Work » Projects » within the magnification of transience and light 2020
within the magnification of transience and light works with feedback created by utilizing a miniature bluetooth speaker that is resonated on the cusp of or inside the mouth. The piece draws its inspiration very loosely from Robert Ashley’s Wolfman and Laurie Anderson’s work with pillow speakers as described in Stories from the Nerve Bible.
Initial work for this piece began under the auspices of the residency program Artists at Albatross Reach (CA), and was performed at a salon concert at in January 2020 for two performers playing blue-tooth speakers, prepared piano, and live-electronics. The piece was subsequently adapted as an opening processional march for the 2020 Sampler Concert performed by the Toneburst Laptop & Electronic Arts Ensemble at Wesleyan University, which I direct.
The piece has subsequently been adapted for the performance environments allowed within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with bluetooth speakers and a network of simultaneous Zoom/FaceTime/Skype calls (pictured above), a large feedback network is created between each of the performers, whose sound draws out the idiosyncrasies of feedback and environment suppression these softwares employ.
Utilizing a program written in Max, a pulse wave as well as the feedback is filtered both by the vocal cavity and resonant filters in the program. These sounds are recorded within Max, time-stretched and layered.
Future performances of the work are being developed, and will be featured in an upcoming group performance for Artists at Albatross Reach in Spring 2021.
