Chris Rolfe and MacPOD

[Barry Truax]

It is with a very heavy heart that I am reporting the sudden passing of our friend and colleague Chris Rolfe, a brilliant composer and software developer living here in Vancouver. He suffered a stroke last week, after a long battle with cancer.

 

Chris’s software work with us began with the multi-channel spatialization programs for the DM8 and AudioBox, as developed by Harmonic Functions in Burnaby, BC, which I and others used to create many multi-channel pieces from the 1990s up to about 2005, such as The Shaman Ascending which could never have been realized with such energy as his software allowed.

 

However, his MacPOD software for granular time stretching has had the greatest and most widespread impact, with its flexible interface and innovative amplitude-dependent stretch functions. His Third Monk Software (thirdmonk.com), founded in 1996, made this technique available to a wide range of users, and won a software award in the annual competition in Bourges, France, at a time when sample-based processing with a Mac seemed very difficult, if not impossible.

 

Last summer when I was working on the Tutorial for the Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, as part of the WSP Database, I was in contact with him again in connection with the video demo’s I was preparing for the use of MacPOD for granular time stretching. For his part, he was working on an improved version of the “classic” version of the program, one that allowed more flexible automated stretching, among other features.

 

In fact, despite his health issues, he completed version 3 of the program, and also managed to create a version that would run on not only the El Capitain OS, but also the problematic Catalina OS. I’ve used it on the former system, and a friend is reporting about Catalina.

 

The classic MacPOD is still available at thirdmonk.com, but his partner has allowed me to distribute copies not only of the classic software, but the new version 3 with a download link from the SFU repository:

https://vault.sfu.ca/index.php/s/jgARftXPkVtH9o7

 

I also want to bring to your attention Chris’ gorgeous 1992 8-channel composition Bronze Wound (where “wound” is how a string might be threaded on a spool, not an injury). It is one of the most beautiful granular type pieces I know of, and I think it would be a great honour to him and his contributions to the electroacoustic world if it were featured on concerts, once that becomes possible. Again, I have received permission to provide a download link of those files, so contact me if you are interested (tr...@sfu.ca).

 

In the meantime, there’s a lovely little ambient piece of his on the Third Monk site.

 

Barry

www.sfu.ca/~truax

[susan frykberg]

That is so very sad. I remember Chris so well. We were colleagues at SFU, I used his MacPOD  and we had pieces in the same concerts. The last time I e-emailed him was about five years ago, and it was so great to make contact again after so many years. 

I look forward to listening to those pieces you have highlighted Barry.

Also, do you know the details of his funeral, whether there is some way I can send condolences to his family etc.

Thanks Barry, 

Kind regards, Susan

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[Scott Wilson]

Yes, that’s terrible news! I remember Chris well from my SFU days. He was a real force to be reckoned with and right at the centre of the amazing creative community there. (Not only because of his programming work, needless to say!) He was generous with his time and I remember his very sound advice to me in my first explorations into multichannel composition. Still informs what I do (and teach) today!

I confess I’d totally lost touch with him though, and had no idea he was ill. Please pass on my condolences, Barry. Thanks for letting us know.

Scott

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[Darren Copeland]

Very sad to learn about Chris Rolfe. I remember well his pieces from the 90's - Bronze Wound and The Answer Which the Court Gives.

I worked with Chris in the lead up years to the founding of New Adventures in Sound Art when he developed ABcontrol software for the Richmond Sound Design Audiobox. It was a fantastic program and offered many features that had not been repeated elsewhere. It was used in NAISA presentations for probably a decade after it was developed. Chris was generous at adding features to it during the diffusion residencies  at the Western Front and Banff Centre in 1998 and 99. Even little fixes added right up to showtime.

Scott mentioned Chris' insights on diffusion. He was very wise and a perceptive listener. Also practical and illuminating  in his suggestions to composers.

He wrote a concise article on multichannel diffusion and the design of ABControl in 1999 that is still a good source for anyone researching diffusion and spatial sound. It is available online in eContact 2.4  https://econtact.ca/2_4/pracdiff.htm

As Barry already mentioned, his brilliance was also reflected in the fantastic MacPod program. It is good to hear that there are plans to keep it available.

Cheers

Darren