project listing

Phrases Collide - Fabric Instruments

Music in its digital form has taken the analogy of a wave or string. Once thought of as mystical and full of wonder, sound has lost most of the awe as its been converted into ones and zeros. In my approach to this project, I sought to connect the idea of a string of sound with a physical object that is controllable and shape-able.

Utilizing two pieces of rope, wrapped with a sleeve that has conductive thread sewn into it, these seven foot long ropes are given properties of a variable sensor.  The performer can them move their hands, covered with conductive gloves, across these rope surfaces and generate values that are used to change sound.

Close up of the conductive sleeves surrounding the ropes, used to generate values to change sound.

These ropes are connected to software which stretches and changes pre-recorded and live sound, just like the fabric of the ropes are being distorted and moved.  Using a technique called granular synthesis to grab tiny pieces of sound, these tiny "particles of sound" can be reattached to each other to slow down or speed up sound without affecting its pitch and timbre.  Using the values from the conductive sleeves, the sound can be reconstructed as if it's inside of the rope itself.

tags: conductive fabric granular instrument interface music sound synthesis