Surfing Soulseek
In recent weeks I have been traveling down the ever-addicting rabbit hole of Soulseek, an application that dates back to 2001. Soulseek is a peer to peer (p2p) sharing application and a centralized system for file sharing. The application allows users to share files of any type (though mainly used for music) with each other. So how does it work? Well the system relies on the use of port forwarding. When a user searches for a music album or file, it indexes and gives results of people who have that media on their hard drive. So if a user tries to download your music, their software attempts to connect to your personal computer. With port forwarding, your router recognizes this request and directs it to your specific computer.
Nicotine+
Nicotine is a graphical client for Soulseek which I have chosen to use. It is a free and open source (we ♥ FOSS) client that provides a clean and modern UI that can be used to operate Soulseek. I have provided a screenshot of my own application below.
Note the following:
- In the example I am searching for one of my favorite songs, "My Foolish Heart" by Sadao Watanabe 🎺
- The results give a list of other users who have that file on their hard drive and are connected to Soulseek. Note how each folder is listed differently. This is because when you share a folder on Soulseek it displays the structure of that folder, and everyone organizes differently.
- The left side lists the usernames of the people who have the files. You are prompted to create a username and password when setting up Soulseek. The accounts really do not matter that much.
- The speed is displayed next to the user. Obviously those who are located closer to you will typically have faster upload speeds.
- On the toolbar, there are tabs for user profiles. Nicotine+ and some other clients allow for you to add a bio and interests.
- There are chat rooms (I strongly advise against them)
Using Soulseek
One of the biggest reasons I have begun to frequent Soulseek is the sheer amount of music available. It is not uncommon to come across users sharing hundreds of terabytes of music. This makes it easy to find niche music and songs from artists who avoid streaming services. In a day and age where every inch of the internet has begun to spew foul subscription plans, the best time to amass your own collection of music files is now. As opposed to these expensive plans, downloading music means that it can never be taken away from you. If a song is removed from YouTube or Spotify, you will still have access to it.
One of the most fulfilling feelings is when someone downloads one of your files. How does one amass these files, you might be wondering. Well, it's typical etiquette to share every file that you download; that way, someone might be able to download it at a faster speed. If you are someone who owns a lot of physical media (CDs, Vinyl's, Cassette's), then you might even look into ripping it to a file.
What Should I Download?
Whatever your heart desires. There are a few things to consider when downloading music from Soulseek. The main thing is the format. You will typically see media uploaded in the following formats:
- (FLAC) Free Lossless Audio Codec is a lossless format, which means that it preserves the original audio information. This means the file is identical to the source music, and contains none of the compression found in lossy formats. If you plan to do any ripping, or want to download music in a way that allows for utmost preservation, this is your guy.
- (MP3) MPEG-1 Audio Layer III is a lossy format that is most common today. Since it is compressed, its file size is smaller than that of a FLAC. This is a good choice if you need music compatibility or just want to be simple. Many CD players and music apps do not support other formats.
What Sounds Better?
The correct answer is neither. The actual quality of the audio relies on the following factors:
- Sample Rate - measured in kHz or kilohertz, refers to how many times per second an analog sound wave is converted to digital. In theory, a higher sample rate will give a more detailed representation of the original sound wave, meaning higher quality. Might as well get into some of the science, eh? Human hearing goes up to 20 kHz. However, most CDs and MP3s are recorded in 44.1 kHz because of the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. It states that to accurately capture an analog signal digitally, the sampling rate must be more than twice the highest frequency in the signal, hence using 44.1 kHz despite humans hearing only 20 kHz.
- Bit Depth - This determines the amount of bits used to represent each of the sample points. More bits allow for a wider range of values, creating a more complex representation of the sound's dynamics and volume. Standard CDs use 16-bit depth, while higher-resolution digital formats like FLACs use 24 bits and up. You might see albums remastered and marketed as, say, a 24 or 32 bit remaster. This typically means that bits were increased during the remastering process in order to give the mastering engineer more headroom. They will then be brought down to 16. But none of this really matters, since it's not like you can hear the difference, right?
- Bitrate - Measured in kbps or kilobits per second, is a measure of the amount of data used to represent the audio per unit of time. The highest bitrate you will see when browsing music files is 320 kbps, and often 128 kbps is on the lower end. Want to see if you can tell the difference? Hint: You probably won't unless you're an esteemed audiophile using some very expensive equipment.
Conclusion
I hope you learned something about Soulseek, and audio while reading this article. I plan to release an article sometime soon that will talk about music, and what artists/genres I have been getting into. Feel free to check out my Spotify here. And if you want to take a gander at my personal collection which I have started to curate using Soulseek then let me know. Until next time-Mike