the dark interpreter
Permanently sold out.
From the diviner of The Black Death, The Dark Interpreter (Towers Open Fire edition/Cristy 2015) is the ultimate plague-driven, finger sensitive, stand-alone noise processor, granular synthesiser and sound generator, merging digital and analogue processing.
The Dark Interpreter is modelled as a set of leaky, overlapping medieval village spaces within which various plague simulations run, and through which a motley of villagers (grains) wander, steered by electric fingers and touch.
Following the work of Thomas de Quincey, The Dark Interpreter re-casts the contemporary noise instrument as a "dark symbolic mirror", placing control of parameters on the skin, and strapping a psyche/plague village interface to the head. This is modern live coding with no screen, no keyboard and little conscious control.
The Dark Interpreter thus seeks to return all contagious execution to the skin, rewriting the history of technology as a plague which has always attempted to shift that site into the earth itself.
Details
The truth I heard often in sleep from the lips of the Dark Interpreter. Who is he? He is a shadow, reader, but a shadow with whom you must suffer me to make you acquainted.
[Thomas de Quincey. The Dark Interpreter]
The Dark Interpreter operates as contagious sample or village granulator, distortion, and unique sound generator based on a speedy ARM processor allowing for 16 bit sampling at 48KHz, and with a sample memory of around one second (vastly extended by undersampling).
The Dark Interpreter is delivered in three versions, all fully assembled and tested, and features high quality ALPS potentiometers, optional BOSS style 9v power socket (+9v/positive on the outside, negative centre, minimum 300mA) or battery clip, and now full size (6.5mm) Neutrik
JACK input and output sockets. Please note that versions cannot be extended, they are not cross-compatible.The three versions are:
1-The eldest of the three is named Mater Lachrymarum, Our Lady of Tears.
The simplest Dark Interpreter consisting of one digital base board for solely digital processing and generation. Order with 9v socket (default) and/or battery clip on the back (please specify). Some skin control and entry. Mater Lachrymarum is recommended for complex granular sampling and is particularly suited for vocal re-processing.
2-The second Sister is called Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs.
The second Dark Interpreter consists of one digital/analogue base board (same as the above but fully populated board) with digital processing and generation extended by symmetrical custom filters, distortion, and switchable feedback paths. Order with 9v socket (default) or battery clip on the back (please specify). Some skin control and code entry. Mater Suspiriorum is recommended for harsh noise with relinquished control.
Permanently sold out.
3-But the third Sister […] her name is Mater Tenebrarum,—Our Lady of Darkness.
This two-tiered Interpreter (The Black Stack) extends the Mater Suspiriorum with an algorithmically-designed, gold-plated skin breakout board and skin/EEG amplifier (strap it to the head, stick it in the earth, pull it across the skin, into the body). All signal paths and settings are accessible to the skin for complex hand re-routing, and feedback. Of course the device can be used without any wished skin transfer. Tenebrarum ships with 9v socket (not recommended for safety reasons) and battery clip on the back. Mater Tenebrarum presents the ultimate in harsh noise/granular processing with divined control. Tenebrarum is recommended for experienced dark interpreters.
Permanently sold out.
