SloMo study #2

Abstract

This piece was composed to explore the use of slow and microscopic body movements in electronic music performance, and the role of rhythmic visual cues and breathing in the perception of movement and time. To do so, it employs wearable sensors (EMG and IMUs), variable-frequency stroboscopic lights, an electronic stethoscope, and a body-worn camera for face tracking. The performer’s left hand very slowly draws an arc that begins with the left arm across the chest and ends when the arm is fully stretched outwards. The whole movement is performed in about 10 minutes and marks the beginning and end of the piece. Every small movement across this arc shifts the selection of a small portion of audio from a buffer used for granular synthesis. The recording loaded in the buffer consists of 8 bars of the piece Kineslimina [1] written by the author and performed by Esther Coorevits. Through these slow movements, that instrumental passage is reinterpreted on a much longer timescale, making it possible to linger on the attack transients of each drum hit and, at the same time, experience it as a single, slowly unfolding event. This continuously evolving rhythm has its counterpoint in the breathing sounds of the performer, which are amplified through an electronic stethoscope placed on their neck. These sounds are processed by an array of resonators that are controlled through the mouth positions of the performer, tracked by the body-worn camera. Breathing acts as the performer’s inner timekeeper, while modulating breathing sounds through mouth positions