In my project „Brain Storm,“ I created an otherworldly yet calming and meditative ambisonics soundscape that is procedurally generated in real time and regenerates itself with each playback.

It sounds familiar, yet contains elements that seem alien and not of this world.

Why Procedural?

Meditative soundscapes, such as the hours-long versions found on YouTube, often come across as repetitive and monotonous. That’s why I deliberately chose to trigger and modify many elements of my soundscape randomly in real time, in order to create a constant underlying tension, a sense of anticipation in the listener, since anything can happen at any moment.

The procedurally calculated parameters include, among others, the targeted triggering of specific sounds, their spatial positioning, as well as volume and EQ automations. I paid special attention to ensuring that these parameters follow certain rules that I derived from real soundscapes and field recordings.

Sound Design Planning

Brain Storm is heavily inspired by the acoustics of a Northern European forest. Nevertheless, I had to carefully consider how my environment should sound in order to define the sonic characteristics of the elements that would flow into my project.

I deliberately decided to forgo anthrophonic sounds and to focus exclusively on biophonic and geophonic sounds. Additionally, I asked myself fundamental questions: Are sounds quickly absorbed by vegetation and the forest floor, or is there, for example, a lake nearby whose water surface reflects sound and carries it over great distances

I wanted to create an almost extraterrestrial character of my soundscape through animal sounds that seem familiar yet sound unusually strange. This kind of acoustic worldbuilding helped me develop a clear vision of my concept early in the creative process.

To create an authentic soundscape, I extensively studied and analyzed the sonic environments of real-world settings. Both online soundscape studies, such as the National Park Washington Soundscape, and my own field recordings served as sources. They showed me how soundscapes change over time and in which frequency ranges specific sounds occur.

Sound Design Implementation

Many of the sounds were created synthetically.
On one hand, to have maximum control over the sound and to adjust it precisely to my soundscape, as well as to be able to dynamically change sound parameters during runtime. On the other hand, synthesis served to create the alien, otherworldly sounds.

Additionally, I integrated samples from my own stereo and Ambisonics field recordings to create organic depth and make the soundscape feel even more alive.

I create the synthetic sounds exclusively with the plugin Phase Plant by Kilohearts. It provides me with the flexibility needed to design detailed soundscapes and dynamically control parameters.

One example is the thunder: It consists of modulated white noise, shaped using EQ, transient shaper, and a touch of reverb to create a natural yet slightly surreal sonic aesthetic.

Some biophonic sounds are significantly more complex and are created through the interplay of multiple LFOs that are layered and modulated. An example of this are the duck-like calls that occasionally appear in the soundscape, producing natural yet slightly alien sounds.

Procedural Framework

All sounds in my soundscape are triggered via MIDI, and all parameters that change during runtime are automated through MIDI values.

I deliberately chose MIDI because in the future I want to control the triggers and parameters externally through the software NodeStrom (a tool I am currently developing as part of my bachelor’s thesis).

Currently, however, I generate the MIDI values internally in Reaper (DAW), both through MIDI-takes for triggering sounds and with plugins like MMM, which can modulate and send MIDI values.

Soundscape Mixing Techniques

To create a more immersive soundscape, there are many dynamic movements of sound sources in my soundscape. On one hand, in the positioning (for example, of thunder or bird calls — which I achieved through simple panning using, for instance, a Stereo or Room Encoder). On the other hand, there is also movement in the tonal characteristics of individual sounds, such as the rain or the cricket sounds, which I create through EQ automation.
I would also like to particularly highlight the mixing technique I used for individual raindrops that are meant to fall from above onto the listener and hit their hood/hat. Here I use a heavily processed stereo sample of freezing rain, which, with the help of a Granular Encoder, appears at various positions centered above the listeners, resulting in a very organic sound.

Reflection

I am very satisfied with the final soundscape and especially appreciate the element of randomness. While composing, I often simply listened to the sounds and was curious about what would happen next (even I, as the composer, never knew what would appear next in the procedural generation).

The question of how best to present this artwork occupied me for a long time. As a binaural export, it is indeed very meditative, but the aspect of randomness that I love so much is lost.