Synthesis technique based in the generation of thousands of short grains of sound combined linearly to form large scale audio events.
The characteristics of these grains are definable and combinable, and it is the interaction of the various grain parameters which define the micro structure of the sound events, while the macro structure of the events is generated by the changes in the characteristics of the grains.
IANIS XENAKIS recorded "Musiques Formelles" in 1967 which was one of the earliest works of Granular synthesis, investigating the relationship between music and mathematics. The first computer-based granular synthesis system appeared in the 1970s when Curtis Roads (USA) and Barry Truax (Canada) began systematically to investigate the potential of the technique.
Granular synthesis has become available since the late 90's in different software tools, and today is used by numerous electronic Experimental artists including TAYLOR DEUPREE, KIM CASCONE, RICHARD CHARTIER, OVAL, NOTO, and AUTECHRE, to name just a few.