In and Out of Phase

Teerath Majumder, and James Ilgenfritz

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

In this performance, a double bass player and a computer-transducer (CT) player improvise using a double bass, two transducers, and a computer. These entities influence and mediate each other's contributions to the sonic outcome. At the technological level, a complex feedback loop is established: (i) a microphone picks up sounds from the bass, (ii) a computer program analyzes this sound, ‘smears’ it, and generates new partials in response, and (iii) the transducers play the ‘smeared’ signal and the generated tones through the body of the bass. While the bass player plays natural harmonics with various articulations adapting to and intervening in the natural flow of information among the entities, the CT player regulates the output of the computer and plays the bass by moving one of the transducers. This interface offers new possibilities of performance that incorporate the tactility of the physical entities, digital transformation of mechanically produced sounds, and a distributed network of human and nonhuman agents.

Citation

Teerath Majumder, and James Ilgenfritz. 2024. In and Out of Phase. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15028167

BibTeX Entry

@article{nime2024_music_23,
 abstract = {In this performance, a double bass player and a computer-transducer (CT) player improvise using a double bass, two transducers, and a computer. These entities influence and mediate each other's contributions to the sonic outcome. At the technological level, a complex feedback loop is established: (i) a microphone picks up sounds from the bass, (ii) a computer program analyzes this sound, ‘smears’ it, and generates new partials in response, and (iii) the transducers play the ‘smeared’ signal and the generated tones through the body of the bass. While the bass player plays natural harmonics with various articulations adapting to and intervening in the natural flow of information among the entities, the CT player regulates the output of the computer and plays the bass by moving one of the transducers. This interface offers new possibilities of performance that incorporate the tactility of the physical entities, digital transformation of mechanically produced sounds, and a distributed network of human and nonhuman agents.},
 address = {Utrecht, Netherlands},
 articleno = {23},
 author = {Teerath Majumder and James Ilgenfritz},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.15028167},
 editor = {Laurel Smith Pardue and Palle Dahlstedt},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {September},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {78--83},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/bDjcRRQ-oAo},
 title = {In and Out of Phase},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2024/nime2024_music_23.pdf},
 year = {2024}
}