Earslap
earslap.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2011
Earslap is a developer and musician who builds generative music tools like Otomata and wrote a recreation of the THX Deep Note.
What HN saysCommenters like Otomata, a cellular automaton sequencer, for its simple mechanics and good design, and share their own patterns. The THX Deep Note post gets cited too.
34HN people shared it
25linked it in comments
10stories submitted
694story points
1 year agolast shared
2011people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Recreating the THX Deep Note (2009)7 people · 201 points · first shared 2015 · 24 comments on HN
- 2Recreating the THX Deep Note3 people · 173 points · first shared 2012 · 27 comments on HN
- 3Otomata3 people · first shared 2017
- 4Cellular Automaton Music Generator2 people · 299 points · first shared 2011 · 51 comments on HN
- 5Circuli: A game like ambient music generator1 people · 19 points · first shared 2012 · 2 comments on HN
- 6Otomata – Online Generative Music Instrument1 people · 2 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 7Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 8Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 9Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 10Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 11Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 12Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 13Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 14Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
- 15Otomata1 people · first shared 2011
What HN people wrote when they linked it
paulgerhardt · 2012-05-27
If we're going about reinventing the wheel see this excellent post from your forebearers: http://www.earslap.com/instruction/recreating-the-thx-deep-note
And discussion from a few years ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=725564
Don't miss their Deep Note SuperCollider one-liner at the end: "play{Mix({|k|k=k+1/2;2/kMix({|i|i=i+1;Blip.ar(iXLine.kr(rand(2e2,4e2),87+LFNoise2.k"
adriand · 2011-04-17
That one is excellent - visually as well as auditorily pleasing.
In terms of interesting evolution I keep coming back to this one I just sort of randomly put together: http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata?q=04046g043q515p3j132x647t
bgraves · 2011-04-16
This is a really great project!
Here's one that I made:
http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata?q=1n204g7b7b6x6q4u
renewiltord · 2025-09-11
There was a cellular automata music sequencer once that I enjoyed. https://earslap.com/page/otomata.html
Needs flash or iOS. Simple mechanics but lots of fun music. Good design.
interglossa · 2024-06-20
I am surprised no one mentioned otomata: https://earslap.com/page/otomata.html
thruway516 · 2023-09-09
Creator has a nice writeup here:
https://earslap.com/article/the-browser-sound-engine-behind-touch-pian…
capableweb · 2023-09-03
> You know, I told you about how it took 20000 lines of C code to generate the original piece. I’m pretty sure Dr. Moorer had to create almost everything by hand so that is not very awkward. But you know, we’ve been sctweeting for some time, trying to fill stuff into 140 characters of code. So for the fun of it, I tried to replicate the essential elements of the composition in 140 characters of code. I think it still sounds cool, here is the code (this one uses an F/E fundamental):
> play
{Mix(
{|k|k=k+1/2;2/kMix(
{|i|i=i+1;Blip.ar(iXLine.kr(rand(2e2,4e2),87+LFNoise2.kr(2)k,15),2,1/(i/a=XLine.kr(0.3,1,9))/9)}!9)}!40)!2a}
> http://earslap.com/assets/thxdeepsound/soundtweet.mp3
Absolutely crazy how people can fit all these things into these short snippets of code. The demo scene impresses me equally in this.
AceJohnny2 · 2023-09-02
Supercollider! Haven't heard that in a long time. This 2009 article on recreating the THX sound with Supercollider sticks with me:
https://earslap.com/article/recreating-the-thx-deep-note.html
CaliforniaKarl · 2019-09-04
For comparison, here is a YouTube video compiling the different THX trailers from 1983 to 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvFN-ARxvjM
And a link to the Earslap page on recreating the Deep Note: http://earslap.com/article/recreating-the-thx-deep-note.html (2009)
… which was covered here in 2014: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7537674
… and again, almost exactly one year ago! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18078239
viach · 2017-05-09
It reminds me "Generative Music Otomata" http://www.earslap.com/page/otomata.html
woodchuck64 · 2012-05-27
Since only half the links work, here is Deep Note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYMpMcmpfkI
and here is work on recreating it with SuperCollider: http://www.earslap.com/instruction/recreating-the-thx-deep-note
jordandanford · 2011-07-25
Here's a neat example of Flash integration, and it's cool in its own right: http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata
simcop2387 · 2011-04-18
http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata?q=0q0q8r8r888807071t1t7y7y2…
another interesting one visually and acoustically
boredguy8 · 2011-04-17
http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=8g804u08022p4q4s
I like this one because the two left-right components switch the period of the beat on the 5th and 9th rows (themselves also alternating pitch and period) while not breaking the base beat.
I do with the "make link" would let you 'bookmark' a phase: the way it started out went through some cool sequences before stabilizing into this.
scythe · 2011-04-17
A surprisingly short loop:
http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=3z3o43503s
and some lame attempt at "chaos":
http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1h4o2n
(though of course these are just finite state machines and they all loop eventually)
peregrine · 2011-04-17
http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=2e3e4e5e6e7u8s8h8z8b81756656… Making things not only auditory appealing but visually appealing also. This one has some interesting patterns.
Stormbringer · 2011-04-17
On my setup it sounds better if I don't have too many notes going off on the same beat. Try:
http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=0o1l2a3t584x6v72
to see what I mean
deathbob · 2011-04-17
What a beautiful and fun idea.
Here's one I did that develops really nicely.
http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata?q=062m4l6s8q2p610q86
evolvingstuff · 2011-04-16
This is quite fun to play around with! Many of the other CA-based music generators I've seen have sounded rather atonal and random compared to this one. Here's one I made using symmetric initial conditions (doing this makes for somewhat interesting visual patterns as well): http://www.earslap.com/projectslab/otomata?q=0q1q2q3q8w8y8p8f887868580…
Flow · 2011-04-16
This was very interesting, look what I made after 5 mins of tinkering: http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=06020n0j89796949
drstrangevibes · 2011-04-17
bhrgunatha · 2011-04-17
If the grid is numbered
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 ...
I had to investigate the primes
Primes less than 20
all up: http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1q2q4q6q1t3t7t
all right: http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1w2w4w6w1y3y7y
all left: http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1r2r4r6r1i3i7i
all primes up : http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1q2q4q6q1t3t7t0o4o1d3d0j4j6j…
all right : http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1w2w4w6w1y3y7y0p4p1f3f0k4k6k…
all down : http://earslap.com/projectslab/otomata/?q=1e2e4e6e1u3u7u0a4a1g3g0l4l6l…
So many ideas... there goes my Sunday afternoon...