Palle Dahlstedt, Per Anders Nilsson, Tim Perkis, and Gino Robair: Systemic Improvisation
Date:
Tue, 10/09/2018 - 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Location:
CCRMA Stage
Event Type:
Concert Palle Dahlstedt, Per Anders Nilsson, Tim Perkis, and Gino Robair present a concert to introduce their research project Systemic Improvisation.
Systemic Improvisation refers to a class of musical improvisation systems, wherein virtual interacting agents transform the musical interactions between players. It is a new kind of musical interaction/situation/work, and a continuation of Dahlstedt’s and Nilssons's long-term research into technology-mediated musical creativity and performance. The concept emerged from a previous research project, Creative Performance, which had a broader scope, investigating different categories of technologies that augmented and enabled musical performers to play in ways not previously possible. What they call systemic improvisation emerged as the most promising and interesting paths to follow in their continuing work, not least thanks to the very positive response from the participating musicians and the interesting musical results. In this project, they define an improvisation system as a system designed by someone, with a specific configuration of human agents (musicians) and virtual agents (interactive processes), and with communication going among all these agents, virtual and human. Systemic Improvisation is the activity of a number of musicians playing in such a system. It is also the term they have chosen for the whole category of musical works—a genre, if you wish. These improvisation systems work with all kinds of instruments, and the normal sound from the instrument is always heard acoustically, as in normal playing—it is not processed or hidden.
Systemic Improvisation refers to a class of musical improvisation systems, wherein virtual interacting agents transform the musical interactions between players. It is a new kind of musical interaction/situation/work, and a continuation of Dahlstedt’s and Nilssons's long-term research into technology-mediated musical creativity and performance. The concept emerged from a previous research project, Creative Performance, which had a broader scope, investigating different categories of technologies that augmented and enabled musical performers to play in ways not previously possible. What they call systemic improvisation emerged as the most promising and interesting paths to follow in their continuing work, not least thanks to the very positive response from the participating musicians and the interesting musical results. In this project, they define an improvisation system as a system designed by someone, with a specific configuration of human agents (musicians) and virtual agents (interactive processes), and with communication going among all these agents, virtual and human. Systemic Improvisation is the activity of a number of musicians playing in such a system. It is also the term they have chosen for the whole category of musical works—a genre, if you wish. These improvisation systems work with all kinds of instruments, and the normal sound from the instrument is always heard acoustically, as in normal playing—it is not processed or hidden.
Palle Dahlstedt - Improviser/composer and programmer, with extensive experience from artistic research in new technologies for music (has led two VR-financed projects) and published extensively on computer-aided creativity and advanced technology in art and music. Initiated this project with a set of preliminary experiments. Dahlstedt will also contribute with his knowledge in complex systems theory applied to creativity. Dahlstedt is Obel Professor of Art & Technology at Aalborg University, Denmark, as well as Assoc. Professor in Computer-Aided Creativity, Univ. of Gothenburg.
Per Anders Nilsson - With a background as a free jazz musician, Nilsson started experimenting with computers and algorithms of different kinds in jazz already in the early 1990s, and have released a number of pioneering albums, solo and with his groups Natural Artefacts, Beam Stone and duo pantoMorf (with Dahlstedt). A professor at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg, working in the borderland between improvisation and composition, an expert in the history and theory of improvisation and open score works. Nilsson will contribute to systems design with his vast theoretical and practical knowledge.
Tim Perkis - Founding member of the legendary pioneering groups League of Automatic Composers and the Hub, who initiated the genre of networked electronic music in the 1970s. He is very active as an electronics improviser and has published extensively on his improvisatory practice. Perkis has been involved in performance collaborations with this research group since 2009 and, in 2016, he did a residency at Univ. of Gothenburg as a preparation for this project.
Gino Robair has participated in preliminary studies, and joined the group as guest researcher 2013-2015, funded by a faculty grant. A world-class percussionist and electronic musician, and a pioneer in the field of directed group improvisation/comprovisation/conduction, where a large number of acoustic improvisers collaborate through rule-systems and/or manual cues. Most well-known for his improvised opera I, Norton, performed in many countries, including Sweden. Until recently Editor in chief of Keyboard Magazine, and technical editor at Electronic Musician magazine.
FREE
Open to the Public