Sound of Mermy

Shan Ni

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Mermy is an augmented ceramic instrument shaped as a female marine creature, acting as the player's avatar during the performance. The physical body of Mermy offers multiple playing possibilities as an instrument: idiophone, chordophone, and aerophone all together. An embedded contact microphone is used to pick up the acoustic sound, for both amplification and processing purpose. Five windows around the body serve as tangible sensors, which control digital treatments and trigger LED lights from within. This music performance is an illustration of an uncanny world through the sound of Mermy. Interactions between the performer and the instrument are subtle, precise and intimate, adding to the immersive, ritualistic atmosphere of the piece.

Citation

Shan Ni. 2021. Sound of Mermy. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.21428/92fbeb44.a641fb52 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2021_music_3,
 abstract = {Mermy is an augmented ceramic instrument shaped as a female marine creature, acting as the player's avatar during the performance. The physical body of Mermy offers multiple playing possibilities as an instrument: idiophone, chordophone, and aerophone all together. An embedded contact microphone is used to pick up the acoustic sound, for both amplification and processing purpose. Five windows around the body serve as tangible sensors, which control digital treatments and trigger LED lights from within. This music performance is an illustration of an uncanny world through the sound of Mermy. Interactions between the performer and the instrument are subtle, precise and intimate, adding to the immersive, ritualistic atmosphere of the piece.},
 address = {Shanghai, China},
 articleno = {3},
 author = {Shan Ni},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.21428/92fbeb44.a641fb52},
 editor = {Eric Parren and Wei Chen},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 title = {Sound of Mermy},
 track = {Music},
 url = {https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.a641fb52},
 year = {2021}
}