The Concentric Sampler (Floppy Disk Sampler – Part 2)

21.07.2022 - Composition Techniques / Devices / FloppyDisk / Music / PhD / Words

I presented my paper The Concentric Sampler: A musical instrument from a repurposed floppy disk drive at NIME2022. This presentation took place on 1st July 2022 and can been seen in the below video. You can access the paper here. The Concentric Sampler builds upon my work with the Floppy Disk Sampler, which has been documented previously in this blog.

Abstract:
This paper focuses on the redundancy and physicality of magnetic recording media as a defining factor in the design of a lo-fi audio device, the Concentric Sampler. A modified floppy disk drive (FDD) and additional circuitry enables the FDD to record to and playback audio from a 3.5” floppy disk. The Concentric Sampler is designed as an instrument for live performance and a tool for sonic manipulation, resulting in primitive looping and time-based granular synthesis. This paper explains the motivation and background of the Concentric Sampler, related applications and approaches, its technical realisation, and its musical possibilities. To conclude, the Concentric Sampler’s potential as an instrument and compositional tool is discussed alongside the future possibilities for development.