Weaving Before Electronics: A Spiral Design Process for Sound-Interface Making

Patricia Cadavid Hinojosa, Nathan Renney, and Judith Aston

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

This paper reports the design and conceptualisation process of Kirma, a work-in-progress sound interface developed from Andean spiral temporality and the ancestral technique of coil basketry. The focus is on method rather than on a finished artefact, with design and process treated as integral to the artwork. This work promotes a practice-led, cosmotechnical approach in which gesture, material, and sound converge through situated making. Methodologically, it aligns with Technical Practice Research and proceeds through non-linear spiral iteration, where knowledge arises via cycles of weaving, listening, documentation and attention to material resistances. From this stance, the paper articulates a spiral design methodology that links Andean temporality with technical practice and craft, advances a material-ethical orientation grounded in proximity and gleaning, and situates the instrument as an interface that emerges from weaving before electronics. Taken together, these orientations support alternative modes of interaction and listening and point toward pluriversal directions for sound-interface design.

Citation

Patricia Cadavid Hinojosa, Nathan Renney, and Judith Aston. 2026. Weaving Before Electronics: A Spiral Design Process for Sound-Interface Making. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20784109 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_27,
 abstract = {This paper reports the design and conceptualisation process of Kirma, a work-in-progress sound interface developed from Andean spiral temporality and the ancestral technique of coil basketry. The focus is on method rather than on a finished artefact, with design and process treated as integral to the artwork. This work promotes a practice-led, cosmotechnical approach in which gesture, material, and sound converge through situated making. Methodologically, it aligns with Technical Practice Research and proceeds through non-linear spiral iteration, where knowledge arises via cycles of weaving, listening, documentation and attention to material resistances. From this stance, the paper articulates a spiral design methodology that links Andean temporality with technical practice and craft, advances a material-ethical orientation grounded in proximity and gleaning, and situates the instrument as an interface that emerges from weaving before electronics. Taken together, these orientations support alternative modes of interaction and listening and point toward pluriversal directions for sound-interface design.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {27},
 author = {Patricia  Cadavid Hinojosa and Nathan Renney and Judith Aston},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20784109},
 editor = {Benedict Gaster and João Tragtenberg and Anna Xambó and Tom Mitchell},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {},
 numpages = {10},
 pages = {233--242},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/AbXqMrDcumI},
 title = {Weaving Before Electronics: A Spiral Design Process for Sound-Interface Making},
 track = {Paper},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_27.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}