Tentacle Orbits

Tara pattenden

Tentacle Orbits
Image credit: Tara pattenden

Abstract:

Tentacle Orbits presents a participatory performance composed with malleable, wearable electronic instruments that invite audience engagement through intuitive tactile interaction. The performance features custom-built Tentacle Instruments that respond to physical manipulations such as squeezing and bending, creating an accessible framework for collaborative musical improvisation. These colourful instruments utilise soft circuitry techniques with machine-sewn sensors responding to body contact and pressure, contributing to the growing research area of Textile Interfaces for Musical Expression (TIME). The instrument’s sonic capabilities range from bright square waves built with digital logic circuitry to glitchy samplers developed on the Daisy Seed platform. During the performance, audience members are invited to don and play these wearable instruments, with the participation framework adapting to the atmospheric and social aspects of the performance venue. This work contributes to NIME research by addressing identified gaps in non-rigid and deformable musical interfaces through longitudinal development and live performance research. “Tentacle Orbits” demonstrates how material properties can provoke intuitive gestures while balancing the simplicity of approach with the complexity of experience, ultimately creating a unique collaborative soundscape that emerges through audience exploration and engagement.