FNORD ( fabulous noises )

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FN0RD (Fabulous Noises) is an acoustic puzzle inspired by pathological science, fictional elements,  and discredited substances. Every of 22 parts the piece consist of, has been composed in close relation to chosen element or phenomena. In doing so, all the borders between real and fictional were despised. So the physical elements from the Futurama or Discworld universes (just to name a few) meet superseded and pathological scientific theories.

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p.s.1 _ The word Fnord is the typographic representation of irrelevant information or disinformation. It was coined as a nonsensical term in the Discordian text “Principia Discordia” (1975) and popularized by satirical conspiracy  fiction novels by Robert Shea and Robert Anton.

Fnord is an intersection between satire, radical absurdity and popular culture. In the novels by Shea and Anton fnord has a hypnotic power over the unenlightened. Whereas “to see the fnords” means to read between the lines. In the computer circles fnord has been used to indicate a random or surreal sentence. The term is also often used by hackers and programmers as a metasyntactic variable or a placeholder name. Moreover, fnord has been in use in different contexts related to the Church of the Sub-Genius.

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In relation to the classical theory of information, fnord can be understood as a noise inside a communication channel, which can block or interfere with the meanings of a message, but is still considered to be information.

p.s.2 _ Discordianism is a parody religion which is based on the worship of Eris (also known as Discordia), the Greco-Roman goddess of strife. Discordians use subversive humor to spread its philosophy and to prevent their beliefs from becoming dogmatic. Discordianism can be understood as Zen of the information era.

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p.s.3 _ The Church of the Sub-Genius is a parody religion that  satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, UFO’s and various pop-cultural artifacts. According to its “mythological” origins, the Church of the Sub-Genius has been founded in the 1950’s by J.R. “Bob” Dobbs, who is depicted as a cartoon man smoking a pipe filled with a mysterious substance known as Habafropzipulops.

The 22 Parts are:

“Habafropzipulops” // “Mindprobes” // “Electromatter” // “Jumbonium” // “Collapsed Matter” // “Miasma” // “Minovski Particles” // “Boing!” // “Nintendium” // “Phlogiston” // “Tachyon” // “Bombastium” // “2, 4, 5 Trioxin” // “Bolonium” // “Chemical X” // “ Erototoxins” // “Kryptonite” // “E-Z Doze It Sleeping Pills” // “Cavorite” // “Coronium” // “Solarbonite” // Narrativium” // (for detailed description please see: http://issuu.com/damianmarhulets/docs/fnord_documentation)

 

Software Used:

The main soundsource for this piece were samples created with Genesis (Acroe, Grenoble), supported by NI Reaktor ensembles and some weird field recordings. Both Reaktor and Ableton Live were used for soundprocessing and postproduction. The sound spatialization has been done with Zirkonium (ZKM, Karlsruhe) controlled via OSC messages  from MaxMSP.