Cut 'n' Mix - Experimental Composition Techniques and Tools

Available online since 1997, the Cut 'n' Mix Word Machine is a word processing application with advanced randomization capabilities. Cut 'n' Mix users include authors, poets, rock musicians and almost anybody who is looking for some means to stimulate creativity or just have some fun with words. Cut 'n' Mix is a tool for generating creative ideas through the juxtapositioning of unrelated words or phrases. At the core of the Cut 'n' Mix application is a process known as "cut-up". The traditional cut-up method usually involves scissors: you take books, magazines or typed pages and snip out individual words, phrases or sentence fragments. Then you take these fragments and reassemble them either randomly or according to some predefined pattern. Cut 'n' Mix automates this process through the use of an audio four-track recorder analogy where different text streams are blended together according to adjustable settings. New: In addition to the cut-up and mixing capabilities of the standard version of Cut 'n' Mix, a new ULTRA version provides extended "effects" processing: Cut 'n' Mix ULTRA main mixing console view: New effects include: Cut-up Board drag snipped paper words around on a virtual notepad surface Auto-fill of input tracks with a random selection of words from the dictionary Auto-fill of input tracks with a random selection of text fragments from a choice of 50 classic authors Shredder does cut-ups at the word level (turning words into word fragments) Morpher tweaks the output mix by replacing words with randomly selected synonyms Replacer effect replaces words with a random selection from a similar category of words (retaining a semblance of the original structure but completely changing the meaning) Lyricise reformats a selection of the output mix into something resembling a poem or song lyric For more information on Cut 'n' Mix Ultra, or to download the installer, click here: Cut 'n' Mix Downloads Contact address for support and inquiries: info@cutnmix.com

Cut-up Laboratory: online graphical cut-up interface Cut-up Machine Museum A look at the history of the text cut and mixing software posted at Esoteric Sensationalism over the years Links to other tools and resources More cut-up and word randomization techniques to stimulate creativity and confound the intellect