[home]

[sounds]

[code]

[words]

[me]


Ars Didjita. (MP3, 192Kbps VBR, 11 MB). Performed at SEAMUS 2002 in Iowa City, IA on Thursday, April 4th at 9:30 AM. Ars Didjita arose from a desire to channel the inspiration for my film work into the magic of a live piece. The NASA productions I have scored showcase stunning visualizations of cosmic phenomena and observations of our own beloved Earth from space. The didjeridu seemed perfect to evoke the natural world on this intimately incomprehensible scale. Despite the simplicity of the didj, it flirts with timbres strangely akin to electroacoustic manipulation. Or is it the reverse? I have attempted a symbiosis between the instrumental and electronic elements, through use of dynamic spectral envelopes, spatial movement, and a subtly insistent pulse, complementing the natural didj sound. Imagine a thread between the dawn of time and the cusp of the future. Distinctions dissolve, boundaries blur, and music emerges from the darkness...


Ars Algorhythmica. (MP3, 192Kbps VBR, 12 MB). Performed at NIME 2003 in Montreal, QC on Saturday, May 24th at 8 PM. Ars Algorhythmica is a duet between a didjeridu, an ancient Aboriginal instrument from the other side of the world, and a Rhythmicon, a long-defunct polymetrical opto-electronic machine built in the 1930's by Leon Theremin for Henry Cowell. The didj is played live, while the Rhythmicon has been revived using audio samples obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. These seemingly immiscible sound sources are blended, processed, and reinterpreted in real time within an improvisational framework using MAX/MSP, SuperCollider, and the BBCut Library. Organic and mechanic conflict and resolve, merge and separate, summoning ghosts of the past into the present. Blood becomes electric, wires pulse with life, rhythm conquers all. Peace.

This work would not have been possible without the generous assistance of Margaret Schedel and Nick Collins, who provided invaluable programming support and musical inspiration. Ars Algorhythmica is dedicated to Philip Brett—scholar, conductor, mentor, and a major influence towards dedicating my life to music. He will be dearly missed.


Iteration 31. (MP3, 256Kbps CBR, 10.7 MB). Composed collaboratively by Jomenico. Chosen "Best Dance Remix of an Avant-Garde Classic" at SEAMUS 2004 in San Diego, CA, and performed on Saturday, March 27th at 8:30 PM. We would like to express our utmost gratitude to Alvin Lucier for allowing us to deconstruct his piece "I Am Sitting in a Room" [CDeMUSIC / Amazon].

We are sitting in a room, indifferent to everyone but the now. We are distorting the sound of Alvin Lucier's voice, and we are going to fray and hack into the gloom again and again, until the recontextualised frequencies can bloom and be a force themselves... so that any semblance of his piece, with perhaps the deception of schism, is enjoyed. What you will hear then, are the supernatural resonant sequences of the tune, articulated by beats. We regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a creative act, but more as a way to groove out any regularities we geeks might have.


Creative Commons License
These works are licensed under a Creative Commons License.