Scape Radio

Each Scape has a corresponding SoundScape — a 64-second piece of algorithmically generated, looping music, created by Ben Cronin. Scape Radio is the continuous listening experience of those 10,000 tracks.

The integration of sound and music adds a new dimension to the collection. Listen for different elements of your Scapes and how they come together to form your SoundScape.

Artist Bio

Ben Cronin (pka BXB) is a multidisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn. He currently makes electronic music as Gilligan Moss and has played all over the world, touring with Glass Animals, Odesza, Elderbrook, The Knocks and Toro Y Moi.

Artist Statement

When I first discovered Scapes, I was captivated by the depth of meaning that was conveyed by so few pixels. The more I explored the collection, the deeper I wanted to go- it was like discovering a common language between thousands of different worlds.

I wanted to describe those worlds with music, and create a common sonic identity they could share. I also wanted to honor the on-chain assembly of all the traits, and give up a sense of creative control. Instead of composing full pieces I created 108 individual loops that represented each visual trait of Scapes. Using the magic of code, Jalil assembled those traits into 10,000 SoundScapes which mirror the original collection. Each visual Scape has a corresponding SoundScape.

Stylistically, I wanted to draw a bit from the canon of chip-tune music, while incorporating other electronic music styles. Scapes are pixelated, but they also communicate an optimistic vision of the future that feels ambitious. I made sure the SoundScapes retained an optimistic 'human' quality- using samples from recorded music and field recordings.

ScapeRadio is the continuous experience of SoundScapes. Listeners can turn it on and use it to meditate, study, work- or they can become a participant in the collection by listening for specific traits. The music and visual elements are in conversation with one another, and they each serve to make the experience of Scapes more dynamic.

My hope is that the music is fun as a listening experience first and foremost. I also hope listeners feel more connected to the visual collection, and become awake to the harmony of their algorithmic assembly. Some sound better than others and the same is true for the NFT collection. Jalil did not construct each Scape by hand, nor did I create any of the specific SoundScapes, but they live together as a full collection.

– Ben

Trait Legend

Each visual trait of Scapes maps to a specific musical element:

Atmosphere

Magical 8-bit Synthesizer, Operator, Analog Lab V

The only trait that appears in 100% of all Scapes. Atmospheres are chord progressions played by various synthesizers. The color of the atmosphere determines the mood and progressions — darker atmospheres result in darker, more complex progressions. All progressions were written in or close to the key of D.

Sky

808, 909, Drum Samples

The sky trait looks a lot like MIDI drum patterns, so the sky is represented by the drum track. Each loop is composed as a 32-bar loop, with an arrangement that opens at measure 16, exploring different drum styles and patterns throughout the trait category.

Celestial

Operator, Magical 8-bit Synthesizer, Analog Lab

Celestial traits are dominant melodies, occurring in 73% of Scapes. Synthesizers were chosen for sympathetic energy with the celestial objects, and melodies reflect the feeling of the time of day. Reverb pushes them spatially toward the back of the listeners' field, because that's where they reside in the Scape.

City

Tal Bassline-101, Analog Lab V

Cities are frenetic, so synth sequences represent that quality. Composed using different step-sequencing techniques, they become more "awake" depending on the state of the city.

Planets

Tal Bassline-101

Planets are the ground we walk on, so they were composed as basslines in the spirit of krautrock — hypnotic meditations. Simple and unobtrusive, but texturally interesting. A solid foundation was important for the SoundScapes, but if the basslines were too busy they stepped on the toes of other traits.

Fluid

Audio Samples, Field Recordings

An obvious trait. Recordings of bodies of water from real places — "Lake" is a recording of Lake Superior in Minnesota, "Ocean" is recorded at the beach in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Topology

Analog Lab V

Pads (ambient chords) appearing in the second half of each SoundScape.

Landscape

Piano Samples

Various chopped piano samples adding warmth and organic texture to the collection. They appear two bars at a time from measure 11 to measure 25.

Surface

Samples run through SoundToys Effect Rack

All surfaces are samples, appearing every four bars in the second half of the SoundScape. Thrown through an effect rack with heavy reverb and echo — synth and vocal fragments chosen to communicate energy and mystery.

Animals

Oberheim SEM Synthesizer

Mystical, whimsical synth patches that move throughout the SoundScape. The synthesizers feel alive and expressive.

Building

Oberheim SEM, TAL-101 Bassline

Atmospheric sound effects appearing at measures 9 and 25. Each contains characteristics of the building type: houses ring doorbells, each level of a mansion adds a voice — level one is solo, level five is a full choir chord. Hut is a recording of a tent zipper.

Cars

SFX

Car sound effects recorded directly from the source.

Monuments

Various SFX, Tal Bassline-101, Operator

Sound effects appearing throughout the SoundScape. Coins appear at the beginning and 16th bars, while other monuments appear at the 5th and 20th measures.

Portals

SFX

Sound effects from various synthesizers, appearing at the beginning and halfway point of each SoundScape.

Rocketry

Samples

Launch sequences and flight path sound effects.

Trees

Field Recordings, SFX

Wind sound effects and wind chimes at the beginning of each SoundScape. Each tree determines the wind chime material and melody. Palm tree is a steel guitar, oasis is a steel drum.