SL'Étude (click for Flickr Photos)

SL'Étude is a series of pieces for SecondLife (SL) and a RealLife (RL) performance space capable of sound spatialization.
The RL and the SL space have a very similar layout - see diagram above.
SL is explored in a two directional fashion. It engages the avatars by allowing them to spatialize sounds in RL by positioning specifically designed objects in SL.

I recorded these sounds objects. They are solo saxophone snippets that explore the timbral possibilities of one sound (note) on the saxophone. The idea of this one note exploration was derived after talking to Joan La Barbara In March 08 at the Sonic Arts Research Center about her work entitled “One-Note Internal Resonance Investigation for voice alone” - cool piece, and she left me a copy of the score to have a look at.

What Happens?
For example, if an avatar picks up object 1 he/she will hear the one note exploration linked to that object. The avatar may then place the object closer to one of the loudspeakers in the SL space which will result in sound spatialization in the RL space. The saxophonist in the RL space will then interact with the avatars’ compositional strategies.

What Else?
The RL performer is equipped with LED lights in order to track her gestures while playing. In this way the performer’s movements can be mapped onto a SL avatar or a more abstract representation of a humanoid figure, thus enabling a two way interaction of movement and sounds.

How Far Is This?
We are in the process of setting up the SL space with the objects.
The installation has been up and running on the SARC SL space on the European University Island (http://slurl.com/secondlife/European%20University%20II/134/130/27)
since early May 2008.


First Performance?
The first performance tests were carried out at the beginning of June 2008.
The RL space was the Sonic Arts Research Center (SARC) in Belfast, UK.
Here is a short youtube overview of what we did.

Uff. Long Blog, this one.

July Gig at the Fábrica Braço de Prata - Lisbon

I am very exciting about a follow up gig from last sommer's Goethe Institut free improv gig with cellist and improvisor Ulrich Mitzlaff,and guitarist and improvisor Nuno Rebelo plus Pedro Rebelo on prosthetic piano.
On July 26th 2008 we will be playing in the:
Fábrica Braço de Prata:
Rua da Fábrica do Material de Guerra, nº1
Lisbon Portugal

Net vs Net - recording

5th of June 2008 SARC - Stanford:
I will be recording "Net vs Net", the piece I played in the US in April 08.
Also, a new work by Justin Yang with Justin on sax.
Involved: Alain Renaud, Juan-Pablo Caceres and Justin Yang.

Caressing the Skin - mobile devices and bodily engagement

A paper on the skin and mobile devices. Recently given at the Mobile Music Workshop conference in Vienna (13-15th May 2008): Conference link.
A shorter version of this paper will be appearing in the 4th edition of Stimulus Respond: SKIN.

Concert tonight - CCRMA Stanford

And tonight, Pedro Rebelo and myself are playing at CCRMA in Stanford. CCRMA Stage, 8pm.
Program: similar to last night at CNMAT in Berkeley, but I am also playing a network piece by Alain Renaud (who will be in the UK at SARC) and Juan-Pablo Cáceres (who will be at CCRMA) entitled "Drony Feeds Back" (yes, I know not the best title in this world!!!).

Pedro (piano and feedback) and I (sax) will be presenting a new feedback improvisation called "Over Hear".

Also, I will be playing an improvisation for solo sax that looks at the possible interruptions of the human body with the instrument and at the a-synchronicities of certain body parts (i.e. tongue and fingers are not synchronized or the breath tries to interfere with the air column of the instrument). I have called this "Étude".

Link to some Flickr Fotos.

Concert tonight - CNMAT California

Tonight, I am playing at CNMAT, Berkeley California. Pedro Rebelo and myself are doing a SARC showcase concert and I will be playing "Fragmentos" for soprano sax and electronics by Pedro Rebelo. This is a US premiere.
In the second half, we will be doing an improv and will be joined by David Wessel and Michael Zbyszynski.
Amongst the pieces played will be a new work by Pedro Rebelo, entitled "Netrooms: The Long Feedback".

MUSICKING THE NETWORK: THE BODY AS DISTURBANT

One of my forthcoming publications that investigates the network as a site for music performance; in particular, the net’s performative conditions with the tightly linked notion of community that become exposed through the medium of music as an intrinsic social practice.
In this paper we examine the scattered viewpoints that characterize the network and question the idealized view of an all-connectedness. We position the human body as an interrupter of the network, and argue for a framework that, contrary to the often holistic approach to performing in the net, favors glances, fragments and desires....

Schroeder, F. and Rebelo, P. (2008, forthcoming). MUSICKING THE NETWORK: THE BODY AS DISTURBANT. Accepted for the Dispersive Anatomies issue in the Leonardo Electronic Almanac.

Research Seminar - SARC

On December, 12th 2007 I gave a research seminar to staff and postgraduate students at the Sonic Arts Research Center about network performance.
The seminar gave insights into the cultural implications of the network as a site for performance, and discussed vital issues which arise when playing music with others in disparate sites. (Sorry, the keynote file is too big to upload).

Disparate Bodies- a multi-site networked performance

As part of a three year European Culture network project CO-ME-DI-A
(directed by IRCAM with partners here in Belfast as well as in Graz, Prague, Genoa, Budapest and Hamburg), we have just completed a huge network performance (29th of November 2007).

The performance took place in Belfast - SARC, in Hamburg and in Graz as well as in SecondLife.
More info on the Disparate Bodies webpage.

Here is the slide show that was cast into SL:



Great success!!! A short movie with picts from the performance:




And here on youtube:

Faint - new trio

The new trio CD Faint is out on the creative sources record label.

Video of the CD launch
(11th October 2007 at the Sonic Arts Research Center in Belfast)

ICMC 07 Presentation

The paper I co-wrote with Alain, Pedro and Fernando was presented at the 2007 ICMConference in Conpenhagen in August 2007. (ICMC2007 page)

ADDRESSING THE NETWORK: PERFORMATIVE STRATEGIES FOR PLAYING APART

This is a paper about the APART study carried out at SARC in April.
It is published by the International Computer Music Conference 07.

APART Study

We have just completed a network study here at SARC.
Three musicians were placed into three different sites and several different network conditions were tested.
With this project we wanted to examine performers' complex cues in a network environment. We were particularly interested in how the network might suggest strategies for ensemble playing which might differ from those commonly used
on the traditional stage.

AHRC Fellowship

In April 2006 I will commence investigations on performance issues in networked environments. This work is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and will take three and a half years.

Two Thousand + SEVEN

The second edition of the Two Thousand Symposia Series is ahead.
For this years' one-day event we will have performative and theoretical papers elucidating issues in networked performance environments.

I am proud to announce two keynote speakers, George Lewis from Columbia University and Steven Connor from Birkbeck College, London.

The symposium will close with a panel discussion with local and remote speakers. Remotely we will be joined by Chris Brown and Chris Chafe at CCRM (Stanford University California). The discussion will be led by Director of Research at SARC, Dr. Pedro Rebelo.

Sounding Out Sonorities

The Sonorities Festival at SARC in Belfast is coming to a close today.
All (but not everybody) is invited to join the final musical (?) event which aims at promoting chance encounters between a variety of people.

The BBQ beforehand at SARC is particularly recommended!!!

Contemporary Music Review

The double issue for the Contemporary Music Review that I guest-edited is about to come out.
Here a preview of the cover page:

I think the articles are unique. So, enjoy!

s h l >>> p l s

This is the title of a new CD/DVD project that I will be doing in 2006.
Five Belfast based composers from the Sonic Arts Research Center will be writing exciting new works for saxophones and live-electronics which I will be recording in 2006.
You can get a "wee" taste during the Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music (www.sonorities.org.uk), in which I will showcase some of those works.

Red Spandex

I think I have acquired a better look in Second Life.
I am still pregnant...and am eyeing off some of those nice red spandex body suits.!!!

Two Thousand + SIX

This new international performance technology conference will kick off as part of next year's Sonorities Festival of Contemporary Music and will take place at the Sonic Arts Research Center in Belfast: www.qub.ac.uk/sonorities.

The conference will bring together, for the first time, performers, composers, academics and thinkers, as well as every one else who feels outside those categories, in order to discuss a wide variety of topics on performances that are informed by new technologies.

The conference is planned for Saturday, the 29th of April 2006 at SARC in Belfast for just one day with paper sessions in the morning and the afternoon, with two keynote speakers, a lunchtime performance and a free evening concert for registered conference guests featuring Fred Frith with the Ulster Orchestra.

Further information on the conference will be posted in December 2005 on the SARC website: www.sarc.qub.ac.uk.