The Pale Skin and the Mental Maze (2017)
For digital synth and interactive system
This recording of the performance is uncut and unedited.
Duration: from 15 to 25 minutes
Performances:
- 23-Jun-2017 - Spektrum, Berlin
- 27-Apr-2017 - BEAST FEaST, Birmingham
The Pale Skin and the Mental Maze deals with intuitive decision-making and the computer's emergent behavior. It is, actually, all about the
equilibrium between these two elements. I play a digital synth, designed to be quickly reactive to my spontaneous gestures; an interactive system
analyzes my gestures and the sound produced by the synth, and provides a slower and more tangential response. This tangential response is defined
by the means of algorithmic composition and provides a sense of self-containment and responsibility for the extemporary gestures. The responsibiltiy
of the performer is very concrete indeed, for the interactive system moves through its different phases and evolves only as a response
to certain gestures.
Technology is thus used in such a way that is neither an endless expansion of human power nor a passive delegation of
intelligence to the machine, but it is a way to achieve a balanced and nuanced dynamic between human instances and machines.
The two outputs -the synth and the interactive system- can be recognized by a trained ear,
but this is definitely not the goal of the work, nor is it the visual association between gesture and sound produced.
The goal stays within its final acoustic shape.
This shape mirrors a continuous exchange between the improvisatory practice and algorithmic structures. Quiet drones,
harsh noises, predetermined elements like melodic fragments in just intonation
are all subjected to an intuitive sense of duration that shapes the performance and make the gesture indispensable.