Pairing real-time algorithmic visuals made in TouchDesigner by Mariah with live synthesized audio in Ableton by Andy, our work is a fully immersive, immediately responsive experience that lets the audience play an active role in the creation of unique audio-visual art and transforms spaces into dynamic captivating experiences.
Mariah Vicary is a generative artist and freelance web developer based out of Seattle, Washington. With a deep respect for the natural world and a profound appreciation for the power of technology, Mariah tries to integrate the two in the form of interactive real-time experiences. Each project is a unique journey, inviting you to involve yourself in the patterns, shapes, and colors of natural algorithms.
With a background in computer science and a love for visual surprises, her works are created through a process of experimentation and iteration, collaborating with technology to create interactions that are mesmerizing, thought-provoking and give the user the feeling of creating something unique every time they dive in.
Andy Skalet is a music producer, DJ, installation artist, and technologist. He has performed as Slope for many years and helped to create records with the minimal detroit label. In music production, he creates original patches and gathers field recordings, crafting sounds with a meticulous “from scratch” approach.
Through his installations, Andy invites participants to experience the joy and magic of sound creation firsthand.
Deeply inspired by the energy of the techno dance floor and the stillness of alpine landscapes, Andy channels these dual passions into immersive works that bridge the synthetic and the natural, the tactile and the transcendent.
TouchDesigner is what we use to build all the visuals. It’s a node-based programming environment where everything is generated live, nothing is pre-rendered. We build networks of noise functions, particle systems, feedback loops, and audio analysis kits that all talk to each other and respond to input in real time. It’s the reason our visuals can react to both the music and the audience simultaneously.
Ableton Live is where Andy builds and performs the audio. All the sounds are original, constructed from synthesized patches and processed field recordings. During a performance or installation, he’s manipulating and arranging everything live, so the music is always evolving and never plays the same way twice.
TDAbleton is the link between the two. It sends audio data from Ableton directly into TouchDesigner so the visuals are actually responding to real frequency and amplitude information from the music, not just reacting to overall volume. When you hear a bass hit, the visuals know it’s a bass hit. That connection is what makes the whole thing feel like one unified instrument instead of visuals playing alongside a soundtrack.