Data-bending is the quite cool technique of converting data of one file type into audio. Mentioned in a recent interview with Djrum, the technique is much older, with its roots in circuit-bending. As it turns out, Audacity is the go-to tool for importing any file into raw audio waveforms, and Gimp’s fractal tools work well for generating this kind of patterned data.
While Vast Databending was originally intended to be longer than a single track, Audacity’s destructive workflow makes it very hard to make self-documenting project files with. That fully-open-stack is a key value, and so the “album” was quickly wrapped up.
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_software: Audacity, Gimp
_download: MegasunHorizon.wav
_license: CC0 / Public Domain