Amergent music

07 April, 2009

Amergent Music Statement

Where effect is a result, emergence is a behavior. The patterns of a cellular automata or swarm algorithm are visually evident as an effect—or result—of a simple rule set.

Where affect is a condition that produces emotion, Amergence is a phenomenon of consciousness. This term characterizes emergent behavior with an additional, psychological dimension.

Amergence refers to behavior that can be witnessed and read. In our mediated world emergence is a given, but through further observation (to entend in the Lefebvre-ian sense of noticing and understanding) we find amergence. It reveals subjective details of the emergent behavior that surrounds us.

A work of Amergent music is rooted in the innate dynamics of a media technology. It must understand and recognize the functioning order of the environment or platform that supports it. In terms of the "content" or "subject" of the work, that which is to be communicated or explored (via mediated interaction) is organized into sonic spaces, each of which is subject to change. This arrangement works to represent degrees of potential or possibility. Nothing is black and white. Fluctuations within a space, or novelty that becomes apparent through the layering of several spaces, points to a world characterized by nuance. Kevin Lynch describes buildings, sidewalks, and other urban features as "legible;" useful for the construction of personal narratives. "A landscape whose every rock tells a story may make difficult the creation of fresh stories" (The Image of the City, 1960). Similarly, Amergent music does this for mediated interaction, where use of a system, or choices within that system, manifest a sonic synergy coupling the observer and the observed. The emergence of mediated interaction is made "legible" through sound as music.
This statement is modified from the original version which appeared in Dérive en Mille Sons "Drifting in a Thousand Sounds" a psychogeographic approach to mobile music & mediated interaction, a paper written for the 2009 Spark Festival of Electronic Music & Arts.

20 February, 2009

Dérive en Mille Sons

Dérive en Mille Sons (Drifting in a Thousand Sounds) is an in-progress project presented at the 2009 SPARK Festival of Electronic Music & Arts.
ABSTRACT: "Dérive en Mille Sons" is a musical work that uses mobile media technology to artistically examine the relationship between music and the listener. Contemporary media technologies, be they at work, home, or in your pocket, emphasize playback. These devices are designed to facilitate the storage and retrieval of pre-made media assets. This work leverages the processing capabilities that rest dormant within these technologies. Drawing from the writings of Guy Debord and the Situationist/Surrealist practice of the dérive, "drifting" becomes a metaphor for instrumental performance in which the openness and emergence of interactivity is articulated through sound, as music.

Download the paper (PDF)

17 February, 2009

Sound Garden

Sound Garden is a continuous work, meaning it is not defined by a performance of any particular duration. Listeners may situate themselves in the garden at the installation site or online and remain indefinitely. The music is characterized by sonic events that are unique in the moment—relative both to the sonic material that nurtures the garden and environmental perturbations that effect its development.

In the tradition of the physical work associated with organic gardens (planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding, pruning, etc.) Sound Garden provides an online interface that allows listeners to tend their sonic environment and take an active role in its composition and care. Using a web browser, listeners can contribute their own digital audio files (musical material, voice and environmental recordings, etc.) and become gardeners that help to form the overall sonic landscape of Sound Garden.

Sound Garden will be online February 17–22 as part of the 2009 SPARK Festival of Electronic Music & Arts.

31 October, 2008

Spark 2009: fingers crossed!

I submitted my materials for the 2009 Spark Festival this afternoon. After attending the festival in 2008 I was really excited about what had happened and how it influenced my thinking. Spark covers a broad range of topics in music, digital media, and the media arts in general. I'm hoping to be included in 2009 with a paper presentation and a musical installation.
If you're interested, check out my Spark 2009 submissions.

28 June, 2008

PhIRE by Bjorn Ottesen


My student Bjorn Ottesen finished completed his MS degree this past week. He has been working on a very compelling physical interaction system called PhIRE ('Physically Immersive Reactive Environment'). Bjorn posted a short video clip of me playing a music application he wrote. It's a lot like Electroplankton, but different due to the physicality—I felt like I could "push" the notes around (with apologies to Morton Feldman).

30 April, 2008

ActionScript 3.0 Development

Anyone who has seen my site (www.x-tet.com) will recognize that Flash has been an essential development tool for quite some time. While Max/MSP, Absynth, Logic and others are also part of the mix, Flash is a great tool for making and prototyping systems of music and interaction.

Since its release I have been impressed with the potential of ActionScript 3.0 but would like to see Adobe take steps to build more audio functionality into future releases of the Flash Player. Recently I learned that I am not alone.

I encourage you to check out the petition at Adobe, MAKE SOME NOISE and sign on if you agree that this is a worthy cause.

Adobe, MAKE SOME NOISE

01 February, 2008

New book!

From Pac-Man to Pop Music cover
"From Pac-Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media" is edited by Karen Collins and will be published by Ashgate. I contributed a chapter entitled "The Composition-Instrument: emergence, improvisation, and interaction in games and new media."