[PD] Online Gig Project

Alex alex at idoia.com
Thu May 8 20:35:16 CEST 2003


Hello list,

Thanks to Olaf Matthes' objects Shout*~ , I have done a PD patch which 
allows three different groups of musicians to play together on the 
Internet at the same time from different locations. Besides streaming 
in and out, the patch records the bands on a tempo and re-synchronizes 
the incoming streams. Delays take part in the musical composition: the 
idea is that even if the 3 streams are not played-back like in real 
conditions, the music that comes out still makes sense as it is 
synchronized. Another feature of the patch gives the possibility to 
hold incoming streams during <n> bars, the way they can be played-back 
at a precise moment in the playing. This allows the three groups of 
musician to play with a structure (and different notes).

A demonstration will involve musician David Kristian from Montreal, and 
the band VoodooMuzak split in two halves: bass and drums 1 in London 
and bariton and drums 2 in Biarritz (France). In London the gig will 
take place on the Sunday 6 and Tuesday 8 July at Common Wealth 
Conference Center in Kensington High Street during the London College 
of Music and Media end of year showcase. You are welcome to come. It is 
a free entrance.
The three different compositions will also be broadcasted for Internet 
audience.

Delays due to CPU performance, connexion speed and network congestion 
have never been considered as creative tools in previous attempts but 
rather as drawbacks of today technology. The main purpose of the 
project is precisely to give those technical features a particular 
artistic role within the musical composition process. Computers become 
a medium rather than a tool.
Having said that, I still have to defend the artistic concept behind it:
- I have so far been told that it was more a technical project (looking 
at PD) than an artistic one. That reminded me some discussion few weeks 
ago that triggered different thoughts about PD from the list' s users.

- Also, I have been told that the interest of such a project could only 
be profitable for musicians not for listeners. I have planed to set up 
an installation for the showcase which allows users to listen -from a 
location of their choice to 3 different streams coming as well from 
locations of their choice. This will be a simulation which will 
hopefully help people to find a proper interest in that system of 
playing /listening music.

I would really like to know what do you think about it. If you think 
this is more a technical project rather than a artistic one, in either 
case I would very much like to know your argument.

Thanks a lot.

Alex
PS: more info there:
http://www.idoia.com/tvu/VMN.pdf





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