In the Multimediaabend – Hemmungslos I simulated a disrupted concert. During the whole concert, many interruptions were used, trying to distract the public from the music and afterwards giving them the possibility to interact (react to a previous action) and be a part of the concert. As the program booklet described:
"Finally visit a concert without inhibitions!
Finally forget and ignore all hall rituals!
When have you ever experienced such a thing?"
Opposite to the protocol posted before, the sentence “Curb your enthusiasm. Don´t get too excited” does not apply anymore, because these emotions of the public are actually leading the development of the concert.
3.1 Interaction: Stage vs. Audience
In order to give the public the possibility to interact with the concert, I broke the previously discussed protocol and created a kind of uncertainty, generated by the absence of the well-known concert protocol.
The concert began with a tape piece, but even before this, some sounds or interruptions were triggered during the public entrance, emphasizing the importance of the external sounds.
These sounds were not interrupting anything, but they started to explain the idea of the concert. Next to the concert hall entrance, in the men’s room, an audio installation “Private Sphäre” was available for the visitors. The sounds used in that installation were also played at the beginning of the concert. For the toilet visitors, this was a reminder of their experience in the bathroom. It also created continuity in the concert: the sounds from the toilet were extended in the concert hall until the beginning of the first piece, merging the outside installation with the concert.
In addition to these sounds, right at the entrance, the public could hear pre-recorded voices, door and heel sounds. Later during the concert, more pre-recorded sounds were triggered, interrupting the concert and interacting with the audience. By the end of the concert, the audience was supposed to understand that the interruptions they produced (like coughing, sneezing etc.) would trigger a reaction of the pre-recorded sounds or even of the musicians on stage.
3.2 The Interruptions
Three different kinds of interruptions were used during the concert: sound, visual and theatrical interruptions. The sound and visual interruptions were generated using a Lemur – multi-touch input device – that triggered pre-recorded sounds and text notice/instructions on a screen. Theatrical interruptions were planned mostly with the four actors in the public, as well as the musicians on stage.
Interruptions control panel. Green buttons are audio reactions, blue buttons are video reactions.
3.2.1 Audio Interruptions
The Audio Interruptions were pre-recorded sounds, classified by different categories.
Some of them were original and other modified. Reproduced in a 4-ch surround setup (two front speakers and two rear speakers), the rear speakers were used to simulate the reactions (pre-recorded sounds), as if they were coming from the public. Short sounds were fixed to one single speaker or stereo setup and long sounds were spatialized in the hall, with mostly circular movements.
· Entrance sounds: Audio-Installation sounds (2x) and previews of the next piece (3x). Long spatialized sounds.
· Voices interruptions: pre-recorded sounds (5x). Fixed sounds from rear speakers.
· Cough interruptions: pre-recorded sounds (5x), most of them modified sounds. Very fast-spatialized sounds.
· Sneezing interruptions: pre-recorded sounds (5x), most of them modified sounds. Very fast-spatialized sounds.
· Candy interruptions: pre-recorded candy wrapping sounds (5x), some of the modified. Long spatialized sounds.
· Public interruptions (5x): baby, heels, whisper, laughing and door sounds. Long spatialized sounds.
· Applause: “bravo” and applause pre-recorded sounds. Fixed sounds.
These sounds were used to trigger interruptions, but also to react to interruptions. For example, if someone sneezes, electronically modified sneezing sounds will be triggered as a reaction to the interruption.
3.2.2 Video Interruptions
Video Interruptions were text messages displayed on a screen with a recording lighting box appearance. These interruptions were used especially to react to a previous interruption. Nine different messages were displayed on the screen. This screen was located on the left size of the stage.
Preview of the Video Interruptions Screen
Text messages used on the screen:
· Silence, used to stop public interruptions. (especially during applause)
· Schh!, used to stop public interruptions.
· No Applause, used to instruct the public to avoid applause.
· Applause forbidden, used to instruct the public to avoid applause.
· Bravo, used at the end of the concert to give the instruction to applaud.
· Applause, used at the end of the concert to give the instruction to applaud.
· Bitte Spenden Sie (“please donate”), used to invite the public to the installation.
· Danke, used during the installation after an inserted coin.
· Applause, interactive messages that changed the intensity of the brightness according to the loudness of the applause. Used at the end of the concert.
3.2.3 Theater Interruptions
Among the public, four actors were producing some interruptions. The main goal of these actors was to show the public that any interruption (coughing, sneezing or talking) would produce a reaction – either audio, video or theatrical – that would complete the interaction between the public and the concert. These actors were distributed in four different places.
The musicians were also instructed to react to some interruptions during the concert. Fehler, a theater performance that was played in the concert is a great example of these kind of interruptions: a musician, who is performing at a laptop, plays the boss of a company, which by the end of the piece is so angry that he will take his clothes off and go to the next stage to play some kind of heavy metal piece on the electric guitar. This interruption was so strong that, while the next piece was being played, a part of the audience was still comparing the player’s role to the one he had before.
The combination of all these interruptions and reactions were planned in a timeline that will be later explained.
3.3 Inviting public to interact with the concert
The biggest issue was to transform a passive public into an active one, so it could provide an input in order to determine the outcome. Because the scenario was that of a regular concert, where normally the public is not supposed to participate, the big challenge was to make people active.
Another idea from John Cage, chance was used to compose and organize the Multimediaabend – Hemmungslos. The interactions in the concert should have been based on chance procedures, but in order to guarantee having an active audience, the public actors were the main tool used to indicate and develop the interaction during the concert. In order to have a reaction we need a trigger and, in this case, the trigger is the public. A workflow was created in order to guarantee the interaction in the concert.
The workflow is based on two or three different triggers for each piece, which would create an audible or visible reaction, inviting the public to create some kind of interruptions, in order to receive such a reaction. The noises they were normally supposed to avoid are now accepted.
The workflow was the following:
if the public interrupts
then trigger a reaction (audio, video or theatrical)
else public actor triggers an input.
This workflow will guarantee that all the time an interruption will be triggered, the public will understand the idea of the concert and finally they will interact with it.
3.3.1 Timeline
For the Multimediaabend – Hemmungslos a timeline was written in order to organize the interactions, as well as the concert itself. Every single event was minutely planned. Artistical, technical and logistical details had to be documented to guarantee that the whole concert works.
Since, without a timeline, it is not possible to plan how and when the interaction will be reached, the public actors had some reference points. These guaranteed at least some interaction during the concert, but especially exposed the methodology of the interactions to the audience, giving it the opportunity to get involved.
Also the complete Mise en scène of the musicians on stage was documented and synchronized with the prepared interactions.
My biggest fear was that of a passive audience, but during the concert I realized that the reactions that I had prepared were not enough, so I had to repeat the same material a lot of times. The audience participation during the premiere was so active, that it was an exciting surprise for me.
3.4 The Pieces
The program included five pieces and two audio installations. The installations were programmed before and after the concert: one of them (Private Sphäre) was placed outside of the hall and was not promoted, while the second one was revealed at the end of the concert on the hall´s stage.
3.4.1 Private Sphäre – Audio Installation
This was an audio installation placed in the bathroom of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg during my concert. A proximity sensor was installed in front of the urinal, which captured the movements of visitors and sent them to a computer that generated and handled pre-recorded urinal sounds normally heard in this place. According to the movements of the visitors, different parameters (pitch, speed and duration) of the pre-recorded sounds were electronically manipulated and then played back through hidden loudspeakers.
When the visitor arrived in the bathroom, he would not expect to find that kind of equipment in there, so in order to create a surprise for the visitor, this installation was only promoted in the booklet and not onsite. When no one was in front of the urinal, the installation would play a looped dripping water sound until a guest arrived, inviting him to interact with the urinal.
Private Sphäre Installation in ZKM 2011.
The main goal of this installation was to intimidate the visitor, who wants to have some privacy in the bathroom, because as we know, this is not the proper place to display an installation. This is how the name of the installation came up – as a reference to privacy.
3.4.2 Kleine Spende – Audio/Video Installation
Also inspired by the public-art, this audio/video installation allows the visitor to become a donor and interact with the machine after the donation.
Kleine Spende (Small Donation) is a donation box attached to a computer that recognizes the inserted coin and gives a reply to the donor, depending on the value of the inserted coin. The machine replies using speech synthesis[27] and the result is a computer voice that argues with the donor, inviting him or her to be more generous. If the donor is frugal and inserts just 1 cent, the machine will also take a photograph of him and publish it immediately on a big screen located on the hall, so all the audience can see him.
Kleine Spende Installation - 1 cent Visual Reaction
Beside the computer voice, there was a screen in front of the box where the recognized coin was displayed, along with the total of collected money.
Kleine Spende Installation - Computer screen close the saving box.
I always wondered about street musicians or artists who perform some music or make some presentation expecting to receive money in return. Usually they use a hat or the instrument case in order to collect the money. After the performance, they also take this hat and go in front of the audience, expecting to receive donations, but in most of the cases the hat remains on the floor in front of the musician. I realized that, normally, you see just a few high value coins, but no cents. Every time I saw a street musician, I took a look into his hat, in order to get an idea about how much his profit was, and realized that some of them take the cents out and just leave the big coins. They think that if the donor sees just high value coins in his hat, he would be inclined to give the same coins, because a smaller donation would look humiliating to him and the artist.
The idea of people being allowed to see the value of the donation, and even how generous or frugal the donor is, guided me to make this installation.
On January 12, 2007, inside a metro station in Washington D.C., the famous violinist Joshua Bell Tree played for 43 minutes as a street musician, interpreting six classical pieces. During this time, 1097 people passed by and it the end he won $32.17 USD. The newspaper that documented this performance wrote in a satirical-way about the people that gave pennies, but Joshua Bell said “that’s not so bad, considering. That´s 40 bucks an hour. I could make an okay living doing this, and I wouldn´t have to pay an agent.”[28]
According to the newspaper, just one person recognized him. The documentary video shows that most people just continued walking and ignoring the performer.
Making a profit from street presentations is quite common in big cities, as well as in small ones. In opposition, this installation was placed inside a hall and where donation rituals are not always expected, especially since the concert was promoted as a free one.
As soon as the last piece finished, the concert hall went dark and a strong white light spot pointed to the installation, inviting the audience to donate, instead of having the “post-concert ritual” where the audience applauds and calls for another piece while the musicians do their bow.
The audience had to go on the stage, helped by actors, who showed them how the installation worked.
3.4.3 Sueños de un murciélago (Dreams of a Bat)
Sueños de un murciélago is a pure electronic[29] tape piece based mainly on two oscillators and a noise generator. These sounds sources were taken from the EMS – Synthi AKS, a portable analogue synthesizer from the 70’s.
This piece recalls the early electronic pieces of the German School or the Elektronische Musik, where the sinus waves were the primary tonal constituent.[30] The piece was later mixed using digital techniques.
Sueños de un murciélago was composed exposing two different sound elements: long noises represented the feeling of someone who cannot sleep, while the oscillators embody the sounds that he hears.
3.4.4 Fehler (Error)
Fehler is a theater performance based on our daily interactions with technology. Years of working in IT-Support inspired me to make this story that remind us how machines can irritate humans, but also the other way around.
During the piece, three actors were on stage, which was decorated as a normal office. Each actor had its own office character: a secretary (who is flirting with the boss), a shy but very efficient worker (who wasn´t able to flirt with the secretary), and the boss.
The piece was performed using the software Quintet.net[31]. Each actor was playing on its laptop and everything that they typed was triggering typical windows samples, recreating the daily work environment in front of a computer. The secretary was triggering the typing sounds on the keyboard, the worker was simulating the chat sounds from ICQ[32] and MSN Messenger[33], and finally the boss was triggering Windows error sounds.
With the computer keyboard the actors were also triggering different computer screenshots (chat and error messages), allowing a visual story to be seen on the screen of the secretary, which was projected on the big canvas of the concert hall. The piece was organized in such a manner to let the worker and the boss play with the secretary. They were mainly interrupting her with chat and errors, so she was not able to work and finally crashed the computer.
The piece has three parts: in the first one, the secretary is just writing, while the video is showing her working in documents and spreadsheets; in the second part, the worker starts triggering chat windows/sounds and she has to reply to them; in the last part, the computer crashes and the secretary restarts it. These three parts are then repeated, but this time in a more agitated manner, until the computer crashes again. This is followed by a coffee brake, which consists of a tape piece based on the sounds of an espresso machine.
The whole piece is completely dramatized and recreates an audiovisual story based on our daily work. Thanks to the Mise en scène, the audience is able to understand each character and therefore the role that they are playing with the sounds, in these case audio samples.
All the sounds and video material are triggered live by the actors using their computers as an instrument.
3.4.5 Metalero Marimbero
The name is based on a paranomasia, “a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meaning of the words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect”.[34]
Metalero (metalhead or headbanger) describes the fans of heavy metal music[35], typically associated with dark clothing. This subculture is also associated with satanic rituals as well as drugs addiction.
Marimbero is Spanish for marimba player, but it also means someone addicted to drugs in the Spanish urban language. In the 90’s, Colombia’s public television produced an antidrug campaign using this slang, playing with this rhetorical effect.[36]
The piece mixes two different worlds based on two distant instruments, a marimba and an electric guitar. The marimba will represent the academic music and the electric guitar the popular music, especially heavy metal music. An electric guitar with a distorted metal sound meets a marimba. Typical heavy metal sounds (overdrive, wha-wha & delay) lead to the climax of the piece: the guitar solo, which ends very loudly on high notes, is followed by the notorious guitar feedback.
The structure of the piece was intended to prepare the guitar solo, where the musicians improvise on stage and the guitarist shows his virtuosity. The duration of the piece is 6’66’’, which also refer to this wordplay.
3.4.6 grrr
Written for flute und live-electronics, this is the only “erudite” piece, compared to the last pieces. There is no theatrical or visual accompaniment, just the flute player in a typical concert hall.
The electronics were based on the spectral analysis of the flute’s “air sounds”. This spectrum was synthesized and recreated on the computer, mixing the original sound of the flute player and the computer sound.
A flutter-tonguing based on the onomatopoeic sound grrr was also manipulated using granular synthesis technique (“builds up acoustic events from thousands of sound grains. A sound grain lasts a brief moment (typically 1 to 100 ms), which approaches the minimum perceivable event time for duration, frequency, and amplitude discrimination”[37]). Granular synthesis is a very popular electronic technique developed in the 60’s, which is used both in tape and live performances.
During almost the entire piece, the clean sound of the flute was enhanced by reverb and harmonizers, giving the flute a more complex sound.
3.4.7 Ich mag kein Fußball!
I don’t like Soccer is a multichannel tape piece based on field recordings from the FIFA World Cup 2010. In contrast to the first piece of the concert, this one is an example of the French school, where the sounds were recorded and not produced with machines; they were just caught from the world.
Over 10 hours of field recordings were recorded before, during and after the soccer games in different spots in the city of Hamburg. Among them there were metro stations, Reeperbahn (Hamburg´s red-light district) and Heiligengeistfeld [38] and a big field in the city, well known for public viewings with a capacity of 70.000 persons, equipped with a 80m2 screen, two stages and of course… beer.
At some point, the piece was composed to irritate the listener: 8 minutes of soccer fans, most of them (I would say 99,9%) drunk, which destroy everything on their path.
The piece starts in a metro station, with soft and slow sounds, until the metro arrives to the Messehallen Station, the station where Heiligengeistfeld is. This starts a chaotic trip through Hamburg that will finish with a conversation between a drunken stranger and me: a portrait of an alcohol-wasted football society. The piece also finishes with digitally modified sounds of the metro station.
In contrast to most of the Musique concrète pieces, my source material was only lightly modified, over the 85% of the sounds being “dry”.
3.5 Multimediaabend – Hemmungslos as a Social/Musical Experiment
The outcome of the Multimediaabend – Hemmungslos was an unexpected experience for the audience. Normally, the audience does not want and also cannot get involved and participate in a concert. All the activity is supposed to be on stage, but in my case the activity was also in the audience and they had the chance to participate in the concert.
The interaction (action – reaction) started at the beginning of the concert with electronics sounds and no interaction, just actions without reactions. The real interaction took place mainly after the first piece. Once the audience started to applaud (the only thing they are allowed to do in a concert), video and audio reacted immediately. This was quite a shock for some people, quite funny for others, but the fact is that they worked and the audience stopped applauding. At this point, people thought that during my concert applause was forbidden, but over time they forgot about this and got back into the performance.
The next piece was a theater performance, where some funny parts caused laughter in the audience, which was of course followed by audio reactions. By this time, the audience started to get the idea (any action will produce a reaction), but they were still afraid to get more involved. The actors in the audience played a big role: they explained the workflow and also invited the audience not to be afraid to interrupt. Towards the end of the performance, the applause reaction started again but this time stronger and so forth in the next pieces.
During the third piece, the audience started to challenge the applause reactions and, starting from this point on, no one was afraid to interrupt anymore, unconsciously participating in the concert. Nobody knew that there were actors in the audience suggesting their role to them. The development of these interactions was smooth and natural for the audience.
Thanks to the workflow, the audience ultimately understood all reactions that were prepared for them and the idea of getting involved became very clear. If they sneezed or coughed, it would produce an audio reaction with sneezing/coughing sounds; if they applauded, the reaction would be stronger, telling them not to applaud. They understood that they were able to play with these reactions and they did it.
It is possible to have an active public in a concert. It is possible to show the audience the role that they have in a concert without writing the instructions. The audience did not realize that they were following some rules; they felt free to interrupt the concert, because it was allowed. However, the truth is that, in a very fine way, they were following the rules that I had set for the concert in order to show them that they were also free to avoid feeding the concert protocol.
[27] “The artificial production of human speech”. Speech Synthesis – Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
[28] Pearls Before Breakfast. Washington Post Article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
[29] “Purely electronic music us created though the generation of sound waves by electrical means.” Electronic and Experimental Music. Thom Holmes. P.6
[30] Electronic and Experimental Music. Thom Holmes. p97
[31] “An interactive networked multimedia performance environment”. http://quintetnet.hfmt-hamburg.de/groups/quintetnet/wiki/8705a/Intro.html
[32] ICQ - Instant messaging Software.http://http://www.icq.coma>
[33] Windows Live Messenger - Instant messaging Software.http://explore.live.com/messenger>
[34] Wikipedia Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pun
[35] Wikipedia Encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_subculture
[36] Youtube Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJoX4aC6bN4
[37] The Computer Music Tutorial. Curtis Road. p168
[38] http://www.hamburg.de/public-viewing-fanfest/2325690/fanfest.html