Sound and Video Anthology: Program Notes
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Sound and Video Anthology: Program Notes Media Compositions and by CLOrk (the Concordia Laptop and piece for the program notes; taken Performances: Doug Van Nort, Orchestra) eschews the classically as a whole, I feel that these works calculated and precise world of the create an excellent counterpoint to Curator laptop orchestra in favor of the messy Part A by virtue of their cohesion and risky world of interdisciplinary as well as a concentrated focus on Curator’s Note improvisation. The result is a work both stylistic engagement and sonic whose shared agency is a product gestural forms (as compared with It is with great pleasure that I have of listening for gestural engagement the expansive and organic crossing curated Computer Music Journal’s across forms (kinetic, sonic). Finally, of media and expressive types found 2014 Sound and Video Anthology. I Bill Hsu and Chris Burns present within the first set). As a collection, decided upon a theme of distributed a piece that intersects this world I hope that you will find the diver- Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/38/4/119/1856976/comj_a_00274.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 agency in digitally mediated perfor- of cross-media improvisation with sity and quality of these works as mance. In particular, my interest here shared control at the level of their compelling as I have, and that they is to showcase a multiplicity of ways interactive performance systems, might provide for a moment to reflect in which shared agency manifests resulting in a document that demon- on the creative insights that may be between human performers, as well strates the possible richness discov- gained when one “loosens the reins” as between human and machine per- ered when sharing gestures across on one’s own artistic control, instead formers. The collection begins with media, between human performers, distributing it among a collective of “Part A: Distributed Composition”; and with the system itself. listening and expressing performers, this section presents audio/video This sharing of system-level ges- be they present or tele-present, musi- documents that highlight five unique tural and compositional forms is the cal beings or meta-musical machines. approaches to distributing and sharing focus of “Part B: Musical Metacre- expressive voices between composer- ation.” This section highlights Part A – Distributed Composition performers. In these works, the cutting-edge machine improvisa- resulting compositional voice does tion systems in performance with 1. Polartide—Chris Chafe not reside in one central location, two top-level human improvisers: but rather is a product of collective Paul Hession on drums and Finn Pe- Polartide started as a project for co-creation, at varying levels of spa- ters on flute and saxophone. Hearing the 2013 Venice Biennale Mal- tial and temporal remove. This set these disparate systems at play with dives Pavilion. A team of musicians includes a work by Chris Chafe and the same performer begins to hint and artists banded together at UC colleagues, wherein large-scale com- at the stylistic differences of their Berkeley’s Center for New Media positional qualities are influenced by composer-designers, as well as the (bcnm.berkeley.edu) to create a sound global sea levels as well as by a live virtuosic flexibility of the human marker that tracks sea water levels audience, resulting in a piece that players. In order to bring focus to- in coastal cities. A sound marker is is not only artful but consciousness- wards listening to these differences, I an alarm of sorts that sounds out to raising at the same time. In contrast have decided that this section should all members of a community within to this “outsourcing” of the details of be audio-only. Each of these excerpts earshot of a bell tower. The first ver- compositional form, the works by Pe- comes from a single concert of the sion worked with simulated bells, and dro Rebelo and The Hub both present same name that took place at Cafe this version, Spillover, works with a two very different takes on “net- OTO in London in July 2014. The live audience and a carillonneur. work music”: Rebelo’s work defines curation of this concert was the work The carillonneur plays a fixed score a global feedback network whose of Ollie Bown, and so the excellent that is a “musification” of global sea- sonic character and overall shape are selection of the included systems is level data. The audience, using the the product of a large-scale intercon- purely to his credit. Aside from being Spillover Web app, controls the speed nection of disparate acoustic spaces privileged to take part in the concert, or tempo at which the carillonneur and performers, whereas The Hub— from a curatorial point of view I sim- plays the score. The audience controls the fathers of “computer network ply had the good sense to incorporate how fast the music plays from note music”—present us with a canonical these works into the in-progress cura- to note, and metaphorically explores example of their ever-groundbreaking tion of this collection, both because how our actions affect the rise of approach to composing for shared, they fit so nicely with my chosen global sea water. living network structures. The piece theme and because I could feel the The Polartide team includes: strong improvisational musicianship Chris Chafe, Composer, Stanford Uni- Notes: doi: 10.1162/COMJ a 00274 on the evening of performance. I will versity Center for Computer Research Content: doi: 10.1162/COMJ x 00276 leave the description of each system in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) Sound and Video Anthology: Program Notes 119 Rama Gottfried, Musician, Berkeley large ships in the port of St. John’s, projects involving communities in Center for New Media Newfoundland. Belfast and favelas in Mare,´ Rio de Janeiro. This work has resulted in Perrin Meyer, Sound Designer, Meyer sound art exhibitions at venues such Sound 2. Netrooms: The Long as the Metropolitan Arts Centre in Tiffany Ng, Musician, Berkeley Cen- Feedback—Pedro Rebelo Belfast, Espac¸o Ecco in Brasılia,´ and ter for New Media Parque Lage and Museu da Marein´ Downloaded from http://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-pdf/38/4/119/1856976/comj_a_00274.pdf by guest on 28 September 2021 Greg Niemeyer, Artist, Berkeley Cen- Netrooms: The Long Feedback is a Rio de Janeiro. ter for New Media participative network piece which His writings reflect his approach to invites the public to contribute to an design and creative practice in a wider The Polartide team would like to extended feedback loop and delay line understanding of contemporary cul- thank the following people for their across the Internet. The work explores ture and emerging technologies. Pedro support: Monica Lam, June Holtz, the juxtaposition of multiple spaces has been Visiting Professor at Stanford Sharon Eberhart, and The Open as the acoustic, social, and personal University (2007) and senior visiting Source Community. environment becomes permanently professor at Universidade Federal do networked. The performance consists Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2014). He has Chris Chafe is a composer, improvi- of live manipulation of multiple been Music Chair for international sor, and cellist, developing much of real-time streams from different conferences such as ICMC 2008, SMC his music alongside computer-based locations that receive a common 2009, and ISMIR 2012. At Queen’s research. He is Director of Stanford sound source. Netrooms celebrates University Belfast, he has held posts University’s Center for Computer the private acoustic environment as as Director of Education and Acting Research in Music and Acoustics defined by the space between one Head of School in the School of Mu- (CCRMA). At IRCAM (Paris) and audio input (microphone) and output sic and Sonic Arts and is currently The Banff Centre (Alberta), he pur- (loudspeaker). The performance of Director of Research for the School sued methods for digital synthesis, the piece consists of live-mixing a of Creative Arts, including the Sonic music performance, and real-time feedback loop with the signals from Arts Research Centre. In 2012 he Internet collaboration. CCRMA’s each stream. was appointed Professor at Queen’s SoundWIRE project involves live con- Visuals by Rob King. and awarded the Northern Bank’s certizing with musicians the world “Building Tomorrow’s Belfast” prize. over. Online collaboration software Pedro Rebelo is a composer, sound including JackTrip and research into artist, and performer working primar- latency factors continue to evolve. ily in chamber music, improvisation, 3. Multiple Issues—The Hub An active performer both on the net and sound installation. In 2002, he and physically present, his music was awarded a PhD by the University Multiple Issues is a composite video reaches audiences in dozens of coun- of Edinburgh, where he conducted re- constructed of legacy video shots tries and sometimes at novel venues. search in both music and architecture. from video footage that Hub mem- A simultaneous five-country concert His music has been presented in ber Scot Gresham-Lancaster made was hosted at the United Nations venues such as the Melbourne Recital onstage during various American in 2009. Chafe’s works are available Hall, National Concert Hall Dublin, and European performances over the from Centaur Records and various Queen Elizabeth Hall, Ars Electron- last 25 years. The soundtrack—made online media. Gallery and museum ica, and Casa da Musica,´ and at events from Hub pieces such as “WaxLips”, music installations are into their such as Weimarer Fruhjahrstage¨ fur “Stuck Note”, etc.—drives the jump second decade with “musifications” zeitgenossische¨ Musik, Wien Modern shot editing decided algorithmi- resulting from collaborations with Festival, Cynetart, and Musica´ Viva. cally with the Movie.Py python artists, scientists, and MDs.