No-Input Mixing from Raleigh, NC

There is no instrument quite like a no-input mixer, which to say: a mixer with no instrument going into it. That may sound like the end of the story, but it’s really just the beginning. By building sounds from feedback loops — that is, patching the mixer’s outputs back into itself — a no-input mixer, as in this extended live performance by Phonets, can create something from what might mistakenly be thought of as nothing.

In Phonet’s hands, it’s a carefully balanced progression of noise swells that edge slowly toward the abrasive, and combing discernible layers. Phonets says the results “are loosely inspired by plate tectonics, slow development, and the sense of being in a landscape,” and that the plan was “to play around with resonance and picking out harmonics from an underlying pitch set.”

If you’re interested in knowing more about no-input mixing, Phonets has a playlist of technique examples, including a basic overview of the process, how to use send/return, and deploying a small-size mixer.

More music from Phonets, who is based in Raleigh, North Carolina, at phonets.bandcamp.com.