Orrery Arcana: Esoteric and Ecological Correspondences

Nicole Carroll

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

Orrery Arcana is a bespoke system for real-time improvisational solo performance that integrates light, magnetic, and capacitive-touch sensing; planetary gear trains; real-time ephemeris data; chance operations via Tarot cards; and custom software, within an explicitly ritualised performance context. The intention of ritual is articulated through the physical design of the instrument, its staging, the overt use of divinatory tools, and the performer’s gestural interaction with the system. Together, these elements are designed to facilitate a process analogous to automatic writing, situating improvisation within a structured yet indeterminate framework. The system comprises custom software for real-time signal processing, developed in Max/MSP and Python, and a self-built hardware controller incorporating a planetary gear train. Manual rotation of the gears affords control over timing and sequenced events. Each gear is fitted with a sensor plate containing light, magnetic, and capacitive-touch sensors, which are primarily engaged through tactile, modular control objects. These objects take the form of concentric coloured acrylic rings with embedded magnets corresponding symbolically and numerically to Tarot cards. Sound sources include synthesis engines that emulate the author’s DIY hardware instruments based on the CD4040 binary counter/divider CMOS IC, and curated samples drawn from the author’s field recordings. Synthesis parameters and effect processing are governed by automated mappings utilising ephemeris data via NASA’s Horizons Ephemeris System, and Tarot correspondences based on Alejandro Jodorowsky's[1] Tarot numerology and symbolism. Live sensor input enables improvisation within a chance-based score generated through real-time Tarot card draws. The project investigates how the integration of technology, aesthetics, and phenomenological engagement with non-musical source materials can produce an evocative performance experience when framed as ritual. By foregrounding physical form and symbolic gesture, the system deliberately obscures conventional music-making processes, redirecting audience attention away from technical architecture and toward a shared experiential space between performer and listeners. First debuted in 2018, Orrery Arcana has undergone continual development, countering the tendency for NIME instruments to remain at the prototype or demonstrative stage. Ongoing software evolution and shifts in sonic materials have enabled sustained artistic exploration. In response to the NIME 2026 theme Communities, the core sample banks have been reconfigured to comprise field recordings collected in the Ecuadorian rainforest in 2023, made in collaboration with members of the Cofán community and a small team of acoustic ecologists. Originally intended as archival documentation of endangered soundscapes threatened by mining development, these recordings are recontextualised within Orrery Arcana as performative material. Sonically and conceptually, they align with the system’s cosmological and elemental symbolism, extending the instrument’s engagement with place, collaboration, and ecological connection.

Citation

Nicole Carroll. 2026. Orrery Arcana: Esoteric and Ecological Correspondences. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20782184 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2026_music_50,
 abstract = {Orrery Arcana is a bespoke system for real-time improvisational solo performance that integrates light, magnetic, and capacitive-touch sensing; planetary gear trains; real-time ephemeris data; chance operations via Tarot cards; and custom software, within an explicitly ritualised performance context. The intention of ritual is articulated through the physical design of the instrument, its staging, the overt use of divinatory tools, and the performer’s gestural interaction with the system. Together, these elements are designed to facilitate a process analogous to automatic writing, situating improvisation within a structured yet indeterminate framework. The system comprises custom software for real-time signal processing, developed in Max/MSP and Python, and a self-built hardware controller incorporating a planetary gear train. Manual rotation of the gears affords control over timing and sequenced events. Each gear is fitted with a sensor plate containing light, magnetic, and capacitive-touch sensors, which are primarily engaged through tactile, modular control objects. These objects take the form of concentric coloured acrylic rings with embedded magnets corresponding symbolically and numerically to Tarot cards. Sound sources include synthesis engines that emulate the author’s DIY hardware instruments based on the CD4040 binary counter/divider CMOS IC, and curated samples drawn from the author’s field recordings. Synthesis parameters and effect processing are governed by automated mappings utilising ephemeris data via NASA’s Horizons Ephemeris System, and Tarot correspondences based on Alejandro Jodorowsky's[1] Tarot numerology and symbolism. Live sensor input enables improvisation within a chance-based score generated through real-time Tarot card draws. The project investigates how the integration of technology, aesthetics, and phenomenological engagement with non-musical source materials can produce an evocative performance experience when framed as ritual. By foregrounding physical form and symbolic gesture, the system deliberately obscures conventional music-making processes, redirecting audience attention away from technical architecture and toward a shared experiential space between performer and listeners. First debuted in 2018, Orrery Arcana has undergone continual development, countering the tendency for NIME instruments to remain at the prototype or demonstrative stage. Ongoing software evolution and shifts in sonic materials have enabled sustained artistic exploration. In response to the NIME 2026 theme Communities, the core sample banks have been reconfigured to comprise field recordings collected in the Ecuadorian rainforest in 2023, made in collaboration with members of the Cofán community and a small team of acoustic ecologists. Originally intended as archival documentation of endangered soundscapes threatened by mining development, these recordings are recontextualised within Orrery Arcana as performative material. Sonically and conceptually, they align with the system’s cosmological and elemental symbolism, extending the instrument’s engagement with place, collaboration, and ecological connection.},
 address = {London, United Kingdom},
 articleno = {50},
 author = {Nicole Carroll},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.20782184},
 editor = {Lia Mice and Nicole Robson and Tara Pattenden},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {4},
 pages = {208--211},
 presentation-video = {https://vimeo.com/1164546187?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci},
 title = {Orrery Arcana: Esoteric and Ecological Correspondences},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2026/nime2026_music_50.pdf},
 year = {2026}
}