Witch Army: Augmented Wireless Roborecorder

Liza Bec, and Tom Mitchell

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Witch Army is an immersive experience forged in the crucible of modern conflict. We are living through the rise of fascism. Intolerance and propaganda infest the internet, fanning the flames of war and hatred. At the same time, music itself is becoming ever more sanitised and bland as artists jump on the latest trends to ‘go viral’. This project explicitly rejects these pressures. Instead it aims to create music to make people think critically. The use of cyborg instrumentation in the form of an augmented plastic recorder stands as an explicit reference to the tools of the technological apocalypse outlined in Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto [1]. The lead composer/performer on Witch Army lives with music triggered epilepsy. Partial seizures, causing twitching of their fingers, are triggered by complex planned movements due to a glitch within their supplementary motor cortex. Therefore playing precisely pre-defined compositions is not possible for them. The compositional and performance process must be flexible to take advantage of their glitchy brain. Customising a wireless augmented instrument for them in the name of anti-propaganda can therefore constitute liberation on psychological, physical and political fronts. The music for Witch Army is delivered within the context of a staged solo performance incorporating spoken word, movement and audience interaction. The music spans the full range of sound from simple acoustic melodies to complex layered harmonic progressions. The augmented recorder is used to seamlessly progress between these sound worlds. It can be both played and used to physically manipulate the live electronic setup hands free. Within the performance space, it is presented as a ritual object from a time when musical free expression was not only possible but encouraged. It thus serves as a musical antidote to propaganda, presenting an explicitly feminist stance against fascism through the compelling and collaborative power of sound.

Citation

Liza Bec, and Tom Mitchell. 2026. Witch Army: Augmented Wireless Roborecorder. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782085 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_20,
 abstract = {Witch Army is an immersive experience forged in the crucible of modern conflict. We are living through the rise of fascism. Intolerance and propaganda infest the internet, fanning the flames of war and hatred. At the same time, music itself is becoming ever more sanitised and bland as artists jump on the latest trends to ‘go viral’. This project explicitly rejects these pressures. Instead it aims to create music to make people think critically. The use of cyborg instrumentation in the form of an augmented plastic recorder stands as an explicit reference to the tools of the technological apocalypse outlined in Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto [1]. The lead composer/performer on Witch Army lives with music triggered epilepsy. Partial seizures, causing twitching of their fingers, are triggered by complex planned movements due to a glitch within their supplementary motor cortex. Therefore playing precisely pre-defined compositions is not possible for them. The compositional and performance process must be flexible to take advantage of their glitchy brain. Customising a wireless augmented instrument for them in the name of anti-propaganda can therefore constitute liberation on psychological, physical and political fronts. The music for Witch Army is delivered within the context of a staged solo performance incorporating spoken word, movement and audience interaction. The music spans the full range of sound from simple acoustic melodies to complex layered harmonic progressions. The augmented recorder is used to seamlessly progress between these sound worlds. It can be both played and used to physically manipulate the live electronic setup hands free. Within the performance space, it is presented as a ritual object from a time when musical free expression was not only possible but encouraged. It thus serves as a musical antidote to propaganda, presenting an explicitly feminist stance against fascism through the compelling and collaborative power of sound.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {20},
 author = {Liza Bec and Tom Mitchell},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782085},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {81--86},
 presentation-video = {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mDioHil12Y},
 title = {Witch Army: Augmented Wireless Roborecorder},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_20.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}