Thought a quick report on Alex and I at the Sussex Arts Club might be
interesting...it was this Tuesday last (29th June).
We presented our tech, linux progs and feedback.pl from Alex, SuperCollider
3 from me, plus the idea of live coding and TOPLAP itself, with one
projector each. We performed a little too, even together near the end,
though perhaps time constrained by a rush for trains back to London.
We certainly stirred up some feelings, and there were plenty of questions
(and some answers) and apparently many discussions outside of the session.
I think we found this healthy once the onslaught was underway.
Some questions were from points-scoring local academics, or those
unfamiliar with developments in interactive generative music. The two
tougher comments on that night (which we should have anticipated better,
and will anticipate in future and thus circumvent):
Why don't you just use Fruity Loops to make music? Also, the musical output
of your work could be done better as a record, preferably by people other
than you who know what they're doing as musicians, rather than being
programmers, you pretenders. Yes, the output is definitely not using
anything that isn't available in commercial software.
I've noticed that the gestural content of this typing is not like the
haptic joy I get from my musical instrument. Therefore it must be worse as
music. And your fetishism reminds me of early music practitioners who
insist on period instruments. (by the way, in secret I'm an electronic
music composer, ie, this is socratic irony, but I'd like a big round of
applause as if I'm a pure unsullied musician of the romantic era).
Obviously there is no response to either of these penetrating criticisms.
Opinions have only been exaggerated slightly to make life seem more
interesting than it is.
Received on Fri Jul 02 2004 - 08:37:47 BST