Live Capstone
Skyward Ben Gibson & Ben Fry
Through the art of live looping, Ben and Ben will perform their own composition. Drawing sonic inspiration from their favourite artists such as Floating Points and Desmond Cheese, both of which are known for their unique style, improvised sets and delightful sonic textures of blended acoustic and electronic elements. Ben and Ben have taken this blend technique, of acoustic and electric elements, and have incorporated it in their composition. The intro to the piece provides an epic theme, similar to that of a boss level video game soundtrack, intended to be a subtle nod to the fact that it will be the final performance of the degree for the both of them. From that point forward they will be harnessing multiple traditional instruments each and changing them throughout the performance.
Ben Gibson will be playing Guitar to create ambient and rhythmic textures to the piece, along with Bass guitar to provide groove and a harmonic foundation as well as periodically utilising the Ableton Push to interact with effects and to record live loops and the song progresses. Ben Fry will be playing the drum kit to establish the groove, along with auxiliary percussion instruments such as tambourine and egg shakers. He will also be using the Nord electric piano to add harmony.
Throughout the piece they will be playing pre written instrumental parts and occasionally improvising. The two will be using a hybrid workflow as they aim blend two worlds together, by manipulating the audio created by traditional instruments with effects such as reverb, flanger and EQ, controlled by the Ableton Push. The song will be accompanied by an animated visual backdrop of their own creation that will be interacted with multiple times throughout the performance, in the hopes that the animations sync up with the audio. Their goal is to create a seamless synergy between traditions instruments, digital musical software, and the visual backdrop. They intend to interact with the audio and visual software as if they were musical instruments as well.
Ben and Ben have created and rehearsed this song over the past two months and every time they have played through the piece it has been slightly different, they wish to lean into this free form style, while relying on their skills as professional instrumental musicians, to create an in the moment, unique and immersive audio visual experience.
Man, Earth, and Guitar
Lachlan Seawright
Being first created as early as the 14th and 15th centuries, the guitar has been pioneered and evolved throughout the centuries to ultimately become one of the most iconic and well known instruments in human history. Whilst its popularity is undeniable, its character has become almost a default tone, being so recognizable by all. I see this as both a good and a bad thing. The fact that people hear any sort of guitar and can instantly recognize and associate the sound with the instrument is a fascinating concept, but one I have wanted to explore.
Working towards this performance, my main prerogative has been to truly and holistically explore the full sonic potential of the so well-known sound of the electric guitar. ‘Man, Earth and Guitar’ is a performance I have constructed by utilizing only sounds from my guitar and a handful of found sounds collected during class. Some of these sounds include the hitting of obscure instruments and objects. These sounds are affected and manipulated to create what we perceive as drums.
This collection of sounds both guitar and found sounds will ideally result in moments where unfamiliar, obscure objects are perceived as recognizable instrumentations such as drums, as well as the recognizable tone of a guitar being perceived as unrecognizable and obscure objects.
The exploration of human perception and the idea of socially normal ‘instruments’ will hopefully ignite thought on what we perceive as ‘sound,’ what we perceive as ‘music,’ and what we receive as an ‘instrument.’
Along with only utilizing one guitar and a handful of obscure found sounds, I have also decided to make this a solo performance. Both of these factors were settled upon for the purpose of working to limitations. Exploring my own personal creativity by setting such limitations to try and create a performable concept has been a challenge I set myself.
Inspiration for this piece was derived largely from the two guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan from IDLES, as well as Brain May from Queen. These musicians have explored the concepts of re shaping the sound of the guitar to create something new and interesting. Mark Bowen’s innovative creation and manipulation of guitar tones off the newest IDLES album ‘Crawler’ in songs such as ‘MTT 420 RR’ and ‘Car Crash’ specifically are fascinating and effective. The inspiration from Brian May was taken from his long solo guitar performances mid-way through their Queen + Adam Lambert shows in 2019 where he created whole environments with lights, visuals, sonics and himself.
The narrative behind ‘Man, Earth and Guitar’ is a representation of mankind’s environmental effect on the earth. Earth is represented by calm, reverberant, ambient, slow, and smooth elements whereas humankind is represented by heavy, distorted,
fast, spiritic and more aggressive elements. The relationship between the two is separated, combined, and shaped throughout the piece.
With the narrative of humankind vs nature expressed via the medium of guitar exploration and represented through lights, imagery and sonics has hopefully resulted in an interesting and immersive solo performance which leaves a thought in your mind and a feeling in your soul.
Enjoy J
Cycles
Amy Anderson & William Clarke“Cycles” is a unique audio visual performance created by Amy Anderson and William Clarke which showcases the advanced use of creative music technologies studied throughout the CMT degree. The overarching theme of this performance is Music Technology itself, which features imagery/visuals and audio of the different software and hardware studied.
Section A
This first section includes music inspired by the electronic synthwave genre, which has a dramatic feel, driven beat, and colourful chords to enhance the emotional impact of the performance. The synthwave genre is heard throughout Netflix’s Stranger Things and is recognisable from the remix of the theme C418 by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein. Whilst the genre is very commercial and is seemingly simple, there are lots of detail and subtleties with the developing layers and timbres.
The accompanying visuals were created using the audio visual software TouchDesigner, which for this performance features distorted scenes of the unique programs studied throughout the CMT degree. There are also scenes showcasing our TouchDesigner artworks, including a 3D replica of the Ableton Push instrument used in the performance These scenes are manipulated and performed with visual effects in response to the live music.
Alongside visuals of the software's studied throughout the CMT degree, there will be corresponding samples/melodic phrases with timbres taken from these software's, which can be heard in the verse.
One of the scenes featured throughout this section is a 3D model of an Xbox controller, which will be performed by one or more audience members. During this, they will be able to control the rotation and movement of the 3D Xbox controller replica when the scene appears on screen.
Section B
Moving forward, the next section develops the timbral and melodic ideas from section A to new territories and explores the context, application, and texture of sound. In contrast to the beginning of the performance, this section does not conform to any structure and is more abstract and looser in feel. The music is more performative through audio effects including reverbs, distortion, velocity control, and volume control on new layers.
Developing on the audience interactive Xbox controller scene, the visuals of this section are entirely controlled by the audience. The different buttons on the Xbox controller respond to different visual effects as depicted by the image. These include visual effects on movement such as position, rotation, and zoom, and other effects like colour, morphing, and pixelation. There are also visual filter effects which are audio reactive to the music.
Eventually, the Ableton Push instrument is reintroduced and performed, referencing the first section of the piece. This progression further connects the two sections together, particularly through structure, timbre, and melodic themes.
This performance showcases some of the learnings and creativity within Music Technology and encapsulates the studies throughout the CMT degree.
E[82:86/2022]Ǝ
Alex Knight
Alex’s performance is comprised of a selection of songs from his work in progress, abstract concept EP “E[82:86/2022]Ǝ” surrounding the struggles and growth he has faced throughout 2022. The EP has a central focus on varying textures and feelings produced from manipulations of a diverse instrument range, pulled from and inspired by Alex’s broad genre interests including chiptune, experimental and ambient genres. The main driving beat throughout is provided by Alex’s own heartbeat, which is live looped and played back throughout the EP as the base rhythm. Other featured instruments include live looping of cello and bass guitar, and sequencing and performance on a Gameboy running chiptune tracker software, and Alex’s own self designed and hand built modular synthesiser, all performed solo by Alex. These instruments are altered and morphed throughout the performance using effects pedals and loop modifications, including tape delays, bit crushing distortion, loop reversing and granular delays. These instruments and effects are also mixed live as the performance progresses, following the flow of the pieces.
The first piece, The Calm Before the Storm, is a mellow, ambient piece, with an underlying anxious and tense feeling. Throughout this piece the instrumentation is stripped back and simple, featuring the heartbeat, bass guitar, cello and Gameboy.
The second piece, The Long Fall, is another more ambient piece, mainly featuring tape delay feedback and bit crushed underlying instrumentation, with a sober, melancholy undertone.
Piece 3, Chaos Heart, is a more rhythmic and sequence-based piece, again featuring chaotic feedback tape delays and bit crushing, as well as the inclusion of the modular synthesiser. The overall tone is more chaotic, angry, and pained.
The final piece, Breaking Through the Surface, is a more controlled, rhythmic, and tonal piece, featuring all instruments and serving as a resolution to the chaos and tension of the previous pieces, representing a level of calm, acceptance, and clarity.
While there is a significant focus on the sounds of this EP, it is as much a visual experience as an auditory one. The performance is accompanied by a combination of audio visualisations designed and programmed by Alex in the audio visual programming software TouchDesigner to be fully audio reactive. This results in visuals that follow the flow of the textures, moods and emotions produced and conveyed by the auditory experience as the performance progresses. This is achieved using beat detection, frequency detection and level detection on a per-instrument basis, which are then fed to varying controls for different visual scenes throughout the performance, which are also mixed manually between pieces.
Overall, Alex intends this performance to showcase some of the more impactful things he has learned and discovered over the last three years of his involvement in the Creative Music Technology degree, and hopes you enjoy the performance.
Everything Everyday
Luke Sauvage, Deakin Jennings, and Lou Shenfield
An exploration of improvisation and performance roles within the electronic instrument's community. Drawing inspiration from sonic territories discovered in earlier jam sessions, Deakin, Luke, and Lou established a sonic world and palette that describes the feeling of the ebb and flow of life. Telling the story of everyday life through guitar, Ableton Live, leads, melodies and foley laced texture. In ‘Everything Everyday’ the aim is to express the mundane and the extraordinary. The calm and the storm.
To explore this sonic palette, we each exhibit different performance roles that are music related but aren’t usually displayed so clearly in a live context. Deakin and Luke are considered artists/ instrumentalists, whereas Lou is the producer. This performance explores the idea of the flow between these roles. Through rehearsals and writing sessions, the idea of improvisation and bouncing ideas off each other became the main theme. For instance, Deakin and Luke focused on creating a mood. Acting as the artists, their focus is on creating layers of melodies and harmonies. Luke uses his Prophet 08 in conjunction with an RC300 looper pedal to create dense layers, ambiences and shining leads. Lou, acting as producer, spent time creating pre built effects Using Ableton's pre built effects racks. Lou then mapped certain parameters to knobs on a nano controller that Deakin and Luke have the option of controlling. This allows them to drench sounds in reverb or keep them confronting and dry. As well as effects like flanger and other guitar distortion.
After Lou’s processing this is then fed to his computer. Lou compiled some premade drum loops, percussive foley, bass sounds and synth sounds that he can then add atop the layers from the artists. This is then fed to prerecorded visuals. These visuals were filmed in Brisbane City with a VHS camera. This was a choice made that aligns with the foley and textures of many of the synths.
Using Touch Designer, Luke created audio reactive visuals to fully portray the vision they have. Using the VHS footage he captured, Luke then created effects that fit the aesthetic of each section. Inspired by the music video for Get Forward by Golden Vessel, the footage captures people walking around cities, in transit or going to work. The motions of daily life can be repetitive, but each day in the small details, there are differences. Luke also uses MIDI mapping to create various dry wet knobs so as to mix visual effects in and out to heighten and dull visual moments in congruence with the audio. This idea of reactive improvisation from various performers following a vague
form is the basis for the logistical side of the performance. As for the rest, enjoy the unique sounds, moods, and feelings we find in the moment.
Digital Destiny
Caitlin Reilly and Maria Hamon
Drawing inspiration from the likes of Bjork and Brian Eno (An Ending/Apollo), we have created an ethereal soundscape in Ableton using a variety of our own recorded found sounds as well as Ableton synths. Some of our found sounds include birds, piano strings, wind chimes, water, and rain sticks, and have either already been manipulated or will be manipulated in real time, during our performance. We have also created a vocal synth using a sample of Maria’s voice to create an airy synth pad with a bit of movement in it.
“Digital Destiny” was composed as an intersection of the natural and unnatural world, a once natural landscape that has become digital and surreal in nature. Think of waves crashing, birds chirping, voices singing the substance of music dating back to ancient times, sounds that we are all too familiar with. Now experience these same sounds as they become more metallic, granular, and digitally obscure, through effects such as delay, filtering, stretching, reversing and reverb. The sound of rain failing and morphing into the shattering of glass, into a thousand pieces falling to the earth faster and faster or incredibly slow as only digital means will allow. The introduction builds with a variety of different sounds overlapping and an elusive tempo, aiming to be free flowing. This then leads into a captivating vocal chant before finally ending with a more established section with more rhythmic elements, melodies, and harmonies.
We will have Maria performing on the novation keyboard and vocals, while Caitlin is on the Ableton Push, triggering and manipulating sounds in real time. To continue with this theme, we have included an edit of raw and manipulated videos of nature and landscapes. The video was created using Touch Designer and Adobe Premier Pro, to coincide with the use of our own heavily manipulated found sounds this visual display also incorporates several computer generated effects, to a point where the original source is almost no longer recognisable.
We have run videos of nature scenes through a glitching patch in Touch Designer (an open source coding program). The resulting visuals are integrated more fully as the piece progresses, to emphasise the development of our digital landscape. To continue with the ambience of the piece, we have enhanced some of the vibrant colours in Premier whilst overlaying them in creative ways, so they’re not always recognisable, much like some of the sounds in our composition. We have taken care to arrange our visuals to not only match our compositional direction and arrangement but also to enhance the entire audience experience.