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POD & PODX* System Chronology

Institute of Sonology, Utrecht, Netherlands

1972-73

PDP-15 version, programs POD4, POD5 & POD6

(with monophonic real-time synthesis: fixed waveform, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation)

First computer music piece The Journey To The Gods (1973) (part of the Gilgamesh cycle) realized in 4-channels of real-time FM sound, the first such piece to do so, based on the Chowning algorithm

Detailed documentation Sonological Reports #2; published summary in Interface (1973)


* Note: POD stands for Poisson Distribution which was the original stochastic probability distribution (for random isolated events) that was used to determine the placement of sonic events in the original sequence of programs; when the DMX-1000 was added in 1982 (see below), the X was added to the name.


 

´óÏó´«Ã½, Vancouver (Burnaby campus)

1973-78

Hewlett Packard 2116 version, programs POD6, PDFIL, MERGE, POD7 using a machine in the Dept. of Psychology (with monophonic real-time FM synthesis and 1976-78, polyphonic non-realtime FM synthesis, stored on digital magnetic tape, shown at the right of the photo)

The first computer music piece to be realized at ´óÏó´«Ã½, Sonic Landscape No. 3 (1975, rev. 1977), wins first prize in the newly established Computer Music category at the 5th International Competition of Electroacoustic Music, in Bourges, France in 1977.

Graduate student Jean Piché works on the system and realizes La Mer à L'Aube and Heliograms.

Androgyny, for four digital soundtracks is premiered at the 1978 International Computer Music Conference, at Northwestern University, Evanston IL.

Computer Music Journal article (1977); IEEE article (1978)



1979-80

PDP 11/34 version, same programs plus PDMSK (with monophonic real-time synthesis and polyphonic non-realtime FM synthesis with the Varian computer in the Dept. of Computing Science)

Arras (1980) wins Honorable Mention in the Computer Music category at the 8th International Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges, France, 1980, and is premiered in Vancouver and Paris (IRCAM) in Feb. 1981. Computer Music Journal article (1982).

This first decade of computer music development has been summarized by Peter Manning in chapter 2 of Inside Computer Music (Oxford University Press, 2020).

As part of the UNESCO Project, "Artistic Creation and Contemporary Technology," Barry organizes a summer workshop around the POD system with a number of international participants (shown at right).

Barry organizes an annual Computer Music Weekend at ´óÏó´«Ã½, 1979-93, including a PODX workshop for local participants, and a multi-channel electroacoustic concert, first with Vancouver New Music, and later (1993 onward) at ´óÏó´«Ã½



1981-82

LSI 11/23 version established in the Centre for the Arts, ´óÏó´«Ã½, in the basement of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Theatre, as part of the newly established Music program

1982

LSI 11/23 version with DMX-1000 (a microprogrammable DSP system), the PODX system with polyphonic real-time programs POD6X, POD7X, PDFILX, MERGE, CONDUC, FUNC, PDMSKX, PLOTX, and non-realtime program POD7 with storage on digital tape as shown at right

Computer Music Journal article on PODX (1985); first piece realized with the DMX, Wave Edge (1983), premiered at the Banff Centre, and later in Rome with Musica Verticale

Follow the detailed evolution of the PODX software, as reported to the users as PODX News (1983-1996).

Between 1983 and 1996, numerous visiting composers and students in FPA.447 use the PODX system and produce a large number of pieces (see the complete list here).

Martin Gotfrit with the LSI 11/23 & DMX-1000, ca. 1982

Watch a short video introduction to the PODX hardware system in 2013



Barry working on the PODX system, Aug. 1983 (photo by Bob Pritchard)

1985   
Barry organizes the 1985 International Computer Music Conference at ´óÏó´«Ã½, Aug. 1985, which includes a day at ´óÏó´«Ã½, and a quadraphonic concert in the Academic Quadrangle, where his piece Solar Ellpse is played, among others. His 3rd LP, Sequence of Earlier Heaven, and the first on his Cambridge Street Records label, is also launched, including Wave Edge (1983) and Solar Ellipse (1984).




Barry (and John Macfarlane) at the AQ setup, Aug. 1985
Pairs of speakers were in each corner of the AQ on the 5th floor balcony


Barry launching Sequence of Earlier Heaven on the Cambridge Street Records label
with his Scottie, Bailey, who inspired the CSR logo

1986

Real-time Granular Synthesis program added (GSX) using the DMX microprogrammable architecture with this synthesis code
Computer Music Journal article (1988)

Riverrun is composed with real-time granular synthesis (re-mixed in 1987 in quad), and demonstrated at the International Computer Music Conference, in Urbana, IL, 1987. It was commissioned by the Music Section of the Biennale di Venezia with the financial assistance of the Canada Council, and was premiered at La Biennale in 1986 as part of the Nuova Atlantide project organized by Alvise Vidolin and Roberto Doati. It was awarded the Magisterium at the International Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Bourges, France, in 1991. In 2004, a new 8-channel version was prepared from the original tapes and premiered at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen's University, Belfast.



Watch a video demonstration of real-time granular synthesis with the GSX program and the DMX-1000 in 2013
and an interview with Michael Clarke about Riverrun

1987

Real-time Granulated Sampled Sound added to granular synthesis (GSAMX) initially using only a short fixed sample (ca. 170 ms) in the DMX memory; Wings of Nike (1987) is composed with this system, in a collaboration with Theo Goldberg's computer graphics, and was premiered at the International Festival of Electroacoustic Music, Bourges, France.

Cambridge Street Records releases Digital Soundscapes, the first CD of independently produced electroacoustic music in Canada, including four computer-synthesized pieces and the analog work The Blind Man (1979)

1988

Initial work on a Motorola DSP 56001 board to be controlled by an Atari computer

1990

Digisound-16 converter added to PODX enabling 16-bit conversion of analog samples to hard disk (at sampling rates between 19 and 32 kHz); granulation and time stretching incorporated, thereby allowing unlimited real-time extension of sampled sound; the first works are Pacific (1990), Dominion (1991), Basilica (1992) and Song Of Songs (1992), the latter being commissioned by Lawrence Cherney with computer graphics by Theo Goldberg.
Computer Music Journal article (1994)

1991

Demo of Harmonc Functions' "Quintessence Box" for real-time granular synthesis using DSP 56001 at ICMC 91, Montreal

1993

Quintessence Box incorporating granular time stretching installed in ´óÏó´«Ã½ studios; prototype of a multiple-DSP board designed by Harmonic Functions, Burnaby
Sequence Of Later Heaven (1993) and the stereo soundtrack for Bamboo, Silk And Stone (1994), with live performance by Randy Raine-Reusch, were created during this period

1995

Harmonic Functions' DM-8 box for computer-controlled diffusion demonstrated at ICMC 95 and installed in the Sonic Research Studio at ´óÏó´«Ã½
Karplus-Strong
digital resonators (single and double, in mono or stereo) added to the real-time signal processing modules during disk playback, in addition to reverb, stereo delay, comb filter, multi-comb filters, high and low-pass filters

Powers Of Two: The Artist (1995) - the first of four acts in the opera to be composed - is premiered at ICMC95 in Banff, AB, and also performed in Vancouver
The complete work, including Powers of Two: Repetition, The Sibyl, and Beyond, is given a workshop performance in Vancouver by Modern Baroque Opera, June 2004, and a double CD, Powers of Two, released on the CSR label the same year.


1996

PODX system "retired" to the author's private studio in Burnaby where it continued to be compositionally productive using the DA-88 8-track recorder and (later) ProTools
The first pieces realized there were Wings Of Fire (1996) for cello and soundtracks, Androgyne, Mon Amour (1996-97), for double bass and soundtracks, and ±Ê±ð²Ô»å±ô±ð°ù»å°ùøm (1997) for two or 8 digital soundtracks. The first two, plus other text-based pieces, are released on a CD Twin Souls .


1999

Harmonic Functions' Audiobox (a 16x16 matrix mixer) added to the system for computer-controlled diffusion

2000-2008
Island (2000) is composed as a major 8-channel soundscape composition, and published on the CSR CD Islands along with other soundscape-inspired pieces
Steam (2001) combines granular time-stretched soundmarks with an alto flute and has been performed and recorded numerous times
Temple (2002) is the first to use Impulse Reverb and Auto-convolution using Tom Erbe's SoundHack software, spatialized in 8 channels, and is included on the CSR-CD Spirit Journies, along with The Shaman Ascending.

Chris Rolfe's is instrumental in realizing the high density spatialization used in The Shaman Ascending (2004-2005), premiered at the International Festival of Electroacoustic Music, Bourges, France. His MacPod software for granular time-stretching has become a standard worldwide. The Shaman was the last piece to make substantial use of the PODX software for composition. Since then, SoundHack, MacPod and ProTools have been the main applications used and all of the pieces have been realized in the 8 channel (and multiples of 8) format.

2009
Chalice Well is composed with hybrid convolution of sampled sounds, and is premiered in the Sonic Lab of the Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast, using their 32-speaker rig on four levels. It is released on a CSR CD, The Elements and Beyond, along with 4 other works in an element-themed cycle



2010-present

Harmonic Functions’ TiMax2 matrix mixer, initially marketed by Outboard Inc (UK) and later transferred to FocusRite, added to the system for computer-controlled diffusion

Fire Spirits (2010) is the first 8-channel work to utilize it, followed by From The Unseen World (2012), Aeolian Voices (2013), Earth and Steel (2013), The Garden Of Sonic Delights (2015-16), The Bells of Salzburg (2018), Infinity Room (2019), Rainforest Raven (2020), What The Waters Told Me (2022), How The Wind Caressed Me (2023), When The Earth Mourned For Me (2024), all of which were spatialized using the TiMax2 Soundhub
Consult the list of publications and recent papers for various compositional documentations
2013
Michael Clarke and Frédéric Dufeu from Huddersfield visit the system to document it as part of their TACEM Project which includes a detailed analysis and re-creation of Riverrun. This work was published as Inside Computer Music, Oxford University Press, 2020, chapter 2. Several videos, as included above, were made of the system in operation. Shortly thereafter, various hardware problems emerged that could not be fixed and the system essentially was no longer usable. After 31 years of productivity (and a previous 10 years of its predecessor, the POD system), R.I.P. PODX!

As of today (Oct/25), there have been over 600 concert events worldwide where Barry's works have been performed, with many solo and retrospective concerts.
List of works realized with the POD and PODX systems

Octophonic work catalogue including all those realized after the PODX was retired

Note: More detailed analyses of pieces realized with the system are included in the composer's HTML Documentation as part of the WSP Database (contact Barry at truax@sfu.ca for a guest password)


References:

B. Truax, "Discovering Inner Complexity: Time-shifting and Transposition with a Real-time Granulation Technique", Computer Music Journal, 18(2), 1994, pp. 38-48 (sound sheet examples in 18(1)).

B. Truax, "Real-time Granular Synthesis with a Digital Signal Processor", Computer Music Journal, 12(2), 1988, pp.14-26.

B. Truax, "The PODX System: Interactive Compositional Software for the DMX-1000", Computer Music Journal, 9(1), 1985, pp. 29-38.

B. Truax, "Timbral Construction in Arras as a Stochastic Process," Computer Music Journal, 6(3), 1982, pp. 72-77.

B. Truax, "Computer Music Composition: The Polyphonic POD System", IEEE Computer, 11(8), 1978, pp. 40-49.

B. Truax, "The POD System of Interactive Composition Programs", Computer Music Journal, 1(3), 1977, pp. 30-39.

B. Truax, "Some Programs for Real-time Computer Synthesis and Composition", Interface, 2, 1973, pp. 159-163.

B. Truax, "The Computer Composition -- Sound Synthesis Programs POD4, POD5 and POD6", Sonological Reports, No. 2, Utrecht State University, Institute of Sonology, 1973.

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