fLOW is a DSP computer program running on Apple Macintosh G3 machines. It generates an ever-changing and never repeating soundscape in real time that fills the space with flooding sounds that resemble - metaphorically - the timbres of water, fire, earth, and air.
Originally, this soundscape formed the basis of the site-specific work-in-progress fLOW that was carried out in numerous steps and took place in various location with changing musicians from different fields like New Music, experimental jazz, free improvisation and New Electronic Music. For each performance, the soundscape was interpreted and commented by live-musicians. Each realisation was developed for the specific place, taking into account its individual socio-cultural context. Besides music and sound, such a realisation could also include light installations, film projections, performance aspects, elaborated time scores and computer-generated Playing Strategies (http://www.essl.at/works/playing-strategies.html)
Shareware registration
fLOW 2.0 is released as shareware. Please register your copy to ensure the further development of this program. You can purchase a registration code for $ 15.00 online from KAGI:
http://order.kagi.com/?5BM
Double-clicking on the "Register online with KAGI" file in the distribution folder will automatically start Netscape and open this URL.
Only registered users can record the output to disk and include their own sound material.
System requirements
• Apple PowerPC G3 with at least 16 MB of free RAM
• MacOS 8.6 or better (9.1 recommended)
• Currently fLOW only works with the built-in sound hardware of your Apple Macintosh computer using the SoundManager. ASIO drivers or external hardware is not supported. If you have such gear, it is recommended to start your computer with all system extensions off (by pressing the shift-key during startup) so that there will not be a system extension conflict. In fact, fLOW does not require any system extension, only the SoundManager that is already included in the Mac OS.
Quick intro
• Double-click the file fLOW_2.0 to load the program.
• The soundscape will start automatically. You can stop and restart it by selecting "stop" resp. "start" in the pull-down menu on the main screen.
• The program will run entirely on its own. By selecting change in the pull-down menu the program will use a different selection of its basic material.
• As a registered user, you can replace the four built-in basic sounds ("water", "fire", "earth", "air") with your own material. Just go to the "Samples" menu and select your 16 bit uncompressed AIFF files. Please note that the program uses only mono files; if your sounds are stereo, only the left channel will be used. Due to memory limitations, the sound files should not exceed 60 seconds. However, if you really wish to use longer samplers, you must increase the memory partition of the program: In the Finder, select fLOW_2.0 and press <command-I>. A dialog box opens, where you can set the desired memory partition.
• Registered users can also record the output to disk. Go to the "Record" menu. First you have to locate a location on your hard disk where the sound file (by default it is named "snd.aif") will be recorded. Then select "start" to begin the recording, and "stop" to finish it.
Further information
More informations on this project at its numerous ramifications can be retrieved from the World-Wide Web:
http://www.essl.at/works/flow.html
Contact
Please report any bugs, problems or questions to:
Dr. Karlheinz Essl
mailto:essl@eunet.at
http://www.essl.at
An der Donau-Au 1
A-3400 Klosterneuburg
Austria / Europe
History
1.1 light (released 22 Jul 1999)
first public release
1.2 light (released 3 Mar 2001)
fixed a problem that could have occured under OS 9.1 and which would have resulted in system crashes in some rare cases
LED display (level meter) added
several improvements
minor bug fixes
2.0 (released 1 Aug 2001 as shareware)
completely rewritten user interface
numerous internal improvments
new effect processors added
registered users can change the sound material and save the output as an AIFF file to disk
Copyright
This software is copyrighted by Karlheinz Essl. The following terms apply to all files associated with the software unless explicitly disclaimed in individual files.
The authors hereby grant permission to use, copy, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that existing README file containing this copyright notice is retained in all copies and that this notice is included verbatim in any distributions. This version only works fully functional with a registration code that is supplied as soon as the shareware fee has been paid.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR DISTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, ITS DOCUMENTATION, OR ANY DERIVATIVES THEREOF, EVEN IF THE AUTHORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
