Reviews

[Editor’s note: Selected reviews are the formal and primarily academic names, this year including acts like posted on the Web at mitpress2.mit branch of electronic music that is fo- De La Soul, Ellen Allien, Jamie .edu/e-journals/Computer-Music- cused on extending musical capabili- Lidell, Laurent Garnier, Miss Kittin, Journal/Documents/reviews/index ties through technology.”), but Sónar and the Chemical Brothers. These .html. In some cases, they are either embraces both. The theme this year events have been amply reviewed by unpublished in the Journal itself or was a “return to the physical in the the international press, and I leave published in an abbreviated form in expression of live music.” The undis- commentaries to those specialists the Journal.] puted “soloists” of earlier Sónars, and aficionados (one link to a more portable computers, have been re- mainstream review of the festival can placed by guitars, drums, pianos, and be found at www.soundgenerator voices. With 300 activities including .com/burner/reviews_live.cfm? Events DJ sets, live sets, visual and multime- reviewid=1077). dia art, conferences and discussion Sónar by Day provides spaces for forums, a record fair, an editorial fair, the experimental films, multimedia merchandising and hardware exposi- installations, and exhibits that define Sónar 2005: Advanced Music and tions, live broadcasts, and archives at Sónar’s artistic identity and that will Multimedia Art individual viewing stations, the festi- be the focus of this review. I begin val’s programs embrace the multi- with SonarMàtica, where one finds Barcelona, Spain, 16–18 June 2005. tude of styles and media in electronic installations and contemporary art music today. And that is another comparable to Germany’s docu- Reviewed by Joyce Shintani reason it is difficult to write about menta, New York’s Guggenheim or Stuttgart, Germany Sónar. Under a sensorial attack of Los Angeles’s MoCA (Museum of Las Vegas–like intensity, at some Contemporary Art); or, as one visitor In the gamut of European multimedia point the visitor longs for, or is of- put it, “similar to the Tate Modern, festivals, from Ars Electronica in Linz, fered, sense-numbing substances, but more cutting edge.” In their fine Austria to Transmediale in Berlin, placing high demands on the most exhibit “Randonée (A Walk Through Germany, Barcelona’s Sónar is the scrupulous professional discipline. Landscaping in the 21st Century),” most resolutely dedicated to music The festival is divided into two curators Óscar Abril Ascaso, José and is also the largest. In 2005, the parts, each with its principal venues: Luis de Vicente, Andy Davies, and 12th annual International Festival of Sónar by Day takes place largely in Advanced Music made out a return of Advanced Music and Multimedia the CCCB/MACBA complex (Bar- abstraction to the forefront of con- Art took place on 16–18 June and celona Center for Contemporary Cul- temporary creation after years of pop welcomed 90,000 visitors from 40 ture and Museum of Contemporary art. Based on this view, they sought countries and some 800 accredited Art) and in the Santa Monica Art to analyze “the extent to which land- journalists. The difficulty of writing Center, and Sónar by Night takes scape art is currently surviving in about the three-day marathon of sun, place at the vast convention center, new media.” The exhibits were wide- electronic music, and (chemically in- Fira Gran Via, on a hilltop above ranging, with entries lacking only duced) good vibes that is Sónar is no- town. Sónar’s secret to success lies in from African and Middle Eastern torious, and one of the reasons is the combining mainstream electronic/ countries. Considering Spain’s vicin- sheer abundance and crossover diver- hip-hop acts of mass audience appeal ity to the African littoral, selections sity that Sónar presents. with experimental underground elec- from these geographical areas, with From its inception in 1994, Sónar tronica and electronic art music. The which a dialogue is so desperately has provided a space for artists, pro- well-organized festival thus attracts needed, would be an appropriate fessionals, and the public to meet and crowds as well as cognoscenti, who complement in future. Many of the exchange points of view. Wikipedia all mingle at the sun-drenched festi- installations have won prizes at other makes a distinction between “elec- val and enjoy a wide variety of Bar- festivals, for example Thomas tronic music” and “electronic art celona’s other attractions: endless Köner’s “Suburbs of the Void” (re- music” (“Electronic music is a loose tapas bars, beaches, and a consider- ported in a review of the Transmedi- term for music created using elec- able off program, all at reasonable ale Festival, Berlin, in Computer tronic equipment.” “Electronic ‘art’ prices. Music Journal 29[4]). Three works music is a regrettably vague term for Sónar by Night is the venue for big particularly caught my attention for

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 their artistic density and the close re- falls into the category of software art. In another session, Chronopolis, by lationship between audio and visual The viewer points to a URL on a Polish artist Piotr Kampler with mu- elements. wall-projected computer screen and sic by Luc Ferrari, was shown, a con- In her award-winning film Aspect presses Enter. In real time, Tree ac- crete experiment screened at the (2004), Emily Richardson undertakes cesses the source code of the Web site Cannes Festival in 1982. Many of the a quick-motion filming of a forest and transforms its syntactic structure sessions offered electronic music over a year. Films of this type are fa- into the image of a tree with trunk, clips or works by video jockeys in a miliar; the technique is often used in branches, and ramifications in subtly wide variety of styles and quality. A nature films or to depict completion shaded geometric forms. At the same final highlight, Pimp My Bite, was a at construction sites. Unusual in Ms. time, simple MIDI data is generated compilation of works produced using Richardson’s film is her successful (producing, at Sónar, crystalline tones digital video, 3-D animation, Flash, accommodation of visuals to Bene- based on high/low frequencies with and machinima (films shot in the vir- dict Drew’s soundtrack of organic short/long durations), providing a tual reality of a game engine) from sounds. She closely interweaves im- slightly whimsical accompaniment the Hamburg Bitfilm Festival (www ages and sound with quiet sensitivity, that is a good correspondence to the .bitfilm-festival.org). Many of the and the resulting work is captivating simple geometric shapes. It is a fun films were unmitigated social criti- with its simple natural beauty and application that gives a satisfying cism, but the short Kunstbar (2002) poetic soundscape. aesthetic result; you can try it your- by The Petrie Lounge provided first- An extreme contrast to Ms. Rich- self online (www.texone.org/tree; class comic relief. In this imaginative ardson’s view of nature is Yi Zhou’s this Web-based version lacks the spoof on high art made in primitive OneOfTheseDays (2004), a 3-D ani- MIDI output). South Park style, different drinks are mation reconstructing the film- Also at the CCCB complex was served at the Art Bar, producing vary- maker’s dream about a civil war in an SónarCinema, an extensive collec- ing results: the Van Gogh cocktail undefined futuristic city—equally tion of experimental cinema and causes an ear to drop off, the Hierony- poetic, but chilling (her Web site is video clips. Ten viewing sessions, mus Bosch drink is real torture, and found at www.yi-yo.net). Inspired by each lasting approximately an hour, so on (this film can be viewed online the construction and demolition tak- showcased works featuring historical at www.whitehouseanimationinc ing place in her native Shanghai, the as well as current formats of audio- .com/kunstbar.htm). work is a stylized representation of visual creation providing persuasive From the CCCB complex it is a 15- destruction that has similarities with “testimony to the ever increasing min stroll down the bustling Ramblas, the gun fight in Matrix (chapter 29, common ground between the image Barcelona’s central walking boulevard, “Freeze!”). Both are held in shades of and advanced music.” to the Santa Monica Center. There, gray and depict cool, anonymous fu- The first highlight was a selection downstairs in the dark, cool base- turistic architecture. Both utilize of short films produced by the ment, diverse projects and live soft- slow motion and a breath-taking de- Groupe de Recherches des Images ware acts from around the world were ployment of scattering fragments (GRI), a collaboration of musicians presented, including a bizarre per- from destroyed buildings. But where and filmmakers in the 1960s under forming robot (www.myrobotfriend the Matrix scene is short and embed- the auspices of Pierre Schaeffer and .com). Upstairs, in the exhibit space, ded in action, Yi-Zhou’s vision of de- the Groupe de Recherches Musicales the installation “Messa di voce” by struction is longer and cooler, and, (GRM), that explored new television Golan Levin and Zach Liebermann being removed from narrative, is re- forms. Most of the 700 shorts were with Jaap Blonk and Joan La Barbara duced to its aesthetic elements. The never broadcast and “ended up in the was particularly eye-catching (www floating, ethereal soundscape under- state archive because they were con- .tmema.org/messa). It is an audio- lines the work’s dream quality, elicit- ceptually too radical.” These unique visual system consisting of viewer ing cold shivers of awe. audiovisual experiments feature space with camera tracker, micro- A final work, Tree by Risc (a.k.a. soundtracks by Iannis Xenakis, phones, and wall projection for the Christian Riekoff) succeeds at em- Bernard Parmegiani, François Bayle, sounds, produced by the viewers, ploying music and visuals in equal, Ivo Malic, and Pierre Schaeffer, which have been transformed in real minimal quantities. While maintain- which render audible the historic time into interactive visualizations. ing a distant connection to the land- continuity of beats and scratches Using the mics, the viewer can cre- scape theme of the exhibit, the work from the 1960s to the present. ate, then using hands catch and bal-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 ance “virtual” bubbles or galaxies of sage. To achieve this he begins, in opened up their ears to exploit the color on the wall projection. This is a typical DJ manner, by laying down a new technological possibilities at sophisticated installation that hints visual loop. Under it, layer by layer, their disposition. They sample, then at serious themes of meaning and the he slowly constructs a sound struc- “play with”—manipulate, vary, per- effect of speech sounds in a playful ture, which may also include sam- mute—not only the sounds they gen- and delightful way. pled concrete sounds. At specific erate, or buy on a historic record, new Another part of the festivities, An- points along the way he inserts the CD, or download, but also from the tiliteratur, the “Art and Literature images that form his commentary, world around them. This great vari- Festival,” was plagued by wrongly and the audience follows, rocking. ety of sources brings freshness into posted times for its sessions and, re- The visual/sound-narrative grows, their work and the work of VJs. Elec- grettably, I missed them all. At Sónar, and when the swell reaches its high- tronics also allows freedom on the missing some events is unavoidable, point, Phil K places the musical cli- economic side. Own-your-own elec- but discovery is also part of the expe- max. No conductor or classic tronic distribution and small inde- rience. My happiest discovery was virtuoso could do so with better tim- pendent labels eliminate certain Phil K (www.philk.dj) at the demon- ing. The crowd cheers and rises to its market constraints. Released from stration of the DVJ-X1 DVD/CD feet, but Phil K ends the structure contracts with music majors that dic- turntable, Pioneer’s answer to the and lays down a new loop on the tate shareholder-value productions, iconic turntable. Familiar DJ tech- level just reached and takes off again. and, knowing that their constituency niques—scratches, loops, instant VDJ and crowd interact, building in- is listening for new sounds, electron- cues, fades—are now possible for tensity over a 50-min set, and only ica artists are willing to take risks one-person simultaneous disc and with reluctance did they clear the and have thereby created a field with video jockeying (DVJ), enabling on- scene for the next act. The formal high creative dynamism. And in yet the-fly mixing from separate audio strength in composition of Phil K’s another way electronica artists are and visual sources. work is manifest. The figures, spoken open: often without formal music Phil Krokidis, a veteran Melbourne words, and clips, both drawn from training, DJs are not hampered by DJ/producer of Greek descent, demon- samples as well as finished works, in- ears full of aesthetic expectations or strated not only the new hardware terplay at various levels and create composition rules. Driven only by but also his own considerable talent. their own syntax. Phil K’s art is intu- their curiosity and excitement for the An autodidact who, by his own ac- itive and touches on deep emotions. world of technology and sounds, count, as a youth “couldn’t play an Pulsing with an urban energy recall- young DJs have trekked through elec- instrument but could mix,” Phil has ing Jean-Michel Basquiat, he mirrors tronic music’s beginnings with John recently worked with the Pioneer Re- glimpses of a fragmented society and Chowning, Karlheinz Stockhausen, search and Development team to de- submits them to the organizing prin- and Pierre Schaeffer, through jazz velop the new DVJ-X1. Although he ciple of music. His way of making art and chance and John Cage, and is new to visuals, he says he now in the club context is a contribution through a maze of rap, dance, and “watches movies like he used to lis- to the best of what electronica offers world music styles in the 1980s and ten to records,” and the results show today. 1990s. Moving across boundaries of that Phil K not only has huge ears, Before summing up the Sónar Fes- education, geography, medium, style, but also fantastic eyes. He employs tival, let us recall some of the ele- genre, or time is as natural for them video art or simple clips he shoots on ments that make electronica as breathing; they’re on a collective his travels, images that conjure up different from other kinds of popular creative high. and comment on urban culture (New music, beginning with its name. The After the sensory glut of three days York street scenes), politics (George artists—DJs, vocalists, and instru- of Sónar, what trends for the future Bush, Arab sheiks, and guns), or the mentalists—are all working with a does the juxtaposition of experimen- role of women (animations). Al- powerful generation of electronic in- tal music with hot acts reveal? The though the club context calls for high struments that affords them liberty elements listed above combined intensity video streams, Phil K’s se- in many areas. Evolving high-quality with the instant global connected- lection and controlled use of a few synthesis and microprocessors con- ness of the Internet emphasized at key images at timed intervals creates tinue to generate new media. festivals like Sónar has led to cross- meaning within the constant flow of Equipped with such mobile creative fertilization and an explosion of cre- color—a message within the mas- potential, electronica artists have ativity, in stark contrast to shrinking

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 classical concerts or the implosion of ney Fels and Tina Blaine did a won- well stocked. The keynote was fasci- the music industry. Within the cre- derful job of coordinating the event. nating, especially for those of us with ative burst of electronica, two devel- The spaces for papers and perfor- leanings towards fetishism for syn- opments were obvious at Sónar. First, mances were physically and acousti- thesizer and analog memorabilia. He as the organizers have pointed out, cally beautiful, and the weather was capped his remarks with comments there is a return to the physical: elec- perfectly gorgeous, which made it a on modern advancements and work tronic music has learned perfor- pleasure to walk from the dorm-like in hardware design. This included mance. Increasing real-time capacity, accommodations through the cam- mention of a very recently completed women performance artists, and pus to the various venues. design by Bob Huott known as the vicinity to the dance floor have “Been.” Its mention was a surprise firmly established the performing Thursday May 26, Reviewed by even to the designer, as the instru- body in electronica. Second, as audi- ment is so new, confirming that Mr. Jamie Allen ences have grown and software has Buchla’s attentiveness to his chosen become more robust, DJs have per- There was a refreshing preamble to field has not waned in over 45 years fected their improvisatory talents in the official commencement of NIME of practice. order to interact with audiences. A 2005. Wednesday night before the of- The morning session of paper pre- tradition that survived in jazz and rap ficial welcome session the next sentations began with a look at more is returning to electronic music: the morning, early arrivals were treated conceptual treatments as contrasted improvising artist. These trends give to a showing of The Future is Not to specific applications, which were DJ-ing electronica a vital, electric What It Used to be, a film by Mika covered in the afternoon. John Bow- quality lost from the museums that Taanila presented by Michael Lyons. ers and Phil Archer presented “Not concert halls have become. High The film was a real treat, outlining Hyper, Not Meta, Not Cyber but Infra- technological standards, burgeoning the extensive accomplishments and Instruments.” The presentation cov- creativity, and a lively, growing contributions of Finland’s obscure ered much of Bowers and Archer’s public—this year at Sónar, electron- electronic arts pioneer Erkki Kuren- work and called for a restriction of in- ica cast an appreciative glance at its niemi. Mr. Taanila’s film also hinted teractive potential in new instruments electronic roots and went raving off at an emphasis on historical and con- (NIMEs). Essentially, it was a well- in myriad future forms. textual underpinnings that I noticed formulated argument for “keeping it throughout the proceedings this year. simple.” The lesson was a profound Three separate keynote speeches and important one for the audience at NIME 2005: New Interfaces for were given during each morning of hand, that sometimes the most ex- Musical Expression the conference, an aspect of the event pressive musical outcomes are de- that was particularly well planned. rived from seemingly less-expressive University of British Columbia, Van- Each of these was a retrospective interfaces (Infra-Instruments). “Re- couver, British Columbia, Canada, look at the speaker’s own work, and ductionist” Japanese work and “cir- 26–28 May 2005. their perspectives on the road ahead. cuit bending” performance successes The nearly sublime triumvirate of prove that Infra-Instruments are as Reviewed by Jamie Allen,* Margaret Don Buchla, Golan Levin, and Bill much a part of the novel ways people Schedel,† and John P. Young† Buxton truly represents a triumph of are expressing their musical voice as *New York, New York, USA; †San curatorial talent and orchestration on the most belabored virtual reality ap- Francisco, California, USA the part of the conference planners, plication or re-engineered violin. Sidney Fels and Tina Blaine. Three researchers from Helsinki’s This year’s New Interfaces for Musi- On this first morning, Mr. Buchla University of Technology came next, cal Expression conference, NIME presented and demonstrated a presenting a set of experiments in 2005, was held at the University of panoply of the instruments he has sound control done within a Virtual British Columbia in Vancouver, constructed since 1965. The number Reality environment. Identifying Canada, 26–28 May. Although practi- of demonstrable instruments he was with the largely synesthetic leanings cally everyone disagreed about the able to bring was limited somewhat of North American computer music pronunciation of the name of the by Canada customs agents, but his composers and researchers, they gave conference, everyone agreed that Sid- corner of the demo room was still a concise description of the CAVE en-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 vironment and input interfaces, stan- tainment world. She spoke largely tion and control systems. The first of dard in virtual reality (VR) circles but within the context of the educational these was the Smart Controller novel in their application to the mu- potential of interfaces for music from Workbench, which allows for interac- sical domain. The work did not seem the video game and toy industries. tive programming without the need geared to performance contexts, but Her examples ranged from pop-culture for a computer. The second was a to the context of a singular user, cre- phenomena such Dance Dance Revo- novel system by the team behind the ating and interacting with a virtual lution and Donkey Conga to the Eye- Tap Tool Max/MSP add-on set, en- instrument or sound world. As with Toy video-tracking game Groove, titled the Teabox. The Teabox uses all presentations of immersive sys- which provides a gestural rhythm an underused asset of most audio tems, I would have liked to experi- controller to the masses. Ms. Blaine acquisiton hardware systems, the ence the VR system in its entirety was also kind enough to bring a Don- S/PDIF protocol, to get sensor data myself, as video and photographic key Conga system to the demo rooms into the computer, all mounted in documents rarely do them justice. in Vancouver that day, so we might truly roadworthy case. The three paper presentations that all get a chance to sample the gaming The concert roster on Thursday followed were discussions of instru- industry’s take on a new musical in- night included a videoconference per- ment systems that have progressed terface. I am always impressed by the formance organized by Scot Gresham- beyond experiments. The first of industry’s attitude to musical inter- Lancaster. AB_time, the title of the these was from Gil Weinberg and face implementations, being, for the piece, featured Tomi Hahn dancing Scott Discoll, now at the Georgia In- most part, devoid of excessive pre- along to decidedly meandering tex- stitute of Technology, with “iltur.” tence and valuing human experience tures from three locales: our concert Centered on the Beatbug musical beyond issues of compositional au- hall at UBC; Pauline Oliveros on her controllers developed at the Massa- thority or technical prowess. accordion in Troy, New York; and chusetts Institute of Technology Those of us attending the after- Jean-Marc Montera playing the cit- Media Lab, iltur is a system for inter- noon paper sessions were treated to tern in Marseilles, France. action between novice and expert descriptions of specific interfaces The clear sonic triumph of the musicians. Two jazz compositions, systems and rigorous applications. evening was next, with Italian-born iltur 1 and iltur 2, have been devel- These were clear and succinct pre- Vancouver local Giorgio Magnanensi oped, and the first of these was per- sentations of successful present prac- controlling a set of circuit-bent formed at the 2004 International tices of reactive and interactive speech synthesizers (most from the Computer Music Conference. The musical systems. Dan Overholt pre- Texas Instruments “Speak & Spell” implementation and motivation of sented the Overtone Violin, which line-up). Seated at the center of the this work is consistent with Mr. was performed at a concert the next room, Mr. Magnanensi proved once Weinberg’s fine reputation. As an evening. Juan Pablo Caceres and his again that the physical and visual ele- artist and scholar, he seems fittingly team from the Center for Computer ments of a performance are not al- concerned with issues of accessibility Research in Music and Acoustics ways paramount. He spoke to the and the transmission of ideas. (CCRMA) were a crowd favorite: an audience through his contorted ma- A review of more mature applica- augmented tuba system was pre- chines in ways the circuitry never in- tions was presented by Sergi Jordà, sented, wherein real-time manipula- tended and we did not expect. outlining paradigms and applica- tion of the natural instrument sound Randall Jones took to a Tactex tions of multi-user interfaces for mu- was amplified and retransmitted multi-touch control pad after Mr. sic. He took a new tack on the issues through loudspeakers mounted on Magnanensi, effortlessly painting a by rigorously analyzing the multi- the bell of the instrument, and a sub- complex language of visuals on a user taxonomy of a piano, guarded woofer beneath the player’s chair. screen above his head. The visual ma- most commonly as a single-user in- Eric Singer’s presentation of a terial and linked audio material was strument. LEMUR (League of Electronic Musi- flawless in its synesthetic syn- The spirited Tina Blaine finished cal Urban Robots) “Large Scale Net- chronicity, although at times the off the morning sessions by outlining worked Robotic Musical Instrument sound material seemed a bit thin as a a remarkable collection of multi- and Installation” project installed at the counterpart to the imagery. Posthorn, single-user commercial musical in- University of California at Irvine was by Ben Neill and Bill Jones, was a fine terfaces from the Interactive Enter- saddled by two new sensor acquisi- reworking of Gustav Mahler’s Sym-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 phony No. 3 into atmospheric lap- a less cumbersome means of commu- Dan Overhold also had a paper and ping through Mr. Neill’s self-designed nication than the unwieldy awkward- piece: his Duet for Violin + Violinist “mutantrumpet.” Laetitia Sonami ness of the English language. and corresponding paper dovetailed lent her unusual blend of theatrical nicely. As mentioned above, Mr. showmanship and finessed interface Friday May 27, Reviewed by Overhold presented his paper on design, performing her “Lady’s Thursday, and it was rewarding to see Margaret Schedel Glove” gestural controller in a piece the violin, which was described in entitled The Appearance of Silence I thought the most successful presen- such technical terms, turn into an ex- (The Invention of Perspective). tations were those that combined a pressive instrument onstage the next The first evening’s concerts were paper or poster with a performance. I evening. The performance was nearly rounded out by a much-talked-about know that it isn’t feasible to have a half over before he actually bowed a collaboration between renowned one-to-one correspondence between note on the string; most of the perfor- Cuban jazz pianist Hilario Duan, per- papers and performances, but I do be- mance consisted of gesture control, cussionist Andrew Schloss, and vio- lieve the composers/creators of and I felt it was a bit unbalanced. The linist Irene Mitri. Mr. Schloss uses pieces selected for performance overtone violin has six strings and I a Radio Drum system to effect and should have an automatic option to wished for more amplified acoustic re-digest captured portions of the have a poster. There is only so much sound—the lower strings especially pianist’s playing, although on this information one can convey in pro- had a dark and subtle timbre. This occasion the sonic material being ac- gram notes, and it would be nice to piece was another that married folk tuated by the percussionist seemed a have a centralized discussion about elements, in this case fiddling, with little less enticing. Midi-synth bongo the technology behind a work. I was technology. and conga samples didn’t make for much more receptive to the aesthet- Suguru Goto’s VirtualAERI II used fitting accompaniment to Mr. Duan’s ics of a performance when I wasn’t another violin controller, the Super- playing and Ms. Mitri’s ruminations trying to figure out the technology. Polm, a virtual violin. Unlike the on strings seemed slightly out of Roger B. Dannenberg, Ben Brown, Overtone Violin, the SuperPolm does place in it all. Garth Zeglin, and Ron Lupish au- not have actual strings; it models the A standout aspect of this year’s thored the paper “McBlare: A Robotic gesture of violin performance, using NIME conference was the inclusion of Bagpipe Player,” which describes the touch sensors instead of strings on improvisation sessions, organized by technology behind the piece per- the fingerboard and resistance sen- Ajay Kapur of the University of Victo- formed later that night. The robot sors on the bow. In addition to these ria. These were held at various times consists of a custom-built air com- sensors there is an eight-button key- throughout the three days, and despite pressor and electro-mechanical relays board on the body of the instrument. some confusion with regards to how connected to rubber pads which open Mr. Goto is a natural performer, and “open” these sessions in fact were and close holes on the chanter in re- his gestures were musically sensitive. (many people reportedly hoped to sponse to MIDI messages. Mr. Dan- It seemed that the sensors did not al- show up, instrument in hand, when nenberg’s musical work McBlare was ways work—sometimes a large ges- in fact one had to sign up for an allot- a joyous racket of trills and runs ture did not have a corresponding ted session prior to the conference), faster than any human could have reaction in the sound or interactive they were certainly a step in the right played. He wheeled their creation out video. Nonetheless, there were some direction. I was lucky enough to par- on stage, turned on the compressor, very beautiful moments with the per- ticipate in one such session, and and stood back to watch it work with former silhouetted against a wash of whatever the overall musical out- a slightly bemused expression on his abstract video while a thick sound come, there is certainly value in or- face. Thankfully, he had earplugs in. evaporated into the hall. ganizing more activities where music The piece itself was a mélange of Ulrich Maiss and Joseph “Butch” is the explicit conversant language at Scottish folk motifs which translated Rovan in Return of the Habaneros a conference centering on music. I very well into MIDI, perhaps because and Hopper Confessions, respec- would have loved to see a full-on jam, (forgive me, Roger) the bagpipe is not tively, also used gesture to great ef- for example, involving all the lovely the most expressive of musical in- fect in their works. With Mr. Maiss controllers and sound makers that struments. The work was, however, on cello and Mr. Rovan on bass clar- Don Buchla carted up from California. very musically satisfying, and the au- inet the audience had a great time Music is, after all, for many of us still dience gave it a thunderous cheer. listening to two European free-jazz–

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 influenced works. They had a lot of veloping a flexible and powerful sys- strong opinions based on decades of fun onstage together in Return of the tem for tracking dancers has been a experience as a researcher in com- Habaneros at points playing air cello challenge, and I am looking forward puter music and human–machine in- and air clarinet; Mr. Maiss also used to using their product that combines teraction. He made his position clear that energy to good effect in his solo a small LINUX-based wearable from the start, stating that tape play- performance of Mr. Rovan’s work. I single-board computer with a wire- back sucks as a performance idiom, have seen Hopper Confessions a num- less transmitter. Users solder in their and that sitting behind a laptop com- ber of times now, and I thought this own sensors, and the computer can puter screen mousing around is more was one of the best performances. be powered by 7-V batteries. or less the same thing from an audi- It was refreshing to see so many in- Other research that may be appli- ence perspective. This particular reli- teractive performances that did not cable for motion tracking has been gious war has been well flogged involve people hunched over laptops. done by Alain Crevoisier and Pietro already, but it still seems to be a good Toichi Nagashima’s Wiggle Screamer Polotti. “Tangible Acoustic Inter- way to get everyone’s attention early II was a fun example of the Japanese faces and their Applications for the in the morning. And Mr. Buxton approach to this aesthetic challenge. Design of New Musical Instruments” backs up his gauntlet-throwing un- Wearing sensors on his arms and us- describes a technique whereby using usually well. He noted that the tran- ing a light harp interface, Mr. Na- only audio signals a computer can sition from analog to digital sound gashima entertained the audience detect contact points of users inter- gained stability and predictability, with a pop-inspired pentatonic con- acting with the surface of solid mate- but lost a wealth of interesting con- fection. At times it was a little like rials. The resolution was astonishing troller interfaces and thus an impor- looking at a virtuosic Dance Dance from using just two piezo contacts. tant immediacy of engagement with Revolution performance as boxes on Sadly, there was not enough time to manipulating sound while perform- the screen moved in time to his arm set up a demo of this “acoustic holog- ing. He described various environ- slaps while MIDI bells played. raphy,” but I am just as excited as the ments he has worked on, emphasizing Mocap Performance Instrument, authors to be able to create con- that the interfaces were purpose- by R. Luke DuBois, Luibo Borrisov, trollers out of any surface. directed, optimized for the task at and Beliz Demicioglu, used both Many papers this year seemed to hand, be it composition, orchestra- motion-capture information from a specifically reference NIME. I’m not tion, or performance, expanding the studio and live video-tracking in a sure if the authors submitted only to notion of context-sensitivity to in- work for dancer with interactive mu- NIME, or if they tailored their papers clude the entire interface rather than sic and video. The video consisted accordingly, but I was a little dis- just a few tools or menus as is most mainly of abstracted line drawings turbed by the amount of conference often the case today. from the motion-capture sessions, referencing going on in the papers. One graphic user interface (GUI), some of which were more pleasing Sageev Oore’s “Learning Advanced in an application called “Scriva,” had than others. The piece had no real Skills on New Instruments (Practis- some useful features that aren’t read- hard edges—the dancer trailed ing Scales and Arpeggios on your ily available anymore, such as an scarves of sound behind her as she NIME)” was one such paper, yet I amplitude-context piano roll display moved and it was very soothing to found its contents compelling. Much and multiple flavors of notation that hear the piece come to rest after the is made of new instrument design, could be toggled for differently dancer stopped moving. I wasn’t sure but often not enough time is taken to weighted views of musical events: if the sounds were recorded noises of practice the new instruments. I am score, Music V code, timbre clusters, dancer friction, but it seemed that eagerly awaiting the next Clara Rock- etc. Another performance GUI dis- way to me and it was a compelling more, whichever new musical instru- played multi-dimensional parametric way to bring the sonic world closer to ment she might play. control data on a single screen, ori- the dance world. ented toward real-time adjustments of I would have liked to see a perfor- Saturday May 28, Reviewed by tempo, amplitude, filtering, etc., using mance using David Topper and Peter a tablet “mouse” as well as reflecting John P. Young V. Swendsen’s “Wireless Dance Con- parameter mapping to other tactile trol: Pair and WISEAR,” a general The final day of the conference continuous controllers. These clearly purpose interface to a wide variety of kicked off with a keynote presenta- valuable, extinct features reminded sensors and gestural controllers. De- tion from Bill Buxton, a man with us that there are many excellent ideas

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 out there that have already been vali- gyroscopic orientation, and force- vice that supports J2ME. He demon- dated but continue to languish wait- sensing in the grip. Some basic map- strated live conversion of several ing for someone more interested in pings showed that the controller fairly complex patches and successful exceptional design than reinventing could be fun to use as well as fun to testing in a desktop emulation envi- the wheel in their own image. watch. Michael Lyons demonstrated ronment, an already impressive feat Mr. Buxton went on to assert that sonification of facial expressions, that will surely become even more so it is critical for performance instru- which was not only hilarious but also with further refinement. ments and systems to have the ca- showed potential for meaningful in- Saturday evening’s concert began pacity to adapt between different terpretive mappings as the system with Thomas Ciufo’s Beginner’s acoustic environments, i.e., concert evolves towards finer granularity and Mind, shakuhachi slowly fading in, halls, in order to create comparable integrative analysis of multiple ex- maintaining a sense of time being exceptional musical experiences for pressive features. It will be exciting stretched and extended, with a haunt- audiences in any space. Later he dis- to see the potential of these innova- ing sustained atmospheric environ- cussed the advantages of a virtual tive interfaces applied to more musi- ment throughout. Then Cybersong by control console based on a large cally sophisticated purposes. Paulo Maria Rodrigues, Luis Miguel touch-sensitive tablet, with card- The afternoon paper session, Girão, and Rolf Gehlhaar took us in a board cut-out overlays emulating “Learning, Tools + Connectivity,” decidedly more dramatic direction. A sliders, buttons, and other structured showcased some interesting projects static noise began with house lights controls, allowing simple switching as well. Art Clay discussed “Going- still up—technical difficulty or be- between controller layouts for vari- Publik,” a distributed coordinated ginning of the piece?—then Mr. Ro- ous purposes using a single piece of collaboration using handheld elec- drigues walked down the house right fairly simple hardware. Having im- tronics. Essentially, the participant aisle, donning a tux jacket as he pressed us with the depth of his performers use wearable computers mounted the stage. A grand “O fre- thought and decades of work on the as instrument and global positioning unde!” yielded to falsetto sostenuto subject, he ended by reinforcing his system (GPS) tracking interfaces, which then recycled through elec- initial assertion that just like sound with a dynamic score projected on tronics in an eclectic cascade of con- itself, gesture is a language underpin- their eyepiece monitors as they tra- scious chaos. A later section turned ning the relationship between per- verse a city. Niels Böttcher then pre- into a hilarious remix of the recited former(s) and audience. Mastering sented “Connecting Strangers,” an text: “A fish is a machine that pre- that gestural dialogue is essential to attempt to create spontaneous sonic serves genes in water. A monkey is a creating a theater of performance, interactions between passengers machine that preserves genes up that environment in which the inspi- waiting on opposite train platforms. trees.” This segued into manipula- ration of musicians feeds the exhila- The project team tried several ap- tion of “radio” waves via clownish ration of audience and back again in proaches to balancing the impera- mouthpiece. Overall, the piece was wonderful reciprocity. Documenta- tives of being sufficiently accessible disjointedly non sequitur, but bril- tion of much of Mr. Buxton’s work to learn and enjoy within a few min- liantly performed, concluding with can be found at his Web site (www utes’s time, with enough challenge to maniacal laughter building through .billbuxton.com). hold participant interest after they feedback to a final “Shut Up!” The morning paper session, “Voice, “figured it out.” The interactive as- Next came Elaine Chew perform- Gestural Control and Multimodal- pects of the work turned out to be the ing Ivan Tcherepnin’s Fêtes (Varia- ity,” was relatively entertaining, al- most difficult, with additional work tions on Happy Birthday) as an ways a bonus for those of us who and experimentation planned to en- interlude, eloquently played. It seems eschew imbibing massive doses of courage players to not only explore a little dangerous to include com- caffeinated beverages, and a couple of their own “side” of the sound, but co- pelling purely acoustic work on the presentations in particular stood out. operate across the tracks as well. Mark same program as highly experimental Elliot Sinyor showed off his “Gyro- Havryliv described “Pocket Game- material, as the inevitable compari- tyre,” a small (30 cm) bicycle tire at- lan,” essentially a cross-compiler son underscores just how great a jour- tached to a hand grip, able to spin that can translate a Pd patch seam- ney we have left ahead of us. Ye Ying freely around its axis, with a wealth lessly into Java 2 Micro Edition Di [Nightingale Floor] by Margaret of attached sensors including rota- (J2ME) code for deployment onto a Schedel, in collaboration with video tional speed, dual-axis acceleration, mobile phone or other portable de- artist Charles Woodman and choreog-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 rapher/performer Alison Rootberg, incompatible sound worlds, with the started with a strikingly costumed timbres simply refusing to gel. This Rootberg all in white, arms and legs might have been less problematic if illuminated in patterns of neon wire, the sounds had been warmer and gently and gracefully unfolding in more inviting in general. front of projected video. The move- Finally, Dan Trueman performed ment and imagery combined evoca- BoSSA Studies, three short pieces for tively at times, with real-time his Bowed-Sensor-Speaker-Array in- capture of the dancer’s glowing lines strument. The first, Vocalise, sam- sensitively blended into the mix. pled Mr. Trueman’s voice through However, due to limitations of the headset microphone as material for stage setup, it was difficult to cogni- transformation and manipulation. tively integrate the dancer and the The second piece, Lobster Quadrille, background into a coherent union. is becoming a classic, a setting of Discerning the relationship between the poem from Lewis Carroll’s Alice Ms. Rootberg’s movement and her in- in Wonderland. The composer- fluence on the sound and video was performer persuasively showed how a also challenging, in part because very satisfying intuitive connection there was clearly something so al- can be forged between gesture and most there that I yearned to feel a sound, even in a fairly abstract rela- satisfying connection instead of just tionship such as “playing” text giving up on the idea. Having seen samples with violin technique. The this work a few times before, I was last piece, Tetha, included Tomie aware that many of the wonderful el- Hahn performing shakuhachi. The pages, illustrated, CD-Audio, ements I had previously witnessed acoustic and electronic spaces inte- US$ 70.00/29.95; Wesleyan Univer- were not entirely operational for grated well, with the shakuhachi sity Press, 215 Long Lane, Middle- some reason, which left me wishing plainly the dominant element, the town, Connecticut 06459, USA; that this audience could have experi- BoSSA seeming to function primarily telephone 860-685-7711; fax 860-685- enced more of its full intention. Even as effect and atmosphere. Unfortu- 7712; Web www.wesleyan.edu/ though we have learned to be forgiv- nately, near the end Ms. Hahn began wespress; distributed by University ing when it comes to new music, it’s barking and then things went swiftly Press of New England, Order Depart- always a shame when technical is- downhill, leaving me to wonder why ment, 37 Lafayette Street, Lebanon, sues restrain the artistic blossoming so much electroacoustic music forms New Hampshire 03766, USA; tele- of a lovely piece. contrast against lyricism by playing phone 800-421-1561 or (+1) 603-643- Jamie Allen attacked what ap- the crazy card. Is it discomfort with 7110; fax (+1) 603-643-1540; Web peared to be a suitcase full of noise in using our medium as a means of ex- www.upne.com/0-8195-6669-1.html. boomBox, to great theatrical effect. It pressing serious sentiment, or are we might be a stretch to call it music, ex- really all just that wacky? Reviewed by Ross Feller actly, but it was tremendously expres- Oberlin, Ohio, USA sive, surprisingly funny, and highly entertaining from beginning to end. Born in Berlin in 1918, Herbert Brün Afterward, David Birchfield on sensor- Publications left Germany and went to Palestine extended percussion and Curtis Bahn shortly after the Nazis assumed on electronically enhanced vertical power. In Palestine he studied com- bass performed Improvisations, a position with Stefan Wolpe, Eli structured exploration of the capabil- Arun Chandra, Editor: When Friedman, and Frank Pelleg at the ities of their instruments and the re- Music Resists Meaning: The Jerusalem Conservatory. In 1948 lationships between them. While Major Writings of Herbert Brün Leonard Bernstein brought Brün to both players are very skilled and sen- Tanglewood, in Massachusetts, to sitive, somehow here they seemed to Hardcover/softcover, 2004, ISBN 0- continue his studies. Shortly there- be inhabiting completely different, 8195-6669-1/0-8195-6670-5, 350 after he attended Columbia Univer-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 sity for a year of graduate work. From ference (held at Simon Fraser Uni- compendium of Brünian thought ex- the mid 1950s until he finally settled versity, Burnaby, British Columbia, pertly edited and compiled by former in Illinois he worked at the now well- Canada). student Arun Chandra. Several other known electronic music studios in With the recently published When former students ably assisted him. Paris, Cologne, and Munich, produc- Music Resists Meaning: The Major This project, clearly a labor of love ing some of the earliest examples of Writings of Herbert Brün by Wes- for Mr. Chandra, began to take shape non-serial electroacoustic music. He leyan University Press, the opportu- in 1985. His work consisted of every- also gave lectures throughout Europe nity arises for a re-assessment of thing from collecting and editing and the USA on the function of mu- Brün’s many contributions to the Brün’s articles, interviews, and lec- sic in society. world of contemporary music. His tures to writing new output routines In 1962, after one such lecture compositional and pedagogical prac- to generate Postscript code in order tour, Lejaren Hiller invited Brün to tices were grounded in information to print Brün’s computer-generated join the faculty of the University of theory, cybernetics, and dispersionist graphics (several of which are repro- Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He ac- philosophy. He argued for the pur- duced in the book). He also helped cepted Hiller’s offer in part because poseful recognition of the social and produce the accompanying compact he wanted to work with the com- political significance of composition, disc, which features performances of puter systems then available there. and against the tendencies of lan- Brün’s compositions by the LaSalle Brün entered a compositional envi- guage to preempt thought. At the Quartet, pianist John Tilbury, percus- ronment that thrived on collabora- time of his death in 2000 Brün left be- sionist Michael Udow, and the Per- tion with other disciplines including hind a half-century’s worth of compo- cussion Group Cincinnati, along electrical engineering, cybernetics, sitions, playful and polemical texts, with three of his best-known electro- and cognitive theory. He co-taught computer-generated artworks, and a acoustic pieces. courses with Heinz von Foerster on group of zealously devoted former When Music Resists Meaning cybernetics, composition, cognition, students. (WMRM) is divided into six sections: and social change. Mr. von Foerster In 1991, Brün and several of his “Listening,” “Composing,” “Com- helped establish the field of cybernet- closest students formed what is now posing with Computers,” “Cybernet- ics and, most importantly, developed called the School for Designing a ics,” “Poetry and Plays,” and the notion of a second-order cyber- Society, a non-affiliated institute “Postlude: Appendices.” The first netics which focused on self- based in Urbana, Illinois, dedicated two sections contain unpublished referential systems and behaviors. to the critical examination of soci- manuscripts and lectures, as well a The concepts behind second-order cy- ety, language, and music. Members previously published essay and inter- bernetics, such as von Foerster’s slo- of the school have collaborated and view from Perspectives of New Mu- gan that, “The world, as we perceive toured with Patch Adams, the fa- sic, a Guest Editorial from Keyboard it, is our own invention,” resonated mous clown-doctor and subject of a Magazine, and an important essay, with Brün’s own ideas about meaning Hollywood movie starring Robin “For Anticommunication,” that first and perception. Williams. Though Brün’s legacy appeared in Words and Spaces: An After taking over Hiller’s Seminar mostly continues in the work of his Anthology, edited by Stuart Saunders for Experimental Music in the late former students, his thought has sig- Smith and Thomas Delio (Lanham, 1960s, Brün began to implement nificantly impacted many other com- New York: University Press of Amer- some of his most radical formula- posers and performers throughout ica, 1989). tions about music and language. He the world. In this latter essay, Brün lays out was also a conductor. Included in the One of the primary functions of his argument for new music based many performances of contemporary Brün’s compositional praxis was to upon an idea he terms “anticommu- music that he led are American pre- uncover possibilities for new signifi- nication,” and describes how he mieres of György Ligeti’s Aventures cance, while opposing the reification attempted this in several of his com- and Nouvelles Aventures. In the mid of meaning inherent in the acts of positions. Anticommunication is 1970s Brün helped the Computer recognition and appropriation. His essentially a provisional device used Music Association get its start. He thoughts on these matters are de- in retarding the natural decay of in- hosted conferences at the University tailed in various essays, interviews, formation, which occurs when the of Illinois in 1975 and 1987, and was and prose pieces contained in When process of meaning assignment, or the keynote speaker at the 1985 con- Music Resists Meaning, a wonderful semiosis, is stalled or comes to a

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 standstill. Brün defines anticommu- things as artificial systems, second- Jim Aikin, Editor: Software nication as order cybernetics, and algorithmic Synthesizers: The Definitive composition. an attempt at saying something, Guide to Virtual Musical The fifth section contains samples not a refusal to say it. Commu- Instruments of his aphoristic poems and playful nication is achievable by learn- theatrical skits. The postlude con- Softcover, 2003, ISBN 0-87930-752-8, ing from language how to say tains a brief biography, detailed lists 304 pages, illustrated, foreword by something. Anticommunication of Brün’s compositions and publica- Bob Moog, CD-ROM, US$ 29.95; is an attempt at respectfully tions, program notes he wrote for Backbeat Books, 600 Harrison Street, teaching language to say it. It is many of his compositions, a techni- San Francisco, California 94107, not to be confused with either cal description of his computer- USA; telephone (+1) 415-947-6615; noncommunication, where no generated graphics, a short glossary of fax (+1) 415-947-6015; electronic mail communication is intended, or terms, and a poignant essay entitled [email protected]; Web www with lack of communication, “Paradigms: The Inertia of Lan- .backbeatbooks.com/. where a message is ignored, has guage,” written by his wife, poet gone astray, or is simply not un- Marianne Brün. Reviewed by S. Lyn Goeringer derstood. Anticommunication is At times acerbic and hard-hitting, Seattle, Washington, USA most easily observed, and often WMRM showcases the “brutally can have an almost entertaining charming” (the author’s terminol- Software Synthesizers: The Defini- quality, if well-known fragments ogy) notions that Brün first intro- tive Guide to Virtual Musical Instru- of a linguistic system are com- duced to his American colleagues ments, edited by Jim Aikin, is a posed into a contextual environ- and students over four decades ago. collection of product reviews from ment in which they try but fail Ultimately, the sense of bewilder- Keyboard magazine. The focus of the to mean what they always ment or alienation in his work book is to introduce the reader to meant. (WMRM, p. 63) served to probe and extend his ideas some computer music/electronic According to Brün, all musical mate- about freedom and human under- music products that are on the mar- rials, gestures, and forms inevitably standing. I close with a personal re- ket, provide insight into these prod- lose what might be called their free- membrance that is emblematic of ucts, and introduce the reader to floating signification potential when- Brün’s public discourse. I recall a basic electronic music concepts by ever listeners, composers, and/or post-concert question and answer providing simplified definitions for performers fail to anticommunicate. session at the University of Illinois at concepts such as MIDI, FM synthe- This was no small matter in Brün’s which a student pointed to one of the sis, and sampling rates. world because he saw this as a move composers and asked why he had The book has some immediate from playfulness toward violence. He written such a “cold” and “calcu- limitations. The first and foremost is held that “the insistence on commu- lated” piece. Before an answer was that it is a collection of product re- nication ultimately leads to social given Brün turned toward the student views for products that are either and physical violence . . . Anticom- and said, “So, you listened without a now obsolete or have greatly evolved munication ultimately leads to the heart, did you?” since the initial publication of the insistence on composition and Herbert Brün’s music is pub- work. An easy example of how much peace” (from My Words and Where I lished by Smith Publications (2617 has changed is the book’s statement Want Them, p. 48). Gwynndale Avenue, Baltimore, that Max/MSP does not run on Mac The third and fourth sections of Maryland 21207, USA; Web www OS X. It is important to remember WMRM contain various essays about .smith-publications.com). His record- when reading this book that the spec- computers and technology, first pub- ings are available from Centaur, Non ifications given for each product as lished in books such as The Com- Sequitur, Opus One, CRI, and the well as their pricing and availability puter and Music, On the Wires of University of Illinois Experimental have changed a great deal in the past Our Nerves: The Art of Electroacous- Studios labels. His compact disc few years. If you find yourself inter- tic Music, and Composers and the recordings and books are available ested in any products discussed in Computer. Brün covers a wide range from www.nonsequiturpress.com/. this book, it would be strongly ad- of topics relevant to composers of For more information, consult the vised to find out if the product is still computer music, including such Brün Web site (www.herbertbrun.org). available, what its current specifica-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 products are to be reviewed. The For many of the programs, there are classes of items reviewed are: soft- also MP3 files available so that you ware that models its sounds on real can hear what the potentials are for instruments (such as the Steinberg the software in its full format. Model-E Software Mini-Moog), Though this book has many limita- virtual-analog suites (such as Native tions, primarily the datedness of the Instruments Absynth or the VirSyn reviews, it is useful for the novice as it Tera), virtual rack systems (Reason, offers great introductory information Image-Line Fruityloops), sample play- to what is involved in electronic and ers (Tascam GigaStudio, Ableton computer music, and it also provides Live), design suites (Cycling ’74 detailed descriptions as well as easy- Max/MSP), and percussion modules to-access demonstrations of software (Waldorf Attack, Steinberg LM4 that has been available in the past (in Mark II). There is only scant discus- many cases, versions are still available sion of products such as Digidesign of these plug-ins). Whether the book Pro Tools, Steinberg Cubase, Mark of helps one to purchase the various the Unicorn Digital Performer, or pieces of software discussed is less im- Cakewalk Sonar. These are men- portant than having access to informa- tioned only to recommend them as tion for what is possible, and in this tions are, and what the current price host applications for plug-in “soft- the book offers some great overviews. is. This being said, however, the book synths” and as being an important as- It is much less useful for the moderate- does offer some useful information to pect of home studio design. On the to-advanced computer musician, as it the novice computer musician. whole, the book is devoted to soft- is geared toward newcomers and the The format of the book is simple to ware that generates sounds, and is information is not current. It is pos- follow, and the language is conversa- less interested in the sequencing and sible to hunt down the reviews in the tional. The book begins with simplis- combination of sounds. book by looking through archives of tic definitions of what synthesizers As noted, the reviews are collected Keyboard magazine, though markedly are, how they can be implemented as from Keyboard magazine, and are ba- less convenient. software, and how these can apply to sically reprints of articles. Where your home computer along with possible, Mr. Aikin has supplied in- what other types of options there are. formation regarding changes from the Portraits Polychromes: John All of these discussions are laced time of an article’s original print Chowning with some amount of humor. When date. Each review follows a similar new concepts are introduced, Mr. format: an overview of the product, a Softcover, 2005, ISBN 2-87-623-164- Aikin provides a brief and simple ex- description of what happened when 6, 122 pages, €13; GRM Institut Na- planation of terms. These explana- the reviewer ran the software through tional de l’Audiovisuel, Maison de tions are not designed to teach you its paces, and what the opinion is of Radio France, 116 avenue du Prési- how to operate a specific device or each reviewer. dent Kennedy, 75220 Paris, France; how to fully understand a specific The book comes with a DVD- telephone (+33) 1-56-40-29-88; concern (such as the mathematical ROM containing a collection of electronic mail [email protected]; Web concept of floating-point), but merely demonstration plug-ins from Able- www.ina.fr/grm/acousmaline/ to break down how to apply a rating ton, Antares, Arturia, BitHeadz, IK polychromes; Éditions Michel de or manufacture spec sheet to the Multimedia, LinPlug, Native Instru- Maule, 41, rue de Richelieu, 75001 functionality of a program. The final ments, Propellerhead, Seer Systems, Paris, France; telephone (+33) 1-42- chapter of the book is perhaps the Software Technology, and VirSyn. 97-93-48. one most useful to the novice as it of- The demos are for either Macintosh fers an easy-to-understand introduc- or Windows, with some software Reviewed by James Harley tion to basic synthesis concepts. working on both platforms, and there Guelph, Ontario, Canada The book is a collection of product are a few fully functional freeware reviews. Each chapter begins with a programs provided, such as Soundfo- This slim volume on John Chowning basic introduction of what types of rum Synth from Native Instruments. is the seventh in the Portraits poly-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 are to be lauded for their efforts in consultant to Pierre Boulez and oth- spearheading not only this volume ers during the planning stages of but the whole series. If you do not IRCAM, and spent time at IRCAM read French yet, now would be a good pursuing research on voice synthesis time to start, as the Portraits poly- later. Indeed, IRCAM was in certain chromes series is an extremely valu- respects modeled on CCRMA, and able addition to scholarly resources the strong relationship established in on computer and electroacoustic mu- the 1970s has continued. Notably, sic. In particular, I would note the in- both Stria and Phoné were produced novative and highly informative Web as a result of commissions awarded sites connected to each volume (con- to Mr. Chowning by IRCAM. sult www.ina.fr/grm/acousmaline/ After the interview, there is a short polychromes and follow the links to article by Mr. Chowning himself, dat- the individual sites), which include, ing from 2004, titled “Composer le among other things, graphic analyses son lui-même” [Composing the Sound of selected pieces presented in con- Itself]. In six pages, the composer- junction with audio playback of the researcher outlines his interest in music. (It was on this site, for ex- creating sounds on the computer, ample, that I discovered that Mr. making reference to the seminal Chowning has just recently com- work of Jean-Claude Risset. Rather pleted a new composition, Voices, his than discussing particular synthesis first since Phoné from 1981.) methods, such as FM, he notes the chromes series published by the This volume on John Chowning possibilities for creating transforma- Groupe de Recherches Musicales/In- opens with an extensive interview tions of timbre by applying dynamic stitut National de l’Audiovisuel with Évelyne Gayou, a composer as- envelopes and vibrato to sinusoidal (GRM/INA) in cooperation with the sociated with GRM/INA, serving components of a sound. Centre de Documentation de there as Director of Publications. Mr. Risset, who has known Mr. Musique Contemporaine (CDMC). Over 18 pages, this interview covers Chowning since meeting him at Bell Other volumes in the series have much of his career, from his early Labs in 1968, has penned for this vol- highlighted Jean-Claude Risset, Luc studies with Nadia Boulanger, to his ume a lengthy article on his work, Ferrari, Bernard Parmegiani, Gilles work at the Artificial Intelligence combining biography with technical Racot, François Bayle, and Ivo Malec. Lab at Stanford University, to the es- exegesis. “Sur l’impact de l’oeuvre John Chowning’s work is central to tablishment of CCRMA, and so on. I scientifique, technique et musicale the field of computer music, but his was rather surprised to learn that Mr. de John Chowning” [On the Scien- publications and compositional out- Chowning had been turned down for tific, Technical, and Musical Impact put have been relatively sparse. For tenure by Stanford in 1973. This was of John Chowning] is a model of clar- all his work on digital frequency after he had published his work on ity and insight, and, at 28 pages in modulation and spatialization, his ef- FM synthesis! Luckily for the univer- length, will no doubt long remain a forts to establish and maintain the sity, the decision was eventually crucial introduction to this impor- Center for Computer Research in overturned, and the millions of dol- tant figure. Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at lars in royalties from Yamaha there- There follows a short article by Stanford University, and his mentor- after accrued to the school’s coffers, Yann Geslin, “John Chowning: de ing of generations of computer musi- turning out, apparently, to be one of l’informatique à la composition mu- cians, this is the first volume entirely the most lucrative licenses in the uni- sicale” [John Chowning: from Com- devoted to Mr. Chowning’s life and versity’s history. In this interview, we puter to Composition], which work. One can only wonder at the are also reminded of the close connec- situates Mr. Chowning’s work in the state of things in America that such tion between the work in computer context of succeeding generations of an important publication would arise music at Stanford and the establish- composers who have been able to only in France, and in French. Re- ment of the Insitut de Recherche et carry on from his ground-breaking re- gardless, Daniel Teruggi, Pierre- Coordination Acoustique/Musique search and applications. Albert Castanet, and Évelyne Gayou (IRCAM). Mr. Chowning served as a The remainder of the book con-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 tains analytical discussions of Mr. John Chowning” [En collaboration wards. More recent improvements in Chowning’s music. Laurent Potter avec . . . ] when another interview by Vegas6 continue with digital camera presents an 18-page analysis of Ture- E. Krick would be listed under “On acquisition tools and do not substan- nas (1972). He outlines the structure, John Chowning” [À propos de . . . ]. tially change the basic audio or video the canons that underlie parts of the In that category, cassette and phono- engine, thus while this book is a solid piece, the spectral organization of the graph recordings from IRCAM pre- guide to Vegas5, it will also function bell sounds, and the aleatoric rhyth- senting Stria are listed as references, well for Vegas6. mic procedures used in various sec- along with a biographical entry by The audio engine has always been tions. In addition, he explains the E. Ruth Anderson. I doubt the audio at the core of what Vegas is all about paths of spatialization, the use of re- items would be available anywhere as a non-linear editor. Vegas Video verberation, and details of the FM outside of the IRCAM reference li- grew out of the audio engine that was synthesis algorithm. Bruno Bossis brary, but hopefully they are at least Vegas Audio which has always been presents a similarly detailed study of accessible there. a solid hard-disk recording and edit- Stria (1977) in his 29-page article, In conclusion, this is a valuable ing program. Now Vegas5 features “Stria de John Chowning ou l’oxy- study of an important figure in com- surround-sound plug-ins for audio en- moron musical du nombre d’or puter music. There do not appear to be coding and has panning buses for 5.1 comme poétique” [John Chowning’s any plans to publish an English ver- channel mixing. The book does not Stria or the Musical Oxymoron: The sion, but perhaps that is because we dwell on these features of Vegas5, Poetics of the Golden Mean]. In his haven’t requested it strongly enough! which are numerous; rather, in as- discussion, Mr. Bossis devotes useful In the meantime, pull out your suming the reader is familiar with space to an explanation of the Golden French–English dictionary, if you the rich feature set and menus, it Mean and how Mr. Chowning ap- have to, and get started. And do check presents an insider’s point of view on plied it to FM synthesis and the cre- out the Web site at GRM; it’s a great how to use several of those features ation of unique timbres and reference in itself (and there are plans and move to expert level for more ad- harmonic relationships. Mr. Bossis to translate parts of it to English). vanced project work. For example, also contributes a very short discus- author Douglas Spotted Owl writes sion of Phoné (1981). about how to use an external MIDI These analyses are augmented by Douglas Spotted Eagle: Vegas5 device to control the software in Ve- the presentations on the associated Editing Workshop, 2nd Edition gas. This, combined with software Web site (cited above). Graphic out- automation, a nice set of DSP and FX lines of the pieces are linked to audio Softcover, 2004, ISBN 1- 57820-257-4, plug-ins, integration of your favorite recordings, enabling the listener to 447 pages, illustrated, with DVD- audio editor, and surround-sound follow along. Being able to take infor- ROM, US$ 49.95; Published by CMP panning buses, gives you enough au- mation gleaned in the articles to the Books as part of the Digital Video Ex- dio tools that you never have to leave pieces themselves is of great value, pert Series, 600 Harrison Street, San the track sheet environment to start in my opinion. One may be limited Francisco, California 94107, USA; working with video. in terms of sonic quality (the audio Web www.cmpbooks.com. The layout, editing, and look of the on the Web is compressed), but the video tracks in Vegas come from the avid listener could then go on to the Reviewed by Jim Hearon early audio multitrack recorder envi- compact disc recording of the works Honolulu, Hawaii, USA ronment which is what I like, as op- (Wergo WER 2012-50), still avail- posed to working with a timeline and able from various sources (such as This book is an update of Vegas4 separate windows. Thus, the ability cdemusic.org). Editing Workshop, and follows up on to organize and scroll through audio Each of the articles in this book in- recent developments in the Vegas and video tracks in one window cludes bibliographic references, and software, including Sony’s HDCAM/ works well for me. One of the book’s the final two pages include a listing DVCAM acquisition and editing best chapters on video is appropri- of articles authored by Mr. Chown- tools. Vegas has been upgrading ately about composting, which is also ing, interviews, and a few other yearly, normally previewing at Na- one of the strongest features of the items. I have no idea why an inter- tional Association of Broadcasters video engine. Additional chapters view by Denis Mercier would be (NAB) convention, and announcing highlight filmic aspects of Vegas5. listed under “In Collaboration with their upgrade version shortly after- Another aspect of Vegas I like is

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 the availability of interesting video computer-based nonlinear editor for Reviewed by Bob L. Sturm plug-ins and there is a short chapter the home user, and is also in use at Santa Barbara, California, USA in the book showing interesting the upper end of project studio work video effects achieved from using and in the corporate environment for Stanford University’s well-known some of these plug-ins. The program media production as well. There are Center for Computer Research in comes with several Sony plug-ins for also educational discounts for site li- Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) has audio and video processing as well, censes available for using the pro- offered a class since 1997 that intro- and the ability to encode into a vari- gram in the school computer lab. duces digital audio coding by a lead- ety of file formats including a new With recent software upgrades for ing researcher in the field, Dr. Marina Sony YUV 4:2:2 codec for delivery of ease of digital camera acquisition, Ve- Bosi. By the end students not only Standard Definition files which can gas clearly seems headed in the direc- understand the concepts behind au- later be encoded/decoded into a vari- tion of integrating this software for dio coding, but are able to create a ety of file formats. use with Sony hardware and utilizing functional encoder and decoder— The DVD-ROM included with the those features for nonlinear editing of known together as a codec—for audio book contains source video files, digital film. signals. As the authors state in the stock stills, ACID loops, sample Ve- I found the book easy to read, and preface, “The ultimate goal of the gas project files, two bonus chapters the examples are clearly produced by class, and now of this book, is to pres- left out of the book, demo and free an experienced user. The book is best ent the student and reader with a software, a collection of legal forms used after gaining a little bit of expe- solid enough understanding of the such as Copyright forms, Location rience with Vegas and becoming major issues in the theory and imple- releases for the independent film- ready to move to a higher level of mentation of perceptual audio coders maker, and several free and trial-use user proficiency rather than as a that they are able to build their own plug-ins. starting point for working with the simple audio codec” (p. xvii). The Vegas is plenty powerful for ren- software. A lot of software instruc- text traverses the wide range of sub- dering to MPEG file format and using tional guides become muddled in the jects necessary for accomplishing the companion DVD-Architect2 for amount of time spent on the intro- this task, from as basic as how analog multiplexing and burning to DVD- duction of technical aspects, navigat- signals can be represented with dis- Video. For High Definition (HD) ing you through the menus and crete bits to as complex as how an video, if one is lucky enough to have features, revealing tips and tricks, or hour of CD-quality audio can be rep- access to Sony peripherals such as an dwelling on areas of specialization. resented with 60 megabytes (MB) in- HDCam, JH3 Tape Playback Deck, Vegas5 Editing Workshop has hit just stead of 600. The numerous readings Xpri, and an HDCam Recorder Deck, the right note, includes a good mix of and notes given in the six years the then Vegas can help you develop 24p topics, and will most definitely help class has been offered before the pub- EDLs (Edit Decision Lists) as uncom- improve your user techniques and lication of this book, which has in- pressed AVI files using the Xpri. workflow. cluded technical articles, book These can then be sent to a post chapters, and standards documenta- house for mastering or used to make tion, has been summarized and com- 24p DVDs in NTSC or PAL. An alter- Marina Bosi and Richard E. piled in a natural way by Ms. Bosi native to Xpri now exists in version 6 Goldberg: Introduction to Digital and Mr. Goldberg. The end result is a of Vegas with the DeckLink software Audio Coding and Standards book that can serve both as a class and PCI card support for both Apple text and as a reference. Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows Hardcover, 2003, ISBN 1-4020-7357- Actually, understanding digital au- XP for capturing, editing, monitoring, 7, 434 pages, introduction by dio coding is essential for an under- and printing-to-tape using the SDI Leonardo Chiariglione, US$144.00; standing of all the technology that (serial digital interface) format in 10- Kluwer Academic Publishers (now surrounds the computer musician, bit uncompressed video. For larger known as Springer Science+Business from the tools used to create music HD projects, the book includes a Media Inc.), 101 Philip Drive, to the methods used to distribute it. “how-to” guide on network rendering Assinippi Park, Norwell, Massachu- For instance, the technology behind (render farming), a helpful start for setts, USA; telephone (+1) 781-681- the CD, DVD, and MP3 are all made setting up distributed rendering. 0537; fax (+1) 781-681-9045; Web possible by audio coding techniques. Vegas is extremely powerful as a www.springerlink.com/. This text will aid the reader in under-

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 standing the state-of-the-art in digital into many frequency-isolated signals tation of masking curves, to the con- audio coding without having to read for more efficient processing, and to tent of the file headers, and even to through numerous complex stan- reassemble the sub-bands without some comments on the business of dards documents. distortion and without increasing the the deployment of codecs, this chap- The book is arranged in two major data rate. This technique is used in ter is the last thing one needs to build sections, and has 15 chapters in total. MPEG-1 Layer I and II coders. The an audio codec, provided one already The first and largest part (chapters 1– DFT and MDCT are presented in has programming experience. After 10) presents audio coding methods chapter 5; they are used in MPEG-2 this then, all that is left is to measure from the basics, like digital represen- AAC, for example. Instead of con- the quality of your implementation tations and the frequency domain, to volving blocks of a signal by PQMF on a variety of sources, and fine-tune more complex topics like the modi- impulse responses, transform-based your system. How to do so within fied discrete cosine transform and coders window the signal and use the professional guidelines, and the vari- perceptually informed bit allocation. DFT to work directly in the frequency ous artifacts created by the coding of The second part (chapters 11–15) goes domain. Overlapping windows would audio, is the subject of the final chap- into detail about numerous audio increase the data rate were it not for ter of the first half. coding standards, from MPEG-1 to its time-domain aliasing cancellation Part 2 of the book goes into detail the still developing MPEG-4, offering property. Together, the PQMF and about five audio coding standards: a great history and overview of cur- MDCT are used in cascade in the MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-2 AAC, rent developments in audio coding. MPEG-1 Layer III codec. Dolby AC-3, and MPEG-4. These The first chapter introduces the The final four chapters of the first standards, as applied to audio, are all field of audio coding and provides part of the book introduce psychoa- meant to provide methods to code motivation for learning representa- coustics and perceptual audio coding, audio in perceptually lossless ways tion schemes more complex than and illustrate the benefits of taking by incorporating psychoacoustic pulse code modulation, namely to advantage of human auditory limits. models. Chapter 11 presents a history better utilize bandwidth. Chapter 2 is Chapter 6 provides an introduction to of several MPEG standards and the devoted entirely to quantization, or the science of psychoacoustics, from goals each is meant to accomplish. the limited precision of digital repre- the hearing threshold and Fletcher- The MPEG-1 audio standard, a speci- sentations. One of the topics in this Munson curves to the phenomena of fication for reducing the data rate for chapter, Huffman coding, is essential time and frequency masking. The fi- high quality audio synchronized to to completely understanding the nal part of this chapter presents the video, is then presented in detail. ideas behind MPEG-1 Layer III, or anatomy of the ear and how it works. This standard led to the development MP3. A brief excursion into mathe- Chapter 7 introduces models of hear- of MPEG-1 Layer III format, or the matics is taken in chapter 3, where ing for use in audio coding. These are MP3 format that many know and useful concepts like the Fourier motivated by the idea that if certain love. The functional blocks of each transform and the frequency domain parts of the spectrum of a signal are layer are discussed and their differ- are presented. The most important inaudible due to masking, fewer bits ences pointed out. The psychoa- theorem of digital audio, the sam- can be allocated to those parts be- coustic models and bit allocation pling theorem, is also presented. cause the resulting distortions will schemes used in MPEG-1 are pre- Chapters 4 and 5 are the real meat not be heard. Methods for distribut- sented as well. of the book, introducing psuedo- ing the bits are the subject of the next MPEG-2 audio is the subject of quadrature mirror filtering (PQMF), chapter. Here one finally sees how 10 chapter 12. This standard is meant to the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), MB of audio can be represented in 1 improve upon MPEG-1 audio for and the modified discrete Cosine MB or less with little to no loss in lower data rates and multichannel transform (MDCT). These chapters quality. audio applications. Achieving this re- require devoted concentration and The goal of the book, assembling a quires lower sampling rates, which cross-referencing to fully understand codec that takes advantage of human represents a reduction in signal the material. These topics are essen- perceptual limits, is the subject of the bandwidth. This, however, is an ac- tial, because they form the central penultimate chapter of the first sec- ceptable compromise for some appli- components in modern audio coding tion. Here the authors discuss how cations, like browsing music online. algorithms. For instance, the PQMF the various pieces that have been Multichannel audio is introduced allows one to split an audio signal studied fit together. From the compu- next, and how it is encoded into a

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 two-channel standard is presented. The reader understands at once the obfuscating standards documents. It An extension to MPEG-2, known as importance and applicability of the presents all topics relevant to audio Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is material. Because this book is in- coding in a logically arranged order, presented in chapter 13. This stan- tended in part to enable a reader to which is something that instructors dard addresses the limitations im- design and build a codec, whether it and students who use this text will posed on MPEG-2 by the requirement is compliant or not with existing appreciate. that it be backwards compatible with standards, the authors are thoughtful MPEG-1. Without this restriction, enough to include at the end of each MPEG-2 AAC allows sampling rates chapter key references, as well as of up to 96 kHz, 48 channels of sound practical exercises for a deeper under- Recordings with various loudspeaker configura- standing of the material. These exer- tions, and superior sounding audio cises, most of which require quality at higher bit rates. programming of some kind, are great. The next chapter presents a stan- I was able to do most of them using Leslie Stuck: Pas dard outside the realm of MPEG, MATLAB, but with many free and Dolby Digital (AC-3). This format is open-source audio libraries available, Compact disc, c74-008, 2003; avail- used for DVD and High Definition they could just as easily be done in able from Cycling ’74, 379A television. Like MPEG-2, AC-3 is another language. Clementina Street, San Francisco, meant to support multichannel audio Two unfortunate problems with California 94103, USA; telephone accompanying video. It supports up this text are the figures and the equa- (+1) 415-974-1818; fax (+1) 415-974- to five channels in various configura- tions. All the figures are in black and 1812; electronic mail info@cycling74 tions. Unique to this format is its white, which becomes a problem .com; Web www.cycling74.com/c74/. flexibility in letting users specify dif- when a graph has several lines that ferent settings such as dynamics con- cannot be discerned one from another. Reviewed by Peter V. Swendsen trol, different speaker configurations, Usually the figures can be properly Charlottesville, Virginia, USA and multilingual support. interpreted, but having to spend time The final chapter deals with the decoding it because of formatting is Few computer music composers are MPEG-4 audio standard. Unlike the annoying. The formatting of all of the as intensely and exclusively commit- previous MPEG standards, MPEG-4 equations in the text is also trouble- ted to scoring for dance as Leslie is a broad collection of specifications some. First there are no equation Stuck. Although this deprives con- and tools for “media objects” such as numbers, so referencing an equation cert audiences of his provocative mu- still images, video, and audio, and in- from within the text is usually lim- sic, it serves to highlight his cludes functions that can alter them, ited to paragraphs near its appearance. infatuation with movement and his such as special effects. In this way it Second, some of the equations are skill for creating its sonic surround- is not a single algorithm for the cod- formatted like they were copied and ings. Mr. Stuck’s recent compact ing of audiovisual data. It is meant to pasted from an ASCII text file, ren- disc, Pas, grants everyone a glimpse address a wide range of scalable appli- dering them difficult to read. Lastly, into the vibrant soundworld that cations, such as digital broadcasting, the notation is inconsistent. In many dance audiences have been enjoying mobile communication, and interac- equations, but not all, the use of “*” for many years. Spanning ten years of tive multimedia, at numerous data denotes multiplication. Returning to work realized in collaboration with rates. The tools it contains include the text for reference at a later time I choreographers in Europe, Japan, and tools for speech coding and synthesis, had considerable confusion as to why on both U.S. coasts, the compositions high-quality audio coding, sound syn- two windows were being convolved on Pas allude to their fundamental thesis, and even tools for intellectual instead of multiplied. With no sym- relationship with dance while also property management. bol table included with the text, I had standing firmly on purely musical The authors do an excellent job re- to find the first instance of their sym- ground. There is movement to be lating the numerous topics covered bol for convolution (“°”). found and felt in this music whether in the book to the main goal of creat- Introduction to Digital Audio Cod- you are performing to it onstage or ing an audio codec. In many places ing and Standards is quite straight- listening to it while sitting at home. they mention which coding standards forward and is a welcome summary It is worth mentioning at the out- use the information just presented. of the numerous and sometimes- set that any critical treatment of this

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 Soothing the Enemy uses a berim- (quite possibly a choreography- bau as its primary—or at least most necessitated restraint in Mr. Stuck’s recognizable—sound source. This is a otherwise active score), its formal more compelling starting point than shape is both welcoming and imagi- the collection of instruments in spe- native. As is the case in other pieces cial x. Perhaps Mr. Stuck agrees, as on Pas, Convolution breaks down to the berimbau samples often appear a minimal collection of sounds and without extensive processing. There gestures about two-thirds of the way is also ample space in the gestures through the piece. However, in this here, one of many indications on Pas case, the rebuilding that occurs as the of Mr. Stuck’s sensitivity to the need piece approaches its end never quite for moments of silence, even if they attains the ferment heard earlier, a are brief. This sonic prudence bene- tactful touch that leaves one wanting fits the music and especially suc- more after an engaging nine minutes. music is incomplete without a simul- ceeds in the dance theater, when an The aptly titled Go sneaks into the taneous consideration of the choreog- unsympathetic constancy of sound fray as the penultimate piece on Pas. raphy with which it resides on stage and movement can easily overwhelm This frantic miniature is electric and (though such attention is largely be- an audience. Soothing the Enemy is bubbling. It both flies by and allows yond the scope of this review). This is tight and focused, its rhythmic groove you to get lost in its midst, like the particularly the case with Mr. Stuck’s supporting a satisfying use of spatial two minutes when you decide you music not because his compositions movement and registral ranges. are fed up with your list of demands do not deserve independent analysis Though it is included here as an ex- for the day and pull quickly onto that and response, but rather because Mr. cerpt of the longer original work, it inviting back road that will whisk Stuck places tremendous importance feels whole and well structured. you out to the country, where you on creating a meaningful, intimate, The more limited pitch world of can drive fast and open the windows. and non-hierarchical relationship be- maxi-zub makes its rhythmic charac- Mondriaan was the first piece of tween sound and movement. Having ter all the more driving. A single high Mr. Stuck’s that I experienced in con- experienced some of the pieces pre- piano note instigates much of the ad- cert, paired with the intense and sented on Pas in concert, I can assure ditive action here, as other piano finely crafted choreography of Mary you that he succeeds in this enterprise. sounds and sampled material snap to Cochran. Though complete conjec- Though each of the six pieces on an unyielding metric grid. Here ture on my part, the title perhaps Pas has its own distinct character and again, one can witness Mr. Stuck’s refers to Mr. Stuck’s algorithmic energy, there are certain qualities ability to assist, but not overwhelm, compositional processes, which are they all share: crispness, rhythmic the dance for which he composes. employed throughout Pas, and which vigor, allusions to or direct use of Though the rhythmic foundation of echo the painter Piet Mondriaan’s acoustic instruments, and just mazi-zub seems poised to support ex- weighted grids in their rhythmic char- enough whimsical sound objects to tended melodic and harmonic lines, acter and subtle shifts of focus. In any keep you guessing while submerged Mr. Stuck keeps these to a minimum, case, this final piece is wonderfully in an inventive soundworld. The granting the choreographer and audi- cinematic. Its sounds have character, opening piece, special x, exemplifies ence their own gestural space in it plays with perceptions of fore- Mr. Stuck’s predilection for acoustic which to function. ground and background, and its rhyth- instruments, which he samples, pro- Pas is at its most organic in Con- mic and gestural “cuts” keep the cesses, and assembles to great effect. volution, a composition with wider- pacing fresh and engaging. Sampled Though at times the timbres of spe- ranging gestures and formal sound objects pop out from a linger- cial x sound slightly dated to 2005 departures than its counterparts. Its ing and lush texture of strings, every ears, the soundworld in general is in- modulations in size, space, and mood so often initiating a tangential depar- credibly precise as Mr. Stuck plays carry Convolution on a living and ture that sometimes succeeds in lead- with the boundaries of source recog- breathing path through sparseness, ing the piece to new territory and nition, letting each sonic element self-invention, and frenetic density. sometimes is thwarted by a reasser- have its say, until an undeniable Though it stumbles into a slightly tion of existing material. At times it rhythmic insistency emerges. meandering section in the middle feels like a struggle between nature

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 and industry, at others like you are and designed by Toni Dove. It is an standing on a knife-edged peak where excerpt from a larger work-in-progress on one side of you is the most amaz- titled Spectropia. The DVD takes you ing view you have ever had and on through different scenarios in which the other is a fall to certain death. you can interact and observe various Given his dedication to the venue, characters, including Sally, who was the collaborators with which he designed by Toni Dove and based on works, and most importantly, the en- a real life burlesque/nude dancer ergy and quality of his work, it is clear from the early-to-mid part of the last that anyone even remotely interested century, Sally Rand. Through the use in composing for dance (or dancing to of Max/MSP and Jitter, the disc is de- new music) should immediately fa- signed so that you can interact miliarize themselves with Mr. Stuck’s within certain segments through a music. But other listeners, composers, speech recognition program, a com- and computer musicians in general puter keyboard, or through move- would do well to explore the works on ment of a computer mouse. It can Pas. Their rhythmic invention alone only be operated on Macintosh plat- makes them well worth a listen, with forms (Macintosh OS 9.1–9.2.2 or superior sonic features, high-level pro- Max OS X 10.2 or later; a microphone duction, and finely crafted structures is required to use the speech recogni- thrown in as a bonus. Experience Mr. tion capabilities of the work). Stuck’s music live if you can, as it is The main menu of the DVD has a real treat to see choreography and four options, which I will describe variation. The content of the conver- music interact so convincingly, but briefly. The first option is to play the sation comes from quotes either in any case, do take advantage of fi- program, the second is to play “Sally about the actual life of Sally Rand, or nally having this appealing collection Sings,” and then there are two pre- at times even quotes from the actual in portable CD form. views of coming attractions from Ms. Sally Rand. The comment she offers Dove: Artificial Changelings and when discussing whether you find Spectropia (which is the project Sally her performance shocking that “some or The Bubble Burst is a part of). people probably would want to put Multimedia When you play the program, a new pants on a horse,” was originally menu screen comes up. You may made by Superior Judge Joseph B. choose here to speak directly to Sally David (19 July 1933) when discussing using the speech recognition pro- charges brought forward relating to Toni Dove: Sally or the Bubble gram, or you may interact with her her performance at the Chicago Burst using your keyboard. After making a World’s Fair in 1933. selection, you may select one of three There are several strange things that DVD-ROM, 2003, Bustlelamp Pro- zones within which to interact with occur while carrying on the conversa- ductions, US$ 49; available from Cy- Sally and the other characters in the tion with Sally in Zone 1. Most no- cling ’74, 379A Clementina Street, world she inhabits. ticeably, the computer gets responses San Francisco, California 94103, In Zone 1, you are able to have a easily confused. The operation man- USA; telephone (+1) 415-974-1818; conversation with Sally. The conver- ual suggests using a noise-canceling fax (+1) 415-974-1812; electronic mail sations are based on either speech microphone to help with this prob- [email protected]; Web www recognition or typed-word recogni- lem, but it is still interesting to note .cycling74.com/. tion. If you are typing in your ques- the strangeness of some confusions. tions and responses to Sally, the When you speak a word clearly, the Reviewed by S. Lyn Goeringer conversation seems to be brief and to computer repeats the word back to Seattle, Washington, USA offer less varied responses. If you you as Sally is responding. This repe- have a spoken conversation with tition can alleviate some confusion Sally or The Bubble Burst is an inter- Sally, the conversation lasts longer in her responses. As she speaks, each active DVD-ROM written, directed, and the responses seem to have more word is presented as a separate facial

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Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.1.83 by guest on 26 September 2021 expression, creating a video-collaged Depression and on consumerism. On the whole, the product would sentence. After running this aspect of This is the least interactive aspect of be useful to instructors wanting to the program multiple times and the disc. give a brief introduction to some of noticing there were several stored I found Zone 3 to be the most com- the capabilities of a combined sentences, it became unclear to me pletely realized part of the project. Max/MSP and Jitter environment. why the collage element was neces- Utilizing mouse tracking and/or When combined with the informa- sary. Her responses could be more voice recognition, you are able to di- tion on the Coming Attraction trail- fluid visually, though more memory rect the movement of the character ers for Artificial Changelings and may need to be used to create a sys- Sally dancing with a bubble as well as Spectropia, it would allow an instruc- tem in which to do this. use your voice to have her sing along. tor to show some of the possibilities Another feature of Zone 1 is the It is possible to change the sample re- within an interactive video installa- ability to manually select keys to sponse rate. The video is quite tion and performance environment. change Sally’s expression. You are smooth, and very predictable, allow- Unfortunately, the DVD does not de- also supposed to be able to type ing you to move the mouse as though liver as much of interest to the indi- words for her to speak as well, al- you were dancing with her. The mu- vidual user, as it seems to be a though I could not get this aspect of sic that accompanies the videos is demonstrative video rather than an the program to function. The expres- also linked to the mouse, and it interactive environment that would sions were possible to obtain by se- speeds up or slows down with the draw you back again and again. The lecting letters on the keyboard. movement of the mouse. responses and interaction between Zone 2 allows you to hear from the On the main menu there is another the participant and the characters as objects surrounding Sally on the set. option, which is to play “Sally Sings.” presented in Sally can be almost ex- There is a radio, a small clear white You have the option to get her to sing hausted after an hour of pursuing the bubble, a larger bubble on a black three pre-programmed songs: Daisy possibilities. As an installation, this floor, a chair, and a shawl. By clicking Bell, You Made Me Love You, and can be very effective, but as an in- on these objects you can hear what Out Of No Where. You also have the home product, it is not very satisfy- they have to say, and each object has option to have her sing notes you ing. The project does not reduce well multiple responses, so you can click play by clicking on a keyboard on the to a DVD-ROM, and is best suited for on them several times to hear sev- screen or through your computer a large installation space, where we eral comments and commentaries keyboard. This portion contains the would be expected to interact with from them. Each object offers its same collage style found in Zone 1 of the characters for only a brief mo- own social commentary on the Great the primary program on the disc. ment of time.

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