Autoroute

Auto-route begins with a source, what follows is an automated response to this data that continues to eat itself until we turn the machine off, the computer crashes or the feedback loops inside the system result in silence or white noise. Auto-route is an attempt to hear what the computer thinks. The piece runs on the machine’s own terms, makes its own decisions based on criteria that it invents as time passes. Like most improvisations, there is a moment when the input is considered and contemplated but shortly after this period, the machine begins to explore material dynamically, chewing on its own matter, quickly becoming self-referential and eventually running out of energy or coruscating into maximal debris. Auto Route has been performed in several versions. A version was made for Video Artist Rob Kennedy and performed at Machinista in Glasgow in 2004. Two other versions have been made and performed without the composer present. Once in Belfast as part of the Sonorities festival on a tourist boat trip, the other was performed in Newcastle by Mark Summers (Viol) and the Pallindrome dance company. The recording presented here was generated from some glitch provided by Mark Summers (Viol).

Environment for StoneViolin

[img_assist|nid=135|title=Stone Violin|desc= Photo by Christian Unterhuber|link=popup|align=right|width=68|height=100]The sculptures of Kassian Erhard spend most of the year in the Austrian Alps in a small village called Pillar near to the Italian border. On the mountainside Erhard creates stone 'instruments' including interpretations of trombones, saxophones, percussion and strings all carved from the indigenous rock. During the late summer of 2002, I was fortunate to spend three weeks living with the sculptor and his family and had the opportunity to write some music for his instruments. Of all the sculptures in his garden, the one that attracted my ears and eyes the most was his stone violin. Not only is the body of the instrument made of stone, so are the strings and bow. The instrument's sonic properties depend entirely upon the type of stone used to make bow and string. A gentle scrape of stone against stone reveals tones that are essentially inharmonic, scratchy and very rich in potential for analysis within the computer. The computer software is a reactive environment, which listens to the incoming sound and generates sympathetic resonances. If you feed it noise, you get purity. This piece was revised for Viol in 2003 and continues to reinvent itself based on input and the liveliness of the space in which it is played.

ET-Extended Trombone

ET, Extended Trombone

Abstract
Are search engines musical? Can we use them in combination with sound libraries as a direct route to creating sonic structures? Is it possible to perform a sound library?

Keywords
Configurable composition, Extended instrumental technique, sound libraries, MaxMSP

ABOUT
ET Extended Trombone was started with support from the University of Edinburgh’s DTRF (Development Trust Research Fund). The fund helped initiate a new project with virtuoso Trombonist John Kenny. The purpose of the research was to develop a sound library of John Kenny’s extended playing techniques and use this library as a source for creating a new piece of music for computer and trombone and also to produce a CD of the library that is available to the public for re-use and remixing through custom made software.

Project schedule December 2004-March 2007

Sound Library Recording (Stage 1) December 2004
Recordings of trombone multiphonics

Sound Library recording (Stage 2) February 2005
Recordings of trombone multiphonics with female trombonist.

By this stage, we had generated a library of sounds that are quite probably unique across the world. John Kenny’s lip and voice multiphonic technique is very rare and he is one of the masters of this art. Emily White is one of John’s prodigies and has also mastered the skill. We now have a largely complete range of lip and voice multiphonics for Tenor Trombone with both male and female voices.

Live performance February 2005
Performance at the dialogues festival. http://www.dialogues2005.com

Sound Library recording (Stage 3)
Recordings of improvisations cut up and made into an informal library

This library is of variable quality. At this stage, I began to develop a naming and archive system. A way of naming sound files was used to enable real-time categorisation and look-up of sound types to create consistent and reliably sympathetic sonic structures while performing live with the trombone.

The files are to be stored on another University of Edinburgh creation, our online database called Infrar.ed, which is searchable.
http://blue.caad.ed.ac.uk/infrared/
I can dynamically search for features within the filenames to create meaningful relationships based on specific search criteria. These are then collected into groups and downloaded, then used in live performance to structure spontaneous material with or without a live musician.

February 2006
Presentation at the Access Sound File Conference in Dundee.
This talk introduced the extended trombone project as part of a developing trend in computer music with roots in historical composition techniques. Tightly controled discreet sonic elements are combined to create complex, randomised overarching structures.

March-Sept 2006, Project pause

Jan 2007-March 2007, project completion with live performance and production of CD documentation.

Haze

[img_assist|nid=143|title=Haze - interface|desc=|link=popup|align=right|width=100|height=63]HAZE ver.1 October 2002 Reactive music for computer with Clarinet in Bb Tenor Trombone and Cello Duration ca 5 minutes HAZE was written for members of the Paragon Ensemble and computer. Rather than interactive, HAZE is reactive. Essentially, the role of the live performers is to trigger computer based sound synthesis. The computer listens for pitch and amplitude data a re-maps this onto synthesis parameters. This version was prepared to open a concert and was created to be punchy and brief. The score was used as a very literal guide for the performers who found it useful to follow because of very restricted rehearsal time. The software for HAZE was written in the MaxMSP environment (www.cycling74.com) and makes use of the following third party external : Ted Apel���s MSP port of Miller Puckette���s fiddle~ which is downloadable from the following site: http://crca.ucsd.edu/~tapel/software.html (current as of 21/03/04). In performance and rehearsal, a 16 channel midi fader box is required to take care of the input and output signals. Controllers 1, 2 and 3 are assigned to the input levels of the three instruments and channels 14, 15 and 16 control the three levels of the computer output relative to each instrument. The routing to the four or two loudspeakers is undertaken by the software, which diffuses the computer output depending upon the parameters that the computer receives from live input. The software is compiled as a standalone application which is ASIO compatible and requires four dedicated channels of audio output and three dedicated channels of audio input. System requirements for the standalone ��� Apple Macintosh Power PC running OS 9.1 or 9.2. G3 500Mhz, 64Mb Ram, 5mb disk space ASIO drivers for ASIO compatible sound card to be placed in ASIO drivers folder. A version for OSX 10.2 and 10.3 is also included on the CD. The sound card should be Core-Audio and Core-Midi compatible the card can be configured in the standalone with ease. [img_assist|nid=143|title=Haze - interface|desc=Haze interface screenshot|link=none|align=right|width=640|height=401]Haze 2003, performed by the Paragon Ensemble, live recording, Adam house Theatre, Edinburgh 2003.

Hell's Angles [sic] 2003

GENERATIVE SOUND INSTALLATION / PERFORMANCE
1 computer | 3 virtual motorbikes | 8 sound channels | 360 degrees

Inside the computer's 'brain' are three virtual 'bikes', each with the same range of possibilities: to stay fixed in one place and rev, to make journeys within an eight channel speaker system or to travel from place to place with some extreme Doppler effects.

There are also several possibilities for the kind of 'bike' that will perform these actions ranging from a typical computerised 'Sega' sound to more realistic synthesis of a motorbike. The macro structure of the work will usually be similar on each initialisation but the micro details and mid and short-term events cannot be predicted.

INSTALLATION VERSION

8 Loudspeakers are positioned throughout the space. These can be within one room but ideally, the speakers will be placed in eight different rooms around the building.
The software is turned on and left to play while the virtual motorbikes burn rubber around the gallery.

At least one room, or the central space should have a bass bin to accomodate the low frequency sound of all the bikes as they travel around.

PERFORMANCE VERSION

8 Loudspeakers are positioned in the centre of a space, like a race track. The audience sit around the speakers and the software is initialised. After around 10 minutes, the stop button is pressed by the computer operator and the performance ends shortly afterwards.

CURRENT VERSION for APPLE OS9 computers only with ASIO comptibale 8 channel sound card. Revision for OS X and Windows XP under consideration.

Software created in the MAX/MSP programming language by Martin Parker, 2003-4

Shonky Music 2002

Shonky Music for tracker action organs.

The score of Shonky Music does not look like it sounds. Written for tracker action organs that are able to make sound while the pipes are half drawn, Shonky exploits the unreliability of the king of instruments when prepared in this uneven manner. Certain configurations of the stops result in a keyboard that is both out of tune and consistently unpredictable; the generic scales and runs that litter the score become rhythms and melodies.

Shonky was first performed on the Reid organ, a fabulous machine housed in Edinburgh���s Reid Concert Hall. It is an organ similar to that which Bach would have used in Leipzig. A second recording was made on the Henry Willis organ in the song school of St Mary���s Cathedral, Edinburgh, which was built in 1887.

Four and seven minutes long respectively, the Willis and the Reid organ recordings show how wildly different the piece can sound. With no tempo marking on the score, it is the player���s decision to respond to the idiosyncrasies of the instrument. When prepared, the Reid organ responded more sluggishly to touch and thus required a slower pace. For the more immediate response of the Henry Willis organ the performance was naturally much faster; labouring over the rather banal finger work would have yielded less interesting results.

Sounds of Line 2000

Sounds of line: download score

Sounds of Line - Rhythm
Sounds of Line - Melody
For 4 prepared French horns
duration ca. 7 minutes

Sounds of Line was first performed in Mittersill, Austria by the Salzburg Horn Quartet. The second performance took place in Salzburg in October 2000 and was subsequently broadcast by the Austrian Radio Federation (ORF) in December 2000.

It is worth experimenting with placing the horns around the performance space, especially if the room is small and the players are comfortable with this idea.

A good configuration follows:

First horn stands on the stage with third horn directly opposite at the back of the hall. 2nd horn is on the right (facing stage) and 4th horn is on the left. Standing waves and other beating patterns can be discovered across the space because of the close tuning.

This score includes minor revisions, made following rehearsals with the ensemble.

Preparation of horns: Sounds of Line - Rhythm

Each player removes the first finger valve slide on the F side leaving an open tube.
The code F:1 is used above the note when that finger position is required. Subsequent fingerings follow logically: F:1|2, F:1|3, F:1|2|3. Otherwise, play the written pitches as comfortably as possible.

NOTE:
The first valve should only be removed on horns where the air reaches that valve last (Paxman models for example). On horns where the air reaches the first finger valve before going to valves 2 and 3, the 3rd valve slider should be removed instead (This is the case for Alexander horns for example). Simply alter the fingerings by swapping the number 1 with 3 where appropriate.

Preparation of horns: Sounds of Line - Melody

Horns three and four should push F and Bb tuning slides in almost fully.
Leave the valve slides. The idea is to play severely sharp of horns 1 and 2.

The Spectral Tourist 2003

More detailed information is available in the attachment below.

Spectral_Tourist: Spectral Tourist image by www.fogbank.co.uk

The relationship between a musician and an acoustic instrument is not solely concerned with converting human gesture into pitch and timbre: there is a process between player and instrument that involves resistance. It is within the struggle to produce and then control a sound that conflict between a musician and his instrument can give rise to complex and interesting results.

It is a continuing struggle to make computer-based sounds that breathe with their own life and to play the computer like a musical instrument. Interfaces for transferring real-world data into the computer such as fader boxes, tracker-ball mice, graphics tablets, game controllers, wireless devices, motion tracking etc., are increasing in flexibility and interest and through software such as Max MSP , these interfaces can offer reasonable ways of converting human movement into sound. Joysticks, for example, are a ubiquitous, inexpensive and a generally reliable piece of technology. An external MAX object was written by Adam Schabtach in 2001 to collect joystick data and view it within Max MSP.

However, there is nothing inside the hardware of most joysticks to curb a gesture. They can be pulled between extremes in milliseconds, while with a real world instrument such as a saxophone, extremes are very hard to reach and have to be found with care to avoid complete breakdown of the system and a split note. Therefore, grafting the joystick's extremes to the extremes of one's software may result in an artificial and possibly unfulfilling musical experience.

One way in which to create some 'resistance' is to imagine the joystick as a tool for travelling rather than for gesture mapping. In computer games for example, one is never in the same place for long. Pushing forwards with differing degrees of intensity means that one travels forward at different speeds. This approach has been implemented in the Spectral Tourist, although the landscape traversed is not one of snipers and guard dogs but the hilly terrain of a spectrogram.

The View 2002

The View
January 2002
Download complete movie here;
http://www.tinpark.com/?q=theview_download

The View was filmed on location at an industrial site near Murrayfield in Edinburgh. The visual subject of the film is a monolithic building that was used to store alcohol before being registered for tax. At its location near other industrial buildings, shopping, residential and countryside areas, the dark walls covered in lichen and the residue of thirty years rain, the building emanates an awesome, awkward presence but it is unfortunate that it is scheduled for demolition at the end of 2004.

View a short clip below;

However, The View is not a work about the location, state or purpose of the building, nor a social comment or historical documentary; instead it is piece of 'video music' that uses the building as an abstract visual starting point for play with dynamics between sound and image.

Rather like concrete music, where sound is manipulated in the studio to form a composition, here a sequence of photographs of the building's walls have been processed to enhance and exaggerate the details. The image is rarely still and the roving eye of the camera works both in counterpoint and coincidence with the sound you hear. Whilst the visuals are sourced from the real world, the sound is purely synthesized pushing the scene further into abstraction.

The video was processed using Adobe Premiere (version 6) and the audio generated in Propellerheads REASON (version 1). All camera work and sound processing by Martin Parker 2002.

Trojan Women 2005

Trojan_women_chorus: Kate Dickie as Andromache Itxaso Moreno as Cassandra

I was comissioned by Theatre Cryptic to generate real-time visuals and sound/music for a version of Brendan Keneally's adaptation of Euripides' Trojan Women in 2005. The work was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2005 and toured Scotland between September and November 2005.

Myra McFadyen as Hecuba
Kate Dickie as Andromache
Itxaso Moreno as Cassandra
Candice Edmunds as Helen
Keith Macpherson as Talthybius and Menelaus

Direction by Cathie Boyd
Design by Julia Bardsley
Lighting by Giuseppe di lorio
Sound design, composition and real time visuals by Martin Parker

For video click here

information 2

Information II for CD and recorders.

Antiorp 1999

Two Clarinets in Bb
Bassoon
Contrabass Recorder
Viola da Gamba (scordatura)
Bass Drum
Duration ca. 14 minutes
Written for EUCME (Edinburgh University Contemporary Music Ensemble), November 1999.

Information 1

Information I for bass recorder, delay unit and CD

Steinmetzarbeiten 1997

written in 1997 for the Yorkshire and Humberside Young Composer's Competition and performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Steinmetzarbeiten won category A of this competition. Performed by Nicholas Hodges (piano) and the Athelas Ensemble.

instrumentation;

Solo Piano
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon

Horn
Trumpet
Trombone

Percussion
Harp

Single Strings

listen to the piece here

2006, Filament Traverse Theatre

A new version of Filament was comissioned for a staircase in Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre. The installation ran from 29th October to end of November 2006 as part of Traverse Cubed, http://www.traverse.co.uk/show_detail.php?id=398

As audiences head down to see a play, the copper wire curtain is switched on and will pre-mix sounds extracted from play rehearsals.

On the 29th October, there was a live performance projected into the theatre.

This project was supported by http://www.7hings.co.uk, an online music distribution podcast.

2006, Filament [Copperwire] Hall in Tyrol, Austria

In a successfully functioning city, communication networks such as telephone and internet are seamless, controlled and hidden from view. Filament exposes these communications, offering them up for reconfiguration via an interactive curtain of raw copper wires.

Hall Akustika has positioned microphones at sonically interesting and locally significant sites around the city of Hall (There are 7 other sound installations happening at this time). The soundscapes are sent to a server which then feeds the sprouting curtain in the Platzl, a cafe square in the centre of the city.

As wires in the curtain are crossed, circuits are closed, releasing sound into the Platzl. Different sounds of the city are connected with one another in randomly chaotic order.

The curtain serves two purposes; providing a musical performance interface, with coffee drinkers looking on, meanwhile exposing the potential of network communications to cause misunderstanding and complexity through the physical mechanism of crossed wires.

The screen is very sensitive and will react to the slightest impulse, even from wind so the copper wire screen could also be thought of as digital wind chime.

A radio programme about Hall Akustika was made for the Kunstradio show, aired on Sunday June 11th at 11pm.
http://www.kunstradio.at/2006A/11_06_06.html

Some press information online here;
http://www.tirol.com/szene/innsbruck/38713/index.do

Press for Hall Akusika here;
http://www.tinpark.com/files/HallAkMedien_06.pdf

Network Map

8-10 June 2006, the Tyrolean branch of the ICMC www.ignm-tirol.at hosted Hall Akustika

www.hallakustika.at

Thanks to Hans Soukup and G√�nther Zechberger.

Special thanks also to ACCESSORIES 4 TECHNOLOGY LTD who supplied USB dancemat interface boards for the copper_wire terminals at cost.

2005, Landscraper, St Pölten, Austria

Landscraper was comissioned by the Upper Austrian Museum Betriebsges.m.b.H. in April 2005. The piece ran from April - November 2005 at the Klangturm in St Pölten.

The image is analysed for colour content and this data is used to create a spectral envelope over sound sources collected from around the sound tower, ranging from outside to sound from other installations.

1999, Spool, Edinburgh

Spool was created in July 1999 with Sound and Media artist Pedro Rebelo. Reel to reel tape machines stretched tape across the gallery and sound was generated as the tape shuffled unpredictably across the tape head.

1999, Reflext, Edinburgh

Reflext was created in collaboration with Naomi West and Pedro Rebelo and presented in the Matthew gallery on Chambers Street in Edinburgh, 1999. The project involved two mirrors, web camera and sound.

Suppose Life...

Suppose Life... was a collaboration with composer and cellist Dee Isaacs. Performed at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh in March 2006.

Film by Ian Dodds, music by Dee Isaacs, sound design/computer processing by Martin Parker.

This film is encoded for quicktime using the h.264 ecnoder. It may not play correctly if you don't have the latest quicktime installed. You can get the latest quicktime here; http://www.apple.com/quicktime/. If you wish to view a better quality version of this film, click here or right-click to download 10.5mb

Synesta

SYNESTA is the working title for a research and performance project in collaboration with Theatre Cryptic director Cathie Boyd. The project involves generating real-time visuals for symphony orchestra. The research was developed as part of Cathie Boyd's NESTA fellowship award; http://www.seeingmusic.co.uk .

In January 2006, I completed a design that was used at the opening of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra's new premises at the City Halls. The interactive visuals were created to accompany a live performance of final 10 mintues of Stravinsky's Firebird (1919 version).

In March 2006, in collaboration with Cathie, we performed the entire, original ballet with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted and comissioned by their new associate conductor Andrew Constantine.

Follow the links below to view video documentation of the performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Kaschei and his retinue 6.1mb

Final Dance 4.5mb

PLEASE NOTE: These videos are for demonstration purposes only. The music is performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Constantine, performed at the Meyerhof Symphony Hall in Baltimore on the 1st April 2006. Live visuals designed and performed by Martin Parker, dir. Cathie Boyd.

Videos encoded with Quicktime. Download the latest player here: http://www.apple.com/quicktime

Apocalypse

APOCALYPSE is a music/visual piece conceived and written by Glasgow based composer Anthea Haddow and written for the astonishing trumpet player, Mark O'Keeffe. Mark is principal trumpet for the BBCSSO and seems willing to do anything...

I was commissioned by Theatre Cryptic in 2005 to develop and design interactive visuals for this show. The work had to fit in with a pre-existing lighting scheme and stage design. The project involved two live camera sources, three computers, two plasma screens, four floor monitors and two data projectors. The computers were synchronised via a local network and controlled with a single Control Freak midi interface.

Commissioned by Cork 2005: European Capital of Culture. Concept by Mark O'Keeffe; music by Anthea Haddow; directed and designed by Cathie Boyd; lighting by Nich Smith; real time visuals by Martin Parker. Performed by Mark O'Keeffe and six trumpeters. Executive Producer Richard Wakely. http://www.cryptic.org.uk

Chiaroscuro Pentimenti

[img_assist|nid=145|align=right|width=100|height=71] Chiaroscuro Pentimenti is a collaboration between poet Jennifer Williams, composer Martin Parker and visual artist Anna Chapman applying the visual art concepts of chiaroscuro and pentimenti to computer-mediated performance of new music and poetry. Chiaroscuro is a method of synthesising light through casting shadow while pentimenti is about layering, where imagery is revealed beneath imagery. These terms are alive with sonic potential and we are exploring Jennifer's poetry and its re-telling through real-time sound processing methods devised from our research and generated by the voice of the poet in live performance. "Chiaroscuro: The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation". (http://www.dictionary.com) "A word borrowed from Italian referring to the modelling of volume by depicting light and shade by contrasting them boldly." (http://www.artlex.com) "Pentimenti: An underlying image in a painting, as an earlier painting, part of a painting, or original draft, that shows through, usually when the top layer of paint has become transparent with age." (http://www.dictionary.com) "These images which were supposed to be hidden often appear like ghosts -- not entirely solid. Many result from a painter's decision that a nearly finished picture needs to be altered, but the new passage is made with too thin a layer of paint. Pentimento is Italian for 'repentance.' (http://www.artlex.com) [img_assist|nid=146|title=Prntimento_hand|desc=|link=popup|align=right|width=100|height=75] Project development website - http://sd.caad.ed.ac.uk/cp

d i a l o g u e s

I am artistic director of Edinburgh's dialogues festival, an anual exploration of new and experimental electronic music.

Photo, Alex Fiennes

We have a new festival website:
http://www.dialogues-festival.org
The 2007 Festival took place at the Queen's Hall and featured performances from Thomas Strønen, Steve Arguelles, Icarus, Not Applicable Artists, Mr McFall's Chamber, Oren Marshall, Han Earl Park, Hannes Raffaseder, Kresch, Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo and Pixel Mechanic.

dialogues2006: Image by Fogbank.co.ukhttp://www.dialogues2006.com
Humcrush | Alog | PixelMechanic | Raffaseder | Hörbst | Lachlan MacColl XXVI | Xahdrez | Visitor Q | CK Dexter Haven |Wounded Knee | Neil Simpson

Dialogues documentary 2006, created by students on the MSc Sound Design and MSc in Design and Digital Media

dialogues2005: image by fogbank.co.ukhttp://www.dialogues2005.com
John Kenny and Chris Wheeler | Janek Schaefer | Mike Dred |Two Brothers and Me | Snailman aka Brian d'Souza (Pogo Vogue) - live

dialogues2004: image by Evaluna.info
http://www.dialogues2004.com
Audio Perversion | Video Hijack | SKIN

Line Tones

LINE TONES

A project with artist Anna Chapman

Consider the relationship between drawn lines and sound, there are some very simple analogies: the upward direction of a line, for example, is used almost universally in graphic notation systems to indicate a rise in pitch. More challenging questions about how line and sound may relate to each other include:

How might the build-up of drawn marks over time be represented sonically?
What relationships might occur between rhythm in sound and drawing?
What about the character of a line ��� smoothness, tension, etc. - and its equivalent sonic quality or timbre?

Our work will explore some of this complexity, and focus on developing the sensitivity and flexibility of our tools for use in audio-visual performance.

Anna Chapman, March 2006.

linetones: images (C) anna chapman http://www.fogabank.co.uk

Proposal accepted for SIM (Icelandic Artists Association).
http://www.sim.is/Index/English/Residencies/

Music at the Brewhouse

Music at the Brewhouse is a band run by composer Stephen Deazley. The band is made up of a group of performing musicians/composers/free improvisers. The music is loud, dynamic, complex and very exciting to play. I am often asked to create system that allow the computer to perform with the ensemble. The challenge is often how to allow the computer to keep up with such precise musicians.

Rob Kennedy and Sue Tompkins

Supported by Scottish Screen and the Scottish Arts Council, I spent 9 days with Rob Kennedy and Sue Tompkins devising material for a video project involving voice, images and sound. The idea at this sate (July 2007) is to use a generative feedback system to unleash an unseen and unheard life from a TV screen. We took many recordings of Sue reciting her poetry and devised several visual means for rendering feedback via computer, and live cameras.

Snail

Snail is an ongoing collaboration with sound artist and composer Hannes Raffaseder http://www.raffaseder.com

Suite

WORK IN PROGRESS

This is a new project with composer Dee Isaacs and puppeteer Iulian Furtuna. Taking one of the Bach 'Cello Suites as a starting point for musical deconstruction and narrative construction we will develop a performance piece studying transcription in the tradition of Webern, Busoni and Kurtag.

Kurtag added a second pair of hands in his Bach Transcriptions, Busoni more notes, weight and volume. 'Suite' adds puppetry, theatre and digital technology. My role in the project will be to design an interactive table that has theatrical elements built into it. The laptop will be sidelined and replaced with a 'real-world' interface for making music and interjection.

In the developmental stages of the project I will explore ways of subtly transcibing sections of the suite, perhaps highlighting certain frequencies and harmonics, adding depth by occasionally mixing the cello into the PA system. Other ideas include study of the huge body of recorded versions and interpretations of the 'cello suites, subtracting one recording from another and presenting the remainder. Colleagues at the University of Edinburgh have built convincing physical models of the 'cello and there is scope to incorporate a virtual 'cello element that interacts with the live 'cello.

T-U-B-E Network Concert

Christoph on the left

Pete on the right

kjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>
Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>
Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik=>
Munich=>Glasgow=>Reykjavik

INVITATION July 6th 2006
Network Concert: circular breathing
Hosted by T-U-B-E Munich http://www.t-u-b-e.de

6pm (Reykjavik) GMT | Martin Parker | Harmonica, live electronics
7pm (Glasgow) BST | Pete Dowling | Sax, live electronics
8pm (Munich) CEST | Christoph Reiserer | Sax, live electronics

Martin's setup in Reykjavik

Christoph's setup at the T-U-B-E

Three musicians played together simulataneously in Reykjavik, Glasgow and Munich. Crossing three timezones we attempted to simulate circular breathing, a technique used by saxophone players enabling them to play continuously for long periods of time. A sound began in Munich, traveled to Glasgow and then continued to Reykjavik before being sent back to Munich.

The names of our audience members were different in each country. We invited audience members to type names into our name sampler software. Each name was used to generate a sequence of notes that were unique in each country.

Christoph Reiserer http://www.t-u-b-e.de
Pete Dowling http://www.steadykammer.net
Martin Parker http://www.tinpark.com

Streaming was achieved using the T-U-B-E VST plugin by Dr. Jorg Stelkens http://www.stelkens.de/

I developed a wrapper for the plugin which is an OSX only standalone application. More details below;

T-U-B-E HOST PLUGIN wrapper;

INSTRUCTIONS The T-U-B-E plugin is quite CPU intensive so it is difficult to use the network and do lots of fancy audio processing on the same machine.
This plugin wrapper is designed to allow you to run the tube plug on one system and send audio for processing on another machine. It should work on any OSX 10.4.6 machine, best to use two pro- audio cards or a digital connection to avoid quality loss between the two machines. You can alo record the output and input to disk for post-performance remixing fun!
Currently version 0.95

The T-U-B-E SERVER HOST
Is a standalone plugin handler which allows you to create a T-U-B-E server on any net connected MacOSX 10.4.6 machine with port 7172 open. You will need to download the T-U-B-E plugin from here; http://www.t-u-b-e.de/iplug.htm

Solo Improvisations

Solo improvisations using computer and occasionally some live instrumental or sound sources.

MkM - Free improv trio

MkM: MkM - Free Improv Trio, Edinburgh
MkM consists of
Michael Edwards: Alto Sax, WX5 MIDI Wind Controller, Computer (http://www.michael-edwards.org)
Martin Parker: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, French Horn, Computer (http://www.tinpark.com)
Karin Schistek: Piano

We try to play together weekly in Edinburgh.

Reid Memorial Concert, Feb 2007

The Reid Memorial Concert is an annual hommage to the leagcy of General Reid who funded the establishment of the department of music at the Universtiy of Edinburgh

ZAM, Isolated Improviser

ZAM, Cologne, May 2007
On the 17th May 2007, I played a concert as part of the 2007 Cologne Trienneal. The performance was comissioned by ZAM, a collective of adventurous musicians keen to explore and demonstrate possiblities for the "computer music instrument".

Here is some more information about ZAM: http://www.z-a-m.eu/ENGLISHzam.html
Take a look at the line up they put together here: http://www.z-a-m.eu/ENGLISHcmi.html

Their approach is pluralistic and they were keen to see what would happen if you put different performers together and use the computer as the instrument that mediates between them, a risky business because disparate entities tend to prefer to remain distinct.

I was asked to share a stage with Lawrence Casserly. We were to play some solo sets and also to perform together, live for the first time. I chose to make use of the Spectral Tourist and Environment systems to give some very specific material for the solo episodes.

I took recordings of the whole performance from my desk. I only recorded my output however as I find this very useful material for further mixing etc. It turns out that the output from the desk was very hot so the recorded signal was very heavily distorted. I'm glad about this and present the structure I performed with at the festival but you will hear how my recording device, not the audience heard it.