www.x-tet.com » Experiments

Composition-Instrument Studies

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:46:30 +0000

A musical exploration of space, with reference to Henri Bergson, Guy Debord, Kevin Lynch, and Henri Lefebvre. These studies require the arrow keys of a standard computer keyboard and the Flash player.

Launch first study: Dérive
Launch second study: Mazes

This research has taken me to some unexpected and very interesting places. “Psychogeography” in the writings of Guy Debord (1955) and the idea of “city imageability” by Kevin Lynch (1960) have helped me come to the latent realization of a conceptual spatiality in the way I organize sounds in a musical work. My approach is to first conceptualize the core ideas of a project as different sounds. I then arrange these within a conceptual territory (similar to Henri Lefebvre’s socially produced space (1991)) that is then given over to exploration. Debord’s psychogeography, Lynch’s imageability, and Lefebvre’s social space are all constructions of consciousness. They may make reference to actual physical space, but they are immaterial. These spaces are only real to us as a means of facilitating communication and understanding. I am interested in making music that can be experienced in this way. By conceiving of a subject spatially I find the freedom to explore that subject in all its nuance and complexity. When rooted in sound, spatial concepts can acknowledge potentiality. Movement through space then becomes a kind of instrumental performance where the openness and emergence of true interactivity is articulated through sound, as music.

A(rt) Life Study

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:22:54 +0000

A(rt)Life is a new project, initiated Summer 2005. This study uses the PSO algorithm and explores the connection between swarm dynamics and specific parameters of a music composition. Unlike my other PSO-related works this example is only available as an MP3.

Play max.s.o.mp3

Word is Virus

norbert — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 05:17:10 +0000

This project is based on the cut-up techniques used by Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs. Burroughs gave a lecture where he discussed his and Gysin’s experiments with cut ups at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in April of 1976. This piece takes that lecture and cuts it into an ever-changing variety of permutations. The lecture is heard in accompaniment with a soundscape and is intended for continuous listening.

Launch “Word is Virus”

“Clapping Music” Variation

norbert — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:32:48 +0000

This is a variation on “Clapping Music” by Steve Reich. I am interested in Reich’s concept of the “gradual process” and wanted to try an experiment: Could I create a performance of this piece for the web? In my variation you can assume the role of audience or performer. To be in the audience you need only listen. To be a performer, click the word “manual” and use the triangular button to advance through the various phases of the composition. To return to an audience perspective, click “auto.”

Launch “Clapping Music”

Note: due to errors with onSoundComplete() introduced in Flash Player 9 “Clapping Music” Variation no longer plays correctly. Thanks to these guys, repairs have been initiated, but my file won’t work without a major overhaul…

Particle Swarm Optimization [1]

norbert — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:19:14 +0000

PSO[1] is my first composition that used the particle swarm algorithm of Kennedy and Eberhart to perform music.

Tonal Clusters

norbert — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 05:08:08 +0000

This project was completed in May, 2004. Music, as an element of interactive design, shares an equal significance with color palette, typography, imagery, layout, and animation. This piece explores that relationship through the use of non-linear musical composition.

Launch Tonal Clusters

ENO-like series

norbert — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:11:01 +0000

An ongoing series of experiments modeled after the tape-loop techniques used by Brian Eno. In these Flash movies I am using digital audio files and ActionScript to achieve the effects he created with analog tape loops.

ENO-like: 1 @625K
ENO-like: 2 @561K
ENO-like: 3 @733K
ENO-like: 4 @263K

Research blog: Amergent Music

norbert — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:31:29 +0000

Writings on music and interaction for digital art, entertainment, and communications. I am a PhD student in the Planetary Collegium at the University of Plymouth, England. blog.x-tet.com documents progress towards my thesis/dissertation in reading, writing, music, art, and media projects.

Thoughts on music for interactivity

norbert — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:29:53 +0000

A few words from 2004 on what I do and why. There are also a few links with musical/interactive examples.

“When I started composing for interactivity it was immediately apparent that one of the medium’s greatest challenges would be the unpredictability of time. Time posed questions such as ‘when will someone click to make their first choice?’ or ‘if someone chooses option Y before option X, how long will they spend in that section?’” Read the short essay.