
5. Conclusion/departure: “We have piped for you, and ye have not danced.”

HyPER MIX is an electro-acoustic sound painting collaboration between James Aikman and David Dzubay. The work combines the digital sampling/editing of non-musical sound sources, including stationary exercise bicycles, rowing machines, clangorous weights, and a basketball scrimmage, with digitally sampled and edited musical source material (harp, flute, trumpet, the human voice, saxophone, drums and full orchestra). Frequency modulation synthesis and digital effects processing are also used in this work which may have been the last actual “tape” piece completed (on magnetic tape) prior to the complete renovation of the Indiana University Center for Electronic and Computer Music into a state-of-the-art facility in 1991. HyPER MIX refers not only to various activities of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building at IU (where we carter around a 1980’s over-sized Emulator II sampler), but also to our very hectic (all-night/two-man/4 channels each) stereo mixing procedure!