Databend — 2026

I used to databend images in Audacity: save a photo as a non-interlaced TIFF, import it as raw audio, run it through echo or reverb, and open the result as an image again. In a non-interlaced file all the red values come first, then all the green, then all the blue, so an echo becomes a ghost of the picture and reverb smears it into trails, instead of turning it into noise. You can see an example of this on my 2021 project Corrupção.

This page does the same in your browser. The image is read as one long 8-bit sound at 44.1 kHz and drawn as a waveform: the red plane, then the green, then the blue. Pick a colour, drag on its waveform to select a part of it (pinch or scroll to zoom), choose an effect and apply it: only that part of the picture changes. Stack effects on different parts and press and hold the image to compare. “Advanced mode” adds phaser, speed and reverse, and shows the whole red, green and blue waveform at once. Your pictures never leave your device.

The default image is my dog, Maria. She was very happy to participate.

tap anywhere to close