A statement from Clan Analogue regarding recently decrypted data
On July 25th 2021, Clan Analogue were contacted by an anonymous source asking for assistance in decrypting a unique dataset. The source and their backers were seemingly unable to decrypt it themselves, so came to Clan Analogue for our expertise in both data and music. They were seeking music technicians.
Despite their scepticism, our IT team agreed to look into it, assembling an entirely-airgapped rack server constrained within a Faraday cage to safely examine the data without risk of wider network contamination.
The patterns that emerged did indeed match those of audio encoding frameworks, albeit an ultra-high resolution quantum audio format that we haven’t yet encountered. Furthermore, certain recurring temporal patterning indicated a correlation with music.
At this point, our source stopped communicating, leaving us with a warning that the data could be dangerous. “Yeah, it was pretty weird,” says Clan Analogue Label Manager Nick Wilson. “Possibly they were in fear of some kind of retribution. But we realised this was potentially interesting music. We just needed help to turn it into something we could hear.”
A team of Clan Analogue’s most adaptable and innovative artists were handpicked for the decryption effort. Their mission – to reconstruct these waveforms within the perceivable part of the audible frequency spectrum. These select artists were Chamberz, Tim Marcus Moore, Kable54, Reductionist and GJ Hannah. Each was given a discrete portion of the data to reconstruct as best they could.
Clan Analogue’s IT Manager Duncan Robertson tells us: “The team and I haven’t yet been able to completely decode the data… however we’ve partially decrypted it into quite a listenable format. I think of it as a four-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, extremely detailed but perhaps impossible to completely solve. If you squint your eyes, it’s actually quite beautiful.”
One other potentially significant piece of information emerged from the decryption process. Initially discarded as noise, it was realised that a piece of corrupt tri-code was actually some kind of metadata stamping algorithm. After applying several Fourier transform equations, the name Future Security Agency became apparent, along with an image. Possibly this is a key to the data’s original source.
In the interests of transparency, Clan Analogue have elected to make these Partial Decryptions available to our listeners via our Bandcamp page. We are sure you will join us in thanking Chamberz, Tim Marcus Moore, Kable54, Reductionist and GJ Hannah in their unparalleled efforts to make this audio perceivable to you.
Please note that we have been warned of potential danger arising from this data. Proceed at your own risk.
Many questions, however, remain:
- What does ‘Future Security Agency’ mean?
- Could the data ever be completely decoded into its purest form?
- Why did the source disappear and warn of danger?
- Who or what created the original data, and why?
If you have information to offer, please contact us urgently.
Update: after further testing we have made this audio available through additional streaming and download channels.
Decryption List:
Decryption 1: tūūvv t l reconstructed by Chamberz
Decryption 2: ganrdo l reconstructed by Tim Marcus Moore
Decryption 3: lifea new l reconstructed by Kable54
Decryption 4: head rigdt l reconstructed by Reductionist
Decryption 5: blonli08i1 l reconstructed by GJ Hannah