Misophonia
Interactive media
Design Brief:
To explore the expressive limits of sound design through the creation of an album in which each composition is developed using only a single, conventionally unpleasant sound. By manipulating, layering, and transforming this source material, the project investigates how perception, context, and technique can convert dissonance into musicality. The brief seeks to demonstrate the creative potential of sound design as a compositional tool, challenging conventional notions of harmony and pleasantness while revealing how constraint can generate rich and engaging auditory experiences.
Misophonia is a condition in which certain sounds trigger intense emotional and psychological responses that may appear disproportionate to the surrounding context. Drawing from this concept, MisophoniA is an LP consisting of nine tracks across varied genres, each composed entirely from sounds commonly perceived as intolerable or universally unpleasant. For each track, a single unpleasant sound is extensively manipulated and transformed into complex and unexpected sonic textures, challenging conventional boundaries of musicality and listener perception.
Inspired by the work of American composer John Cage, the project is grounded in the belief that all sounds possess the potential for harmony. Through constraint, experimentation, and sound design, MisophoniA repositions discomfort as a creative catalyst, inviting listeners to reconsider their assumptions about noise, music, and aesthetic value.
The concept of the project aimed to make listeners aware of the variety and range of sounds that we are constantly surrounded with and what we often find troublesome - can be music too, if you only listen closely. Every sound has a certain rhythm or melody which was really interesting to figure out.
All synthesizer sounds were made by using the particular sound and making wavetables from the soundwaves itself These were further post processed to create the sounds All the drums such as kicks, snares, claps and hi hats and crashes were made by either finding sounds that sounded like them or by finding the fundamental frequencies of each of these drums and cater post processed Most of the atmospheric sounds were made by stretching the samples and playing with pitch and reverb We wanted the sounds to be so different from the source material that it would make people question whether this was really possible We wanted to showcase how far you can take things in sound design just by using a single sound and open the ears of people to see from your ears and hear the music in your everyday life.
Some of the sounds being to create these songs include baby crying, Iphone alarm, A dry marker, styrofoam rubbing against itself, snoring, nails against black board, mosquito, chewing sounds.
These sounds were used to create songs from genres such as techno, moombah, trap, midtempo and more.
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