Spectral Freeze & Blur
Freeze any input into a shimmering drone. Blur smears the spectrum over time. Both operate in the frequency domain, manipulating what you hear without changing when you hear it.
The Frequency Domain
Every sound can be described as a set of frequencies with amplitudes and phases. The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) converts audio between time and frequency. You've seen this in every spectrum display; now you'll manipulate it directly.
Freeze
Capture one moment's frequency content and hold it forever. The magnitudes (which frequencies are present) stay fixed. The phases (timing of each frequency) are randomized each frame. This creates the characteristic shimmering quality. The sound doesn't loop; it lives.
Blur
Instead of snapping to a new spectrum each frame, blend the old and new. High blur means the spectrum develops memory. Previous sounds linger, new sounds fade in slowly. Everything smears into a wash.
Try it: hit Freeze to capture the chord as a shimmering drone. Then raise Blur to smear the spectrum. Try switching to Mic and freezing your own voice.
References
- Wikipedia: Fast Fourier Transform, the algorithm behind spectral processing
- Wikipedia: Short-time Fourier Transform, windowed FFT for time-varying spectra
- Paul Nasca: PaulStretch, the classic spectral freeze/stretch tool