Darwin Chamber and the 3D Halloween

The pieces on the CDs I heard [Amazon Rainforest/Lakeside, Thunderstorm, Songbirds/Safari, and Ocean/Frogs] definitely seemed to be composed. What aesthetic and technical decisions do you make when arranging sounds?

All of my recordings are composed, much like the structure of a song. Because I cut up all of my original source recordings into two- to ten-second clips to create a typical 3D environment, I am able to build up a storm over time, group a flock of birds flying overhead, or have a pack of dogs surround you. I am mainly trying to create a scenario that has a beginning, build, release, sustain, and end. Traditional field recordings available to consumers are merely a 30- to 60-minute recording an audio professional has captured by sticking a microphone in the sky, and the end user is getting a very slow and random experience.

How well did releasing the soundtrack through iTunes work for you?

I am so happy with iTunes that my recordings are available exclusively with them. Out of all the contracts I have signed over the past 15-plus years, iTunes is hands down the most honest and secure music store I have ever dealt with.

On the O'Reilly Digital Media site, we get a lot of interest in on-the-go recording. (Our review of the M-Audio MicroTrack hit #1 on Google 48 hours after it came out and it's still #1 almost a year later. We're also the top hit for "portable studio.") Tell us a bit about your recording strategies and gear. "Happy accident" stories are always fun.

I have three MicroTracks, which I carry around with me at all times. Accompanying those I have three Rode NT4 stereo X/Y microphones, along with boom poles, mic stands, smart cards, etc.

My general recording strategies are to keep at least one portable recorder recording at all times, even when I'm driving or sitting at home watching TV. Because it records directly to a smart card, deleting unnecessary files is a snap. You never know what you may catch during a given recording so I find it best to record everything that I come in to contact with.

The best thing I ever recorded by accident was a phone conversation my girlfriend was having with another guy she liked. I had stepped out to go on my daily walk, and left the recorder on to collect whatever sounds it might capture in my absence. After making her squirm for a few days, I played her the recording of her setting up a rendezvous minutes before she claimed to have a doctor's appointment. She is now my ex-girlfriend. "Don't blame me, blame the microphone."

Darwin Chamber never settles for simply sticking a microphone in the sky.

Talk a bit about your 3D technique. Does it start in the recording stage, or do you achieve it in post-processing? If you mixed in multichannel format instead of enhanced two-channel, what would you do differently?

All of my 3D processing is done after capturing my source material. So in essence, I can start with either a mono or stereo file, and from there I begin the painful process of rendering each element in 3D space via x, y, and z coordinates.

Currently 3D audio works best when listened to through a pair of headphones or over a pair of speakers. It works best that way because the human head has two ears, so it is quite unnecessary to have anything more than a pair of speakers to replicate a pair of ears. However, I have recently begun experimenting in 5.1 and 7.1 and have been getting some amazing results. Through the separation of sound by bandwidth [i.e., frequency bands] I am able to achieve some very drastic effects.

Because the general population listens to audio in stereo format, I am seeking a movie studio to partner with to create the first 3D audio to accompany a film over a multiple speaker system. That is the only way I can see dedicating a year of my time to something containing a multispeaker setup.

For me, the 3D effect seemed to work best on speakers rather than headphones. Is that common? Remembering Brian Eno's liner notes for his early ambient albums, I also tried turning the volume way down and found the sound became even more immersive. How do you recommend listening?

The 3D effect works great on both headphones and speakers. I have heard it through many different setups with varied volume levels and each listening has a unique characteristic. Although I create my masters (including the final mix) via headphones, I have been able to hear some of the samples I intended to be behind you work better on a stereo pair of speakers when sitting in the sweet spot. Every setup provides varied results, though.

What sounds and spaces would you still like to explore? (Musical as well as environmental; I'm intrigued by the juxtaposition of your trip-hop and nature recordings.)

At this point, I have covered all the natural elements and I am now focused on the unnatural. I have spent the last year creating the Darwin Chamber 3D Halloween Sound FX album, which satisfied my need to do something different. I plan to continue on the path of science fiction, although I would hope to create the work for a popular video game or film instead of a typical album release.

I began creating music in 3D recently and much like every recording I set out to do; you have to create entirely new methods for each recording to make the 3D aspect truly work. Recently I have had artists trying to copy my 3D format and the end results are horrifying—mainly because they will slap the word "3D" in front of the album title because they think running a stereo mix through a spatializer makes it 3D.

My thanks to Nicole Kaspar at amPR for setting up the interview. For more on Darwin Chamber, visit his site or the iTunes Store.