Doug Repetto, researcher at Columbia University (and founder of dorkbot), has been taking the Echo Net Remix API for a spin. Doug is interested in how beat displacement and re-ordering affects the perception of different kinds of music. To kick off his research, he’s created some really interesting beat rotation experiments. Here’s a couple of examples.
Rich Skaggs & Friends playing Bill Monroe, “Big Mon”, rotated so that the beats are in order 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1:
The same song rotated so that the beats are in order 1 3 4 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 4 2 1 3 4 2:
This time rotated so that the beats are in order 1 3 4 2 1 2 3 4 1 3 4 2 1 2 3 4:
All 3 versions are musically interesting and sound different. I’m amazed at how music that sounds so complex can be manipulated so simply to give such interesting results. Doug has lots more examples of his experiments: rotational energy and centripetal force. If you are interested in computational remixology, it is worth checking out.
Music Machinery 