This is an excerpt from a performance by DKO from the MCAD MFA open studio night on December 7, 2012 as discussed in the post Live Binaural Recording of DKO with Oliver Grudem. The document features Oliver Grudem (not shown) who produced the audiovisual score in real-time. The video and sound coming from the LED display and loud speaker below it was broadcast into the performance space as Oliver walked around the Minneapolis Uptown area during a snow storm. The visuals and sound from his walk provided a “score” for us to respond to as we improvised. Oliver was also able to hear our musical reactions to the audiovisual score as he was broadcasting and respond accordingly.
The piece was recorded with my custom built binaural head microphone to capture the sound localization of the performance space. NOTE: It is necessary to wear high quality headphones to experience the binaural effect. The spatial properties of studio monitors are also acceptable but will not produce the same localization of the sound sources. Thanks goes out to Eric Dowell for shooting video of the one hour long performance. I am working on editing a shorter version to briefly summarize the essence of the piece. This 13 minute video is a more in depth snapshot of what the performance entailed.
On November 27, 2012 I made a binaural recording of David Byrne’s installation, Playing the Building (2012), at Aria in Minneapolis. During my session in the space I recorded a solo performance of myself, a duet with me and Jon Davis on bass clarinet, and a trio (DKO) with me, Graham O’Brien on drums and Jon Davis. I used a binaural head to record each performance. I have been interested in building a binaural head for some time, and finally got the parts together including a mannequin head, silicone ears, and overhead microphones capsules. I’ll share more about “Vincent” (the head’s name), and the rest of the recordings soon. For now here’s a video of my solo performance. Remember to listen using headphones in order to hear the binaural spatial effects. You’ll hear the installation surrounding you, a visitor bouncing a tennis ball off to the right, and occasional interjections of people in conversation.
This video created by Caleb Coppock illustrates the time scope (from dusk until dawn) of the In Habit: Living Patterns performance at Northern Spark, June 2012. I composed the music for the sixteenth and final vignette in the sequence titled, Energy and then adapted it for the time-lapse sequence.
Keep an eye/ear out for upcoming documentation that will display the dance movements in real-time. I also have some video with binaural audio recorded at one of the performances that I will be sharing as well.
Note: This video was produced with binaural sound. Please listen with headphones to experience the binaural effect.
In this “duet” I am using the Korg Monotribe to join in with the laundromat ambience as if it were a conscious participant in an improvisational ensemble. The activity in the space produced oscillations that caused sound waves forming drones and rhythmic patterns. I responded with basic oscillators like pulse, saw, or triangle waves. I manipulated the filter, LFO and pitch to create more complex textures that alternately blend and contrast with the ambient sound.
The ambience was recorded with a set of binaural microphones. When wearing stereo headphones the playback of a binaural recording accurately positions the direction of each sound for the listener, immersing them in the spatial soundscape. In contrast the synthesis was recorded in mono, without additional processing. This simulates a process called phonomnesis, or imagined sound, by placing the signal in the center of the listeners sound-space.
The first ever Eyeo Festival was last June and the second iteration looks to be just as amazing as the last. Here’s a video of a presentation that I gave at Eyeo last year on using digital imagery to generate sound. I also have the HTML5 slideshow available (use the left and right arrow keys to navigate). A big thanks goes out to Dave Schroeder for creating Eyeo and sharing these videos.
Examples of work in sound, imagery, and interaction