Debut Performance notes

We performed Terry Riley's "In C" on Friday, with some success. Not only was this our live debut, it was also the first time we ever actually played together as a group. The patch is written in PureData and is available for anyone who wants to work with it. Some issues came up that can be heard in the recording; managing the "pulse" of the piece with various effects caused some difficulty finding the right rhythms, but in the end the looseness of the performance didn't ruin the integrity of the overall sound. Some things we are going to try if and when we perform this piece again will be to run the pulse on a different audio signal, bypassing effects. Also the patch uses a numbering system that differs from the original score, which was only made this way out of convenience. If we continue to edit the software, we will work on a better form of visual organization. The recording was made with a Tascam 464 4-track tape recorder, with both direct inputs from the laptops and mic inputs from the room. The tape built up some friction toward the end of the performance, so the recording ends early and there is audible wow and flutter during the last few minutes of the tape.

The recording can be heard here.

Musicians:
Jackson Graham - Xylophone
Chris Mackie - Laptop and effects pedals
A. P. Vague - Laptop and digital xylophone effects
Hugo Zelada - Laptop and effects pedals

The schedule for the evening worked out for us to have some extra time, so Hugo performed an impromptu solo piece, which was also recorded to 4-track tape. That recording can be heard here.

Performance at Shift Space

We will be performing a software-based version of Terry Riley's "In C" at WSU Shift Space on April 21st, 2017. We are currently refining a PureData patch for the piece, and finalized versions will be made publicly available soon.