HALICA Manual

So, What is HALICA?

HALICA is a realtime particle-driven granular synthesizer, capable of manipulating live or sample-based audio. It features:

• Realtime physics simulation
• 6 unique audio effects
• Hand-tracking connectivity
• Advanced note-mode functionality
• Much more!

HALICA installation process:

• Head to Plugdata.org and download the latest stable version for your system
• Load Plugdata in your DAW (PlugdataFX for effects, and Plugdata for standalone)
• Open the "ProjectHalica.pd" file
• Have fun!

To get started with HALICA, load a sample and start moving the planets! Each orbit/bounce corresponds to a triggering of a grain (configurable in settings).

• Load a sample (or select Live Audio with PDFX)
• Move planets for different effects
• Mess about with effects, and have fun!

There are two modes for HALICA:

• Sample Mode
• Live-Audio Mode

When processing Live-Audio (when loaded up as an Effect Plugin), the LIVE icon will glow RED. In this mode, you control the maximum buffer length (up to 5 seconds).

Planets can have different parameters, all having controls over your sound:

• Mass - The heavier the planet, the stronger attractions will be. You can also emphasize the overall mass with "Orbit Strength"
• Heat - As a particle orbits a planet with temperature, it will slowly match that planet's temperature

There are a few effects mapped to the XY grid, and adding orbits to your planets creates huge variations in your final output:

• Planet Selection - Select a planet and adjust the X and Y accordingly
• Waveform Paths - Select between Sine, Saw, Triangle and Square paths for your planet to follow
• Speed & Amplitude - Adjust speed and amplitude to get more intense orbits

You can control both planet and particle temperature, controlling the final output of a sound. Cold particle grains will be sent down the blue effects chain, and hot particles will be sent down the orange effects chain:

• Cold Particles - Processed through the blue effects chain
• Hot Particles - Processed through the orange effects chain
• Temperature Transfer - Particles gradually adopt their orbiting planet's temperature

The main XY pad (Space) has a few tricks up its sleeve:

• Horizontal Movement - Moving particles left and right controls the panning of a signal
• Vertical Movement - Moving particles up and down alters their pitch (Pitch-snapping available in settings)
• Wall Collisions - When a particle hits a wall, it has the option of triggering a grain

Unlike other granular synthesizers, HALICA runs constantly, giving it a more "resampling" appeal rather than live instrument feel.

With Note Mode, you can feed new chords/notes for halica to play, which are added on-top of any pitch shifting effects

With the array, you can see all of the particles and their assigned midi-note (based on midi-input)/p>

• Array Drawing - Draw directly on the array to create custom pitch patterns (This gets weird)
• Pattern Creation - Create complex melodic and harmonic structures with Midi-Input
• Real-time Control - Modify patterns while the synthesizer is running

HALICA can receive input from a web-based hand tracker (powered by MediaPipe) which you can use for free at ewanbristow.com/hands.

Setup Process

• MIDI Bus Setup - Setup an internal MIDI-bus for your DAW to access
• MIDI Routing - Route any MIDI information from the internal MIDI bus to a MIDI-track, or direct to Plugdata

Hand Tracking Modes

• Moon Mode - Control the position of the first moon. Grip gesture controls the mass of the moon
• Solar Winds Mode - Push and pull all particles with a "force-like" feel. Super fun when paired with the XY pad

Resonant-orbits is a mode found in the settings - Each particle has a pair of resonant-bandpass filters that change as the particles move and orbit in space

Turn up the mix, the Q and listen to the bubbly sounds commense! (The faster the planet orbits, the more bubbles you get)

This is an effect you need to hear, we can't really visualise how this sounds...Just imagine bubbles

• Toggle - When turned on, the BPs are powered up - If not active, CPU is conserved
• Mix Control - Bring up the mix for a more exaggerated effect
• Auto-orbit - Hit the "Noise Orbit" button to automatically set the planets to randomly move around the canvas