parasitic

Takuma Kikuchi, Ryoho Kobayashi, Yuta Uozumi, and Shinya Fujii

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

“parasitic” is an improvised physical performance that generates movement and sound through the use of a parasitic relationship. The performance is structured around the relationship between a parasite, who intervenes in movement by operating another person’s wearable device, and a host, who responds to that intervention. Through this relationship, movement and sound are generated in a bottom-up manner. The host wears a specially designed suit from which a rod approximately 80 cm long extends from the chest. This rod is composed of three servo motors and two short rods, and it moves according to the parasite’s control. By manipulating the rod, the parasite interferes with the host through actions such as “attacking” or “entangling,” thereby presenting a constant physical threat. In response, the host engages in actions such as anticipating the attack, bracing the body, or avoiding the movement. New movements continuously emerge during the performance, shaped by factors such as the host’s reflexes, physical ability, prediction, fatigue, and the evolving relationship between the performers. All sounds in this work are generated from the host’s bodily movements. Contact microphones attached to the host’s suit capture sounds produced by physical motion, which are then processed and output. In addition, electronic sounds are generated based on data from a gyroscope sensor mounted on the host’s chest. Through this process, changes in the host’s posture are expressed as sound. Acts such as avoiding attacks and predicting incoming interference—actions that arise directly from the parasitic relationship—are reflected in the host’s movement and transformed into sound. By utilizing the dynamics of parasitism as the core structure of performance, “parasitic” presents a new form of improvised expression.

Citation

Takuma Kikuchi, Ryoho Kobayashi, Yuta Uozumi, and Shinya Fujii. 2026. parasitic. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782126 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_35,
 abstract = {“parasitic” is an improvised physical performance that generates movement and sound through the use of a parasitic relationship. The performance is structured around the relationship between a parasite, who intervenes in movement by operating another person’s wearable device, and a host, who responds to that intervention. Through this relationship, movement and sound are generated in a bottom-up manner. The host wears a specially designed suit from which a rod approximately 80 cm long extends from the chest. This rod is composed of three servo motors and two short rods, and it moves according to the parasite’s control. By manipulating the rod, the parasite interferes with the host through actions such as “attacking” or “entangling,” thereby presenting a constant physical threat. In response, the host engages in actions such as anticipating the attack, bracing the body, or avoiding the movement. New movements continuously emerge during the performance, shaped by factors such as the host’s reflexes, physical ability, prediction, fatigue, and the evolving relationship between the performers. All sounds in this work are generated from the host’s bodily movements. Contact microphones attached to the host’s suit capture sounds produced by physical motion, which are then processed and output. In addition, electronic sounds are generated based on data from a gyroscope sensor mounted on the host’s chest. Through this process, changes in the host’s posture are expressed as sound. Acts such as avoiding attacks and predicting incoming interference—actions that arise directly from the parasitic relationship—are reflected in the host’s movement and transformed into sound. By utilizing the dynamics of parasitism as the core structure of performance, “parasitic” presents a new form of improvised expression.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {35},
 author = {Takuma Kikuchi and Ryoho Kobayashi and Yuta Uozumi and Shinya Fujii},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782126},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {6},
 pages = {140--145},
 presentation-video = {https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzUkfj8-LF8},
 title = {parasitic},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_35.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}