Rubble (2025) - Score Backing Audio

Rubble features a backing track, which consists of recorded plucked and bowed overtones on the plastibass. The pre-recorded audio directly mirrors the pitch set sequence for performance; it is designed to function as an extension of the plastimoss surface, layering and amplifying its material qualities through sound. The backing track plays for the duration of the work, enriching the timbral density of the live sounds from the plastibass, first through a mix with the stereo speaker playback, then through transducers in the second half of the piece. The backing track consists of a recording of the pitch set structure processed through a Strymon Deco reel-to-reel tape simulator (Deco v2 Tape Saturation & Doubletracker - Strymon, 2024) and spring reverb. These effects bend, augment, reverse and double the recorded overtone material, introducing a slight plasticity to the sound through subtle echo, flanging and overdrive. Additional textures from a Moog Muse synthesizer gradually emerge in the backing audio, carefully matching and highlighting the timbral characteristics of the bass (Muse, 2024).The second half of Rubble marks a gradual re-routing of this audio to the two transducer speakers, and the sound progressively becomes more distorted and spatially diffused through the instrument body. At this point, the interactive area of ‘play’ defined on the fingerboard is expanded outwards onto the rest of the instrument body, which becomes a surface for the performer to trace and explore via the tactile transducer speaker. This shift is guided by an abstracted video of the plastimoss image, which begins to play behind the performer and functions as a visual cue to inspire the motion of re-tracing. This process gradually recontextualises and distorts the audio from the first half, transforming familiar sonic materials into fragmented sonic impressions. The layering of subtly distorted overtones, echoed through spring reverb, creates an intimate and distant quality to their sounds. As the piece progresses, the audio becomes increasingly abstracted and stretched - illustrative of the inconstancy of memory.Sound designer: Helen SvobodaRecording engineer: Sam Maguire《Rubble》采用了一条伴奏音轨，该音轨由录制于塑料贝斯（plastibass）上的拨奏泛音与弓奏泛音构成。预录制音频与演奏所采用的音高设定序列完全镜像匹配；其设计定位为塑料苔藓（plastimoss）表面的延伸，通过声音分层与放大来强化其材料特质。该伴奏音轨贯穿作品全程播放，首先通过立体声扬声器回放与现场演奏的塑料贝斯声音进行混合，随后在作品后半段通过换能器（transducer）进一步处理，以此丰富现场声音的音色密度。 该伴奏音轨由经Strymon Deco开盘带模拟效果器（Deco v2 Tape Saturation & Doubletracker - Strymon, 2024）与弹簧混响（spring reverb）处理后的音高结构录制素材构成。这些效果器会对录制的泛音素材进行音色扭曲、增强、反转与加倍处理，通过细微的回声、镶边（flanging）与过载效果为声音赋予微妙的可塑性。额外的音色纹理由Moog Muse合成器（Muse, 2024）逐步融入伴奏音频，旨在精准匹配并凸显这款贝斯的音色特质。 《Rubble》的后半段标志着该音频被逐步重新路由至两只换能器扬声器，声音也会通过乐器琴身逐渐变得更具失真感且空间弥散性更强。此时，指板上定义的“演奏”交互区域向外扩展至乐器琴身其余部分，演奏者可通过触觉式换能器扬声器在该表面上进行轨迹绘制与探索。这一转变由播放于演奏者身后的塑料苔藓图像抽象视频引导，该视频作为视觉提示，启发演奏者进行重新轨迹绘制的动作。这一过程逐步为前半段的音频赋予新的语境并使其失真，将熟悉的声音素材转化为碎片化的听觉印象。经过弹簧混响回声润色的微妙失真泛音层层叠加，为其声音营造出既亲密又疏离的质感。随着作品推进，音频愈发抽象且被拉伸延展——这恰是记忆无常性的具象体现。 声音设计师：海伦·斯沃博达（Helen Svoboda） 录音工程师：萨姆·马奎尔（Sam Maguire）