At the beginning of September, I visited the ARS Electronica in Linz. Many artists as well as researchers presented there interesting new concepts with artificial intelligence. In the musical field, I met Dmitry Morozov from Russia, an artist who presented two very exciting music installations at this event.
The first installation presented at ARS Electronica was DRIVER
Description of DRIVER by Dmitry Morozov (::vtol::)
Driver is an mechanism consisting of a system of two sound circuits, auxiliary mechanical and electronic elements. The first sound circuit is a speaker emitting sound with a square wave shape. Copper balls are dispensed and fall on the membrane of this speaker one at a time or several at a time. Depending on the amplitude and frequency of the speaker’s sound, the balls bounce on the membrane and jump to a certain height. In each of the seven tubes attached to the cups, an optical sensor is installed, registering the passage of the balls. Depending on how often and in which particular cup (tube) the ball hits, the algorithm of sound generation changes in the second circuit, which executes the generative composition. Also the hits affect the frequency of sound in the primary circuit. Once the ball enters the collector it can be returned to the mechanical dispenser with the help of a robotic “hand”.
In essence, the object represents a complicated feedback machine, where the feedback doesn’t have a direct impact, but uses kinetic and mechanical elements-intermediaries. Those intermediaries are nothing other than random number generators inside a complex and precise system. This results in a constant change of the sound. The system’s attempts to hold itself in equilibrium and continue its work can visually be observed.
In my opinion, an exciting sound installation that combines a beautiful designed piece of art but also a interesting concept for making music. Cool that it can be also used with MIDI. During the festival, he used Pure Data for the sound elements.
The second sound installation by Dmitry Morozov was “UNTIL I DIE” or how I describe it: the first blood powered Synthesizer. The installation operates on unique batteries that generate electricity using the blood from the artist.
Here is the description by Dmitry Morozov
This module creates generative sound composition that plays via a small speaker. The blood used in the installation was stored up gradually over 18 months. The conservation included a number of manipulations to preserve the blood’s chemical composition, color, homogeneity and sterility to avoid bacterial contamination. The total amount of blood conserved was around 4.5 liters; it was then diluted to yield 7 liters, the amount required for the installation. The blood was diluted with distilled water and preservatives such as sodium citrate, antibiotics, antifungal agents, glucose, glycerol etc. The last portion of blood (200ml) was drawn from my arm during the performance presentation, shortly before the launch of the installation.
In my opinion a very special but also scary instrument. In the beginning it seemed to me as if I were in a creepy horror movie since one has only seen blood in a dark room. Nonetheless, two exciting projects that demonstrate a very experimental side of music world. Don’t forget to check out also his other great works on his website. You can find here very interesting handmade Synthesizers or other circuit bending instruments & effects.
More informations here ::vtol::
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