echo 1
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Echo 1 is my first musical composition and sound installation created
using my echolocation principle. The piece was first
performed at Oxford Botanic Garden, as part of their Magic Hour
event in September 2008.
Along the River Cherwell (at the side of the Botanic Garden) were placed a series of bat detectors, each tuned in to the frequencies of the particular bats that visit in the evening in search of food. As the bats flew past, their signals were picked up by the bat detectors, and sent to a central computer hosting a collection of virtual instruments created in order to respond to the incoming bat calls. These different instruments took the volume, pitch and bandwidth information inherent in the different calls to create different voicings in the music and were then sequenced by a controlling score in order to shape the composition's harmonic depth and overall form. The resulting composition took the form of a four-dimensional experience, where listeners listened to the composition through multiple speakers, experiencing the different sounds as they moved around the space. As well as this, sections of the bats flight paths along the river were illuminated providing a dynamic visual stimulus to the sounds and allowing the audience to make the connection between the corresponding music and the bat behaviour. As I worked on my various sound installations for the Botanic Garden and created the Echo 1 piece I also wrote a blog documenting some of my process. You can read it here. It is also possible to listen to an extract of Echo 1 by going to my Listen page, where you will also find a short radio review of the work. |