"Always Something There to Rewind Me" is a guided improvisation implemented in Max/MSP. The patch uses pitch and amplitude recognition as well as accrued phrase-length detection to control basic looping and granulation functions. The source material for the electronic component is a combination of samples of the solo instrument (recorded as the piece is occurring), and a randomly-chosen 80s pop song, loaded into the patch at the start of the piece. A final feature is the footswitch, which allows the performer to hold a loop or momentarily reduce the overall volume of the electronics. My intention was to design an improvisatory environment in which the performer's actions are strongly guided by a fixed musical grammar. Though there is no written score, the computer's consistent responsiveness and sonic uniformity give the piece a distinct identity across performances. This performance is by Laurent Estoppey (http://laurentestoppey.com/).

Always Something There to Rewind Me

For this piece I took a famous melody by John Lennon, chopped it up into small fragments, then manipulated and looped those fragments in various ways. This performance is by the UNCSA Flute Ensemble, directed by Dr. Tadeu Coelho (http://tadeucoelho.com/).
Natalie Jefferson and Bo Lee, piccolos
Kaitlin Barbo, Daniel Eng, Dakota Galley, Dafne Guevara, Balgeum Lee, and Lidiya Selikov, C flutes
Krisztina Dér and Talina Hammonds, alto flutes
Marco Núñez, bass flute

Lennon Variations

I took a short clip by Tears for Fears, defined a "crease" (a random point in the clip), then "folded" the loop at that crease, so that the loop played simultaneously backwards and forwards from the specified point--like folding a piece of musical notation onto itself. Repeat the process continually, with accumulated clicks and other artifacts, and the loop slowly transforms into an unrecognizable wash of sound. 

Folding Music

Implemented in Max/MSP
Voice and Saxophone by Laurent Estoppey (http://laurentestoppey.com/)

I gotta use words

In 2013 choral composer Eric Whitacre commandeered soundcloud and the remix genre for "Fly to Paradise Remix: the Community Takeover." He posted the individual tracks (to which "full terms and conditions apply") of one of his Virtual Choir projects on soundcloud to be reassembled by the adoring public into gut-churning eruptions of ear glitter. Rather than remixing his authorized tracks, I decided to remix the audio from one of the audition videos. Original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62PFOiamPOM

"Fly To Paradise" Remix 2

Always Something There to Rewind Me 2

Songwriter, composer, guitarist for Winterbirds (www.winterbirds.band)

El Rich

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