Synchronic Shades

Many intelligent shadows move at first behind, some lead, some follow, together they are more than the caster.

Live performance of original work for tenor saxophone and iPod. The iPod interface was created to remix the live saxophone during the concert, allowing the iPod-ist to create many "copies" of the soloist, invoking them to support, subvert, or subsume the acoustic player. Performed live at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Tryon Festival Theater, Urbana, IL on May 4th, 2010

This work is an exploration in interactive electronic music performance, concealing the machine and creating a language of performance gestures for the computer musician. In concert the audience sees a solo tenor saxophonist and a solo iPod-player meeting on stage. The laptop, concealed off-stage, samples the entire performance by the saxophonist, loading it into a virtual 8 track multi-head playback machine. The iPod performer remixes the saxophone throughout, creating a sound scape to complement, supplement, supplant, and augment the acoustic performer. Together it is a duet, of men and machines, breaking down the restrictions of interface accepted in desktop computer design today.

The iPod operation is, on the face of it, simple, allowing any novice to begin making sounds. However, mastery requires effort, providing a depth like any good instrument should. Any individual with an inquisitive mindset can play it.

The technology for performance includes a computer (Mac or PC), wireless network connection, digital audio interface, speakers (stereo) and an Apple iPod Touch (or iPhone). It is highly portable, as a rig and between computers. The software synthesis is based in Cycling74's MaxMSP programming suite, and the iOS software is custom written in Objective-C.