[microsound-announce] Daniel Bisig, Ephraim Wegner | Jetzt | Crónica 147~2019

[Ephraim Wegner]

Daniel Bisig, Ephraim Wegner
 
JETZT
 
March 2019
Crónica 147~2019, download
www.cronicaelectronica.org
 
Jetzt is a chronological deconstruction of Max Bense’s poem with the same title. Meaning “in the now”, it may also be translated as “so far”, “up to now”, “but now”, “hence” and so on. Bense refers to the fact that the spoken word JETZT never reaches the point of what is denominated with “in the now” – the moment you say it out loud, it is already gone. The poem is a play on words as well as an acute insight on the structure of German language. The work uses Markov chains to generate text strings that are smashed into sound particles. They are stretched and shrunk on a time axis and enter into a relationship with each other – “in the now” – performed by a synthetic artificial female voice. Jetzt is published in an audio-only format and as an audiovisual piece.
 
In [269.17, 278.81, 300,77 | 260.33, 312.68, 377.24, 518.55] different sine waves and noise generators produce frequencies in the 19-division scale. These frequencies are combined and clustered with the help of different random variables and probability distributions to create interferences that place the emphasis on the frequency interval between the tones. The electronic is using a fixed framework to create chords, consisting of two, three or four single notes, with wide variation in structure and density. This piece aims to focus the attention of the listener on the vast density and complex richness present in their combination.
 
The audiovisual version of Jetzt is a one-take recording performed at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts. The connection between music and visuals progresses through different relationships, with control parameters for sound synthesis occasionally affecting the image generation, and spoken words becoming periodic attractors for the moving graphical elements.


Ephraim Wegner holds a chair in Computer Science at hKDM Freiburg and is working at the Media Ecology Lab / Hochschule Offenburg. He received his master's degree in audiovisual media at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). Wegner has a keen interest in the sonification of complex systems and uses various computer languages (C++, Java, Python, Csound, GL_SL) to combine different forms of audio synthesis and computer graphics, focusing on multidisciplinary approaches and concepts. He collaborated with numerous other musicians, ensembles, festivals and institutions, among others ZKM (Karlsruhe), Ars Acustica (SWR2), Acht Brücken Festival (Cologne) and Donaueschinger Musiktage. In 2015, he was awarded a scholarship from the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg.
 
Daniel Bisig holds a master's and a PhD in Natural Sciences. He is active as a researcher and artist in the fields of artificial intelligence and generative art. He has worked as a researcher at the Institute for Biochemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the University of Zurich. He is currently a senior research associate at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology of the Zurich University of the Arts. As part of his artistic activities, he has realized algorithmic films, interactive installations and audiovisual performances, some of them in collaboration with musicians and choreographers. The derivation of generative algorithms and interaction techniques from biomimetic simulations forms a central aspect of his work.
 
Thanks to: Astrid Wegner for supporting our work. Stephen Altoft, who inspired the generation of frequencies in the 19-division scale in [269.17, 278.81, 300,77 | 260.33, 312.68, 377.24, 518.55], furthermore he was playing the microtonal trumpet at another version of the piece. Miguel Carvalhais for his continued commitment and the energy he spent in this wonderful label.