MAPS is a live project that explores multimedia composition in live audiovisual contexts. Raw timbres are created and performed via bespoke hardware synthesisers and a range of sonic processing is deployed. The system collectively is “on the edge” of a number of genres, including noise, pop, and electroacoustic music. The soundworld is an amalgamation of direct hardware output and custom real-time software processing in Max with drum programming in Ableton. The interactive visuals created in Touch Designer augment the performance system via generative content and sound-reactive visual motifs. The goal is a multimedia performance that spans genres to produce a range of cultural references that oscillate around beat-based materials.
This project is situated in the field of gesture-controlled audio-visual performance utilising tangible interfaces that reside between avant-garde and pop music contexts. MAPS builds on the practices of Carsten Nicolai (Alvo Noto), Noemi Schipfer and Takami Nakamoto (Nonotak), and Richard “Richie” Hawtin. Our approach embraces DJ and VJ techniques to result in a “live production” that blends improvisation with studio-produced elements. The overarching research question is: to what extent can popular electronic music practices be reimagined for multimedia performance in the contemporary concert hall?
MAPS was peer-reviewed by an international jury and selected/presented live-in-concert by the authors at the Loreto Theatre at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture as part of New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF) in 2024. Feedback we received highlighted the novel and unexpected contribution that MAPS made, particularly that it was not in any way “fixed media” but still foreground electroacoustic techniques while showcasing a clear commitment to performance practice and extending the agenda “beyond music” into multimedia performance.