I recently visited a well-known local landmark called Echo Bridge and was inspired by it for my work. At first I thought I’d do a true convolution reverb, in the style of the Tasty Chips pedal, but I realized that I could create something much more flexible than just a distillation of the landmark.
The Sound of Echo Bridge
Echo Bridge is well known for its near-perfect natural acoustics and incredible echo effects. The concrete arch structure of the Mrs. Frank W. Sorrell Bridge creates an acoustic phenomenon where sounds can return up to 15 reverberations, with sharp sounds like handclaps repeating as many as 25 times. Around San Antonio, there are oftenconcerts that take place here specifically because of its acoustic properties. It’s pre-delay sounded to me like something close to around 0.4 seconds, with a dark and almost plate-y sound – probably because of the metal on top of the bridge, not sure. It’s definitely unique and provided the perfect inspo for this project.
In 2017, I was a student of French composer Michel Merlet, and he introduced me to his theoretical framework called “Genèse Dodécaphonique des Modes” – a systematic approach to understanding modal structures within the twelve-tone system. This framework has profoundly influenced my approach to composition and sound design over the years.
I’ve been thinking about Merlet recently, and how musical frameworks like his create a stable foundation for tonal exploration. “Shoulders of giants” and all that. I was trying to see if I could come up with a way to codify this foundation in a tool that I can mess around with and prod a bit – I love the determinism of this system, but I wanted a way to visualize it a bit better, and maybe even bounce ideas off of it.
I’ve been pretty inconsistent with portfolio documentation. I’ll either:
Forget to capture cool moments entirely
Hastily record something but never find the file again
End up with a scattered collection of clips with no context
Put off making an actual reel until a job opportunity forced my hand
I’ve been needing a system that’s low-friction enough that I’ll actually use it, but structured enough that it would automatically organize everything for me.
I first got introduced to Lua a few years ago while messing around with a monome norns. At the time, I was just downloading Lua scripts that others had made, but I found myself really interested in reading through the code and inspired by how accessible the norns was as a platform for creating new instruments and effects. The simplicity of the language combined with its power to transform hardware into entirely new sonic tools fascinated me, even though I wasn’t writing my own scripts yet.
I came back from GDC 2025 full of ideas and insights from the Audio Summit sessions. While in San Francisco, I recorded numerous personal audio notes after talks like Wilbert Roget’s lecture on the Helldivers 2 score and Cody Matthew Johnson’s session on diegetic music in Star Wars Outlaws.
But at least for me, when it comes to these types of audio recordings - they often sit untouched 🥹😅 Because reviewing them takes alot of time! So I tried to figure this out with a simple script.
I’ve wanted a tool like this for years, because I’ve always found myself sitting at my piano and wishing that with one button I could very easily record a jam. Something way more pared down than a daw, with less setup time and complexity, and that won’t tempt me to start piling on effects.
Field Recorder on Steroids
Taking inspiration from the simplicity of tape machines and field recorders, I wanted to create a modern hybrid that could capture both audio and MIDI simultaneously. The goal was to preserve that spontaneous “just hit record” feeling while adding the flexibility of digital recording.
