Borderlands -An Audiovisual Interface for Granular Synthesis

Borderlands is a new interface for composing and performing with granular synthesis. The software enables flexible, realtime improvisation and is designed to allow users to engage with sonic material on a fundamental level, breaking free of traditional paradigms for interaction with this technique. The user is envisioned as an organizer of sound, simultaneously assuming the roles of curator, performer, and listener. This paper places the software within the context of painterly interfaces and describes the user interaction design and synthesis methodology.