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Darwin Grosse

image.png

KamranV (aka CyKiK) is an engineer/producer/entrepreneur with a twist – he loves to create immersive recordings, and has embraced quad mixing with a passion. He is part of the team that is working on QUARK – the Quadraphonic Universally Accessible Resource Kit – which provides audio tools for encoding, decoding and working with four-channel spatial recordings that can be distributed through two-channel formats.

In this interview, I chat with Kamran to learn more about his interest in surround mixing, how the tools work, and how to use them in your various audio toolchains.

Kamran, let’s start by having you explain the QUARK tools. These are plug-ins, right?

 is a plug-in used to encode four channels of discrete audio into two channels (standard stereo) audio then decoded back to four channels again. Mac AU, AAX, VST3 versions are currently available. AU is what works in Ableton Live.

 in North Carolina. In collaboration with the non-profit 

 and were not only able to make the plug-in but have also been able to build creative and educational opportunities around quadraphonic music.

A overview of how to set up Ableton Live for Quadraphonic music creation and rendering with the Quadraphonic Universally Accessible Resource Kit (QUARK). //shortcut links below//

00:00 - Intro
02:38 - Hardware Setup.
06:13 - Ableton Live Demo Intro.
06:35 - How Spacial panning works in Live.
07:57 - Return Track set up. Using a return for headphones.
08:57 - Add 3 Tracks for QUARK processing and quad routing.
11:49 - Using Operator to test Audio through your new signal path.
12:15 - Adding Audio Routes Panner to tracks.
13:54 - Add musically timed panning rotations with LFO.
14:59 - Adding audio to the session.
15:37 - Adding Effects (in front of the Panner!).
16:03 - Soloing (Adding the Solo Safe plugin).
16:34 - Groups (Adding Audio Routes Audio Matrix).
18:03 - Soling Groups. There is a bit of a trick to it.
18:45 - Group Effects. No, it doesn't work.
19:51 - Using the QUARK plugin.
20:25 - QUARK Encode Mode to put on Vinyl, YouTube, Spotify, etc.
22:19 - QUARK Decode Mode to listen to other people's Quad music.
22:42 - QUARK Encode/Decode Mode to preview what listeners will hear at home.
23:34 - demo of how tones route differently in QUARK (How the math works).
24:34 - Rendering your Quad Audio.
24:58 - Rendering your 4-Channel Master.
26:40 - Rendering your 2-Channel QUARK Encoded Master.
28:05 - Mixer Automations. There is a bug!
28:57 - Make a short cut to switch QUARK Modes.

Downloads:
QUARK - http://QUARK.CyKiK.com
Ableton Live v10+ - https://www.ableton.com/en/trial/
Audio Routes - https://maxforlive.com/library/device/5830/audio-routes
Solo Safe - https://maxforlive.com/library/device/3447/solo-safe
Contact - http://CyKiK.com/whois

QUARK Logo by: Jeremiah Chiu + KamranV

How to QUARK (in Ableton Live)

In Ableton Live, QUARK sits on an Audio Track, taking in four channels of audio from any other tracks in the session via the 

 panner. The plug-in passes the mixed four channels of audio into two other Audio Tracks acting as a front and rear bus for monitoring and bus processing. The QUARK plug-in itself passively passes the four channels of audio to the bus tracks or actively processes the four channels down to two channels (Encode mode) or down to two and back again to four (Encode->Decode mode). This allows the musician/producer/engineer to preview and make decisions on their work as they go.

If folks are planning on doing mastering, I typically encourage the final encoding to happen as a part of that process but for those self-mastering, you can use QUARK to render a final 2 channel, QUARK-encoded master for distribution of four-channel spatial recordings via widely accessible two-channel formats such as vinyl, radio, streaming video such as YouTube and music services such as iTunes and Spotify.

One of the things that has haunted a lot of surround mixing in the past was the difficulty in distributing the result: streaming services, standard CD’s and over-the-air transmission are all two-channel (at best). How does QUARK handle the distribution side, and how well does it support both two-channel and four-channel playback?

Yes, in my opinion this very issue is what seems to always kill spatial music becoming mainstream. 

Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, MPEG-H, ADM, Ambisonics and all the rest are very powerful new formats attempting again to bring spatial music to reality, however the cost and complexity of utilizing these tools is still very high. However for quad, you only need a couple extra speakers and two extra outputs from your audio interface. Most people already have that.

The math that we use for QUARK faded away in the 70s and went into the public domain. What most people don’t know is that it reappeared, slightly modified around 2001 as Dolby Pro Logic II (DLPII). It’s similar enough that when you listen to QUARK/QS encoded music through a receiver or even a TV with a DLPII chip in it into something like sonos, it sounds pretty accurate.

As a producer, it’s quite discouraging when you make something that no one can listen to… or to finish a track then have to remix it all for some obscure format. With the way QUARK works, there is no need to make a separate stereo mix and quad/spatial mix. They are one and the same. Maybe think of it the same way you’d want to test a mix in mono, on headphones or via computer speakers;  same mix with people just listening in different ways. 

When you were first introduced to me, it was hot on the heels of Suzanne Ciani’s LIVE Quadraphonic album which was really well received. This seems like a natural place to use quad mixing since Suzanne is really dedicated to surround mixing in her live performances. How did you work together in bringing this experience to the recording?

I started down what became the QUARK path around 2016 when I met Suzanne Ciani. When I was working on Moogfest we had some satellite events in different cities in celebration of the forthcoming festival. One of those was a concert in San Francisco at Gray Area. We invited Suzanne to perform her first solo synth performance in over 40 years. 

Fortunately we recorded the show and since I had experience producing DVD-Audio and SACD releases when I worked at Interscope records, I became curious: How is it that Suzanne Ciani who was performing in quad since the late 60’s on her Buchla 200 synth could have never released a quad release? My wheels were turning and I did research.

I met with the legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman to get his perspective. He mastered the quad of the 1970s. I spoke with a software engineer in France who made 

for audiophile collectors to digitize and convert their old quad music. Through the web forum 

, I eventually spoke with some quadraphonic collectors named “Quad” Bob Herndon, Odaka Shuichi  based in Japan who connected me with a company in Australia called 

 who was actually making new quadraphonic hardware with their modern take on the encode/decode math that the Japanese company Sansui made in the 70s called QS or Regular Matrix. 

Once I had the research and tools in place, I worked closely with Suzanne and all of these people to make the album possible. It was an incredible experience and what I learned is that doing this was more difficult than it should be. 

Suzanne is one of the most innovative artists that I have ever worked with. If there was ever a person to bring quad (and spatial music in general) to the masses, it is Suzanne. I’m really just a fortunate partner here to connect the dots of the vision she, Don Buchla, and others laid out so long ago.

As someone fascinated with physical music formats and HiFi oddities - it's been a privilege to receive a copy of the first new Quadraphonic Vinyl release in over thirty years. 
With this limited edition set there’s no need to go hunting on ebay for a matching and functioning forty plus year old quad decoder as there’s a brand new one included inside the box. 

LINKS:
Available to buy from here: http://www.cykik.com/quad/ciani
Wired Article: https://www.wired.com/story/suzanne-ciani-live-quadraphonic
Interview with the Record Producer KamranV : https://synthesemontreal.com/2018/06/15/interview-with-kamranv/
Prosound News Article: https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/recording/the-unlikely-return-of-quadraphonic-vinyl
Suzanne Ciani:
Website: https://www.sevwave.com/bio
Documentary http://www.alifeinwaves.com
Live Concert: https://youtu.be/Ol6So6dgQUM
Presentation: https://youtu.be/CFD72PXOmxA


Note - This is not a paid promotion, no money has changed hands.  None of these links are affiliated.  Thanks to KamranV for sending me the free copy of this extraordinary release and I wish him the best of luck in bringing out more quad vinyl records in the future.

_________________________________
Playlist of comedy outros: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN2yCnHTG_6rlyYFpwUX2u0m_HVHpHO0F
________________________________

Clothing from Joe Browns: https://bit.ly/2JpMFk7 (Affiliated Link)

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-------THANKS TO -------
Jerobeam Fenderson for the intro animation: http://oscilloscopemusic.com/

----------Outro Music-----------
Over Time - Vibe Tracks https://youtu.be/VSSswVZSgJw

------Outro Sound Effect------
ThatSFXGuy - https://youtu.be/5M3-ZV5-QDM

Playing the first new Quadraphonic Vinyl Record in over 30 years

What other production work have you done using the QUARK tools?

I’m finishing a quadraphonic record with 

. I met him via Suzanne, and he’s an underappreciated inspiration. He taught Herbie Hancock about synths in the 70s! I’m so excited about this record.

I have another project coming out called decades (in space). It’s ten songs by twenty artists, because in celebration of my studio Bedrock.LA’s 10th anniversary and the non-profit artists institution dublab’s 20th. All of the proceeds are to benefit dublab with the artists, myself and others contributing our work. Dntel and Mia Doi Todd did one. Drum & Lace and Jeff Parker (of Tortoise) did one. Daedalus and Molly Lewis (World Champion Whistler)... all completely original compositions… in QUAD!

Quad (and surround) production has a crazy history. What was the first thing that you heard in surround? And how did that influence you and your production process?

When I was a kid, you’d have your A&B speakers on your receiver, and I remember borrowing my brother’s or my parents’ speakers to have 2 speakers on each channel. Later on, I got a boombox and would route that to the other channels to create a pseudo-surround experience. It wasn’t really any sort of real surround sound, but these early experiments allowed me to perceive sound in a new way and get my brain exploring the possibilities.

My first proper surround experience was through my neighbor Ron Smith who had a real surround sound receiver, playing a scene from his Top Gun VHS… and being from Oklahoma, I also was inspired by the Flaming Lips parking lot experiments leading to Zaireeka. All of just simply blew my mind.

Years later, I was able to produce some surround sound records with Nine Inch Nails, Beck, Sting, and others while working at Interscope and started to research quadraphonic releases of the 1970s. Before then, I’d always known that quad records and eight tracks existed but never really tangibly thought of it. I’m sure that’s what many people think of quad today; some old format from the 1970s.

It was during my time doing Moogfest though where I had an epiphany while on a trip to Athens, Georgia. I was traveling with a friend who I was working with at Moogfest, and one of his close friends had just passed. I had a really crazy, emotional experience listening to the sounds while watching my friend mourn, and all of a sudden something Suzanne told me clicked. She said, “Quad is musical.” My life experience combined with this inspiration showed me the way forward and how this old format could build a bridge for anyone to make music in space. In summary: it needed to be simple.

For people that want use the QUARK toolkit, how would they get started?

 that I made specifically gives a step by step on how to use QUARK in Ableton Live.

You can learn more about KamranV's background and his Quad mixing work from his Art + Music + Technology podcast, found 

Quad_In_Action.png

KamranV (aka CyKiK) is an engineer/producer/entrepreneur with a twist – he loves to create immersive recordings, and has embraced quad mixing with a passion. He is part of the team that is working on QUARK – the Quadraphonic Universally Accessible Resource Kit – which provides audio tools for encoding, decoding and working with four-channel spatial recordings that can be distributed through two-channel formats. I sat down with Kamran to learn more.

talking-quad-an-interview-with-kamranv

Talking Quad: An Interview with KamranV

Gregory Taylor

Like many of you, one of the things I've missed during the pandemic and lockdown was the chance to get together with friends and make some noise. There aren't a lot of tools out there if you're interested in low-latency network jamming, so it's a topic of conversation that I often find myself in the midst of, and one of those places where folks are on the lookout for new options. One of those newer options out there came to my attention — the work of Miller Puckette, who requires no introduction. I figure that anything Miller turned his attention to deserved a looksee, so I checked out a presentation by Miller for Brad Garton's sound seminar at Columbia University. Owing to the lockdown, the Zoom presentation was recorded, so you can check it out, too.

g6610, week10 class, fall 2020 (Sound: Advanced Topics)
Special guests Miller Puckette and Damon Holzborn talked about the "Quacktrip/Quaxtrip" software that enables real-time interactive performance on the web

g6610, week11 class, fall 2020 (Sound: Advanced Topics)

Damon Holzborn was involved in the presentation, too. You probably know of his work on George Lewis' Voyager project. (

I interviewed George and Damon together on the software and its life as a Max patch

. You might find it interesting.) And Damon was involved in creating a Max-centered version of the project, so I figured he'd be the perfect person to ask about the project....

I was complaining to someone recently about the fact that I miss being able to play across the 'net with friends and bandmates while we're all locked down (the last thing anyone in the world wants to see me doing is bobbing my head and appearing to read email as an online performance), and my friend said, "Man. You have to check out this..." Um... is it Quack strip?

 is a set of Max patches that makes low-latency uncompressed audio and messaging interconnections over the internet, intended for musicians wishing to play together remotely. Quaxtrip runs Miller Puckette’s Quacktrip Pure Data patch within Max.

Quacktrip, in turn, is an implementation, in Pure Data, of Chris Chafe’s JackTrip network protocol, based on jacktrip.pd by Roman Haefeli and Johannes Schuett. It establishes a low-latency, point-to-point connection between two sites, with no audio compression.

Quaxtrip allows up to four of these connections, allowing an ensemble of up to five players at once. In addition to audio signals, you can send messages (e.g. OSC) to the ensemble as well.

If you’re familiar with Quacktrip for Pd, Quaxtrip works more or less the same, just with a Max coat of paint and a few extras. In fact, since it’s actually running Quacktrip (though hidden in the background) through the 

 object, it’s even compatible, so you can have one peer running Quacktrip in Pd that is streaming to/from another peer running Quaxtrip in Max.

Quacktrip/Quaxtrip simplifies the process of streaming in a couple of ways.

Is it intended for situations where I'm playing with one other person, or can I reconvene PGT (my two laptop/mandolin trio) with this?

Theoretically, there’s no limit to the number of players who can connect through Quacktrip/Quaxtrip, but due to bandwidth limitations, particularly upload speeds, the practical number of players is a smallish, finite, number. In Quaxtrip, I decided that 5 players max was a good compromise that should work for most people who have a decent internet connection. Much more than that I felt too many people were likely to run into problems. However, if you’d like to experiment with a larger ensemble, modifying Quaxtrip to add more channels is just a matter of duplicating the remote channel bpatcher and changing incrementing its channel number in the arguments.

Those wishing to play with larger ensembles should check out Miller Puckette’s related projects 

. I don’t currently have plans to port those apps to Max, but I may look into it at some point.

Whoa. This sounds pretty cool. Where do I download the Max stuff?

. There I give the rundown of the requirements and provide download links. If you have any questions or comments about the project, that would be the best place to leave them.

Quaxtrip is an open source project (MIT license) that lives at GitHub. If you’d prefer, you could just go 

Do I need to install anything else to do this? I need to install Pd on the machine I want to work on, right?

Once you’ve downloaded Quaxtrip, the manual includes step-by-step installation instructions. In short, in addition to Max, you’ll need to install 

 object that lets you run Pd patches from within Max). The first time that Quaxtrip runs you’ll be presented with a dialog box instructing you to locate the Pd app so the patch knows where to find it, but after Pd is located Quaxtrip will remember.

Does it require any driver stuff or other exotic software?

What kinds of challenges did you face doing the Max version?

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