transcriptions

Takuma Kikuchi; Riki Saito; Risako Shibata; Atsuya Tsuchida; Kenshiro Taira; Nimisha Anand; Ryoho Kobayashi; Yuta Uozumi; Shinya Fujii

transcriptions
Image credit: Takuma Kikuchi; Riki Saito; Risako Shibata; Atsuya Tsuchida; Kenshiro Taira; Nimisha Anand; Ryoho Kobayashi; Yuta Uozumi; Shinya Fujii

Abstract:

“transcriptions” is an improvisational musical performance piece in which two performers recursively mimic each other’s movements, utilizing postural sensing and tactile feedback. The misalignments and errors that occur in the process of imitation and the dynamic changes in the relationship between the performers caused by the interveners (the System Jockey and the Intervener) are intertwined to produce unpredictable movements and sounds. Performers wear special suits equipped with gyro-sensors and exciters. The gyro-sensor converts the postural movement data into vibrations, which are transmitted to the exciter of the other performer. The performers respond to these vibrations and move, mimicking each other’s postures. As this chain of imitation is repeated, errors and misalignments due to tactile perception, physical ability, initial position, differences in posture, spatial constraints, and other factors accumulate, and new movements emerge. In this work, all sounds are generated from the performers’ movements. Contact microphones are attached to the performers’ suits to capture the sound generated by their movements. The sounds are processed and output, and electronic sounds are generated from its volume information, so that the relationships between the performers and the changes in their movements can be expressed sonically. The relationships among the performers, and the interaction between the system and the performance environment generate the performers’ movements and sounds, and the system jockey and the intervener intervene in these interactions. The result is an improvisational performance in which nonlinear changes in movement and sound are intertwined with intentional control. “transcriptions” is a work that presents a new form of improvisational expression by actively utilizing creative emergence through chains of imitation.