SKR1BLJulesRawlinson

EdinburghCollegeofArt,UniversityofEdinburghjules.rawlinson@ed.ac.uk

Abstract.SKR1BL(2016,c.10mins)isanaudiovisualcompositionforsololaptopperformerwithgesturalcontrollers.Thescoreconsistsof‘sampled’graffititagsthatareformallyarrangedtohighlightsimilarityandvariation,andtoprovideopportunitiesforsoniccontrastandcounterpoint.Theperformercreatesfinedetailthroughinterpretive,intuitiveandexploratoryresponsestothescore,soundlibraryandDSPprocesses.Theworkispartofawiderstudyontheuseofgraphicnotationinliveelectronicstocreateabodyofworkthatfallsinthegapsbetweenimprovisationandrepertoire.

Keywords:Non-musicalperformanceinterface,embodiment,timing,mappingstrategiesanddesign,(un)control

IntroductionGroundedinHip-Hopculture,there’samusicalitytotaggingwithrhythmsandrepetitions,andimportantly,tagsseemspontaneousandimprovised,yetcraftedandcultivated.Thevisualstyleisreductive,symbolicandobjectoriented.Themorphologyandmaterialcharacterofthetagsguidestheperformerinrespectofsoundshape,textureandgesturesuchasgranularmicrostructureduetocombinedqualitiesofarepetition,thegraffitisurfaceandthemarkingpaintorink.Theperformershouldlookforestablisheddirectionandextensionsofmovementandmakeconnectionsinmaterialthoughsuperimposition,stratification,juxtaposition,andinterpolation.Theoveralldurationofthework,andofindividualpassages,willvaryasafunctionoftheinteractionsbetweenthedifferentelements.

Graffititagsarebyturnangular,abstract,reductive,compressed,contained,expressive,expansiveandiconic,withlinesthatconnectandorganise,shiftsinweight,arcingtrajectories,ASCIIlikedecoration,punctuationandtexture,withembodiedformalandfiligreequalities.Theiruseinnotationprovidesthe“somethingtoholdontofactor”(Landy1994b).Thisworkmightbedescribedaschamberelectronics,andischaracterisedbyfastmovingdetails,developmentsandinteractionsbetweensoundobjectsandtechnique.Thescoreprovidesaframeworkforreturningtoscriptedplayandguidestheoveralldirectionofthework.

Tagsmaydemonstratesomecommongestures,butalsocontainimprovisedvariations.Atthisstagetheworkisfocusedonhumanstructuring,performanceandremediation,buttechnologiesforarchivingandgesturefollowinggraffititagsareavailable(Roth2010,Caramiaux2012),andtheproductionofscoresmightdevelopbyinvestigatingprocessesofgraffitization(BerioandLeymarie2015).

Linksbetweengraffitiandthestructuringandperformanceofmusicandsoundcanbefoundintheviewthattaggingisanembodiedformofinteriorisedrepetitionofdevelopingskills,styleandserialobjects(Brighenti2010).It’spossibletoidentifyamappingbetweenformalexpressionofcharacter,changesindirectionandthespeedofthegesture,“mak[ing]themostexpressivemarkpossibleinthefewestamountoflinesintheshortestamountoftime”(Roth2009).

DesigntheoryandliteraturesuchasKandinsky’swritingsonPoint,LineandPlane(1926)providessomeinsightintowaysinwhichtheformalqualitiesoftagsmightbeinterpretedinmusicalwaysasanaidtoscorecreation.Kandinskyexaminesthetensionsinherentincurvesandangles.Tensionrefersheretothepotentialformovementandresolution.Likesprings,curvesandanglesarelinesundertension,andcouldpotentiallyresolvetostraightlines.Morphologyandtaxonomyofferadditionalframeworksforvisualanalysis(Roth2009,Schaeffer1966,Smalley1997),whilegesturalandsituatedaspectsofgraffititaggingcanexaminedforindicativerelationships(Smalley1996).

There’samateriallinkbetweentheformandimpactofgraffititagsandthematerialqualitiesofthesurface,spaceandtool(Chmielewska2007).Thegraffitisurfacewillpossessvaryingqualitiesoftexture,fromtheverysmoothtotheveryrough,affectingtheeaseofmarkingorpainttransferandcoverage.Thecombinationandcontactofsprayorinkandsurfacecanmaptomalleabilityandfluidityinanobject/substancefield(Smalley1996).

Graffitiscoresareideallysuitedtogesturalinterfacessuchasthegraphicstabletandstylus,notleastbecauseoftheinbuiltlinktopenmanshipandcalligraphy.Graphicstabletsallowustore-scribethegesturescontainedinthetags.Thiscreatesasharedenergyandmorphology,andwecandevelopthestable,scrutable,learnableresponserequiredformoresophisticatedexpression(Croft2007).

ThebasesonicmaterialconsistsoffragmentsofearlyHip-HopthataredistributedacrossanumberofDSPlayers.Agraphicstablet,3Dspacenavigatorandmidicontrollersareusedtotriggerandscanmaterial,whichissubjecttofurtherprocessingandmanipulationinamannerreminiscentofbothearlytapeworksandmodernturntablism.Typicalgesturesincludescrubbingandscratching,dipping,oscillationandbowing(Wesselet.al.2002).Thelivevideocomponentremediatesthegraffitifurtherusingsimilarmappingstrategiestotheaudiopart.

Theworkaddressesthemesofnon-musicalperformanceinterfaceintheuseofdeviceslikethegraphicstabletand3Dspacenavigator,embodimentinthere-mediationofgraffitisignature,timingandflow,mappingstrategiesanddesignintheinteractionofthedifferentDSPlayerssuchasinversecrossfadesandusefulranges,and(un)controlandunpredictabilityintheself-samplingprocessesastheperformer’sattentionandintentionshiftsbetweenlayers.

Avideoexamplecanbeseenat:http://vimeo.com/155386533

Figure1.SKR1BLperformanceMaxMSPpatch

Figure2.SKR1BLscorefragment

Figure3.SKR1BLvideoprocessingscreenshot

Biography

JulesRawlinson(b.1969,UK)designssounds,visualsandinteractions,andperformswithliveelectronics.JulesrecentlycollaboratedwithMatthewCollingson'RequiemforEdwardSnowden',whichblendsliveelectronicswithachambertrioandrealtimevisuals.FollowingselloutperformancesinEdinburghandGlasgow,thisworkwasselectedforCreativeScotland’sMadeInScotlandshowcaseatEdinburghFestivalFringein2015,andhasplayedatAberdeen’sSoundFestivalandUtrecht’sGaudeamusMuziekweek.HeisafoundingmemberoftheLLEAPPnetwork(LaboratoryforLiveElectronicAudioPerformancePractice),whichhasfosteredanongoingandreciprocalseriesofworkshopsandeventsatanumberofUKinstitutions.JuleshasaPhDinCompositionfromEdinburghCollegeofArt,UniversityofEdinburgh,whereheisalecturerinDigitalDesign.Formoreinformationvisithttp://www.pixelmechanics.com

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Kandinksy,Wassily(1979)PointandLinetoPlane.TranslatedfromtheGermanbyDearstyne,H.&Rebay,H.Mineola,NY:Dover(Originallypublishedin1926)

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Roth,Evan(2010)GraffitiAnalysis3.0.Availableat:http://graffitianalysis.com/(Accessed:16May2016).

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