Local composer creates a Zoom version of audio installation during lockdown
For the past few weeks composer / technologist Simon Belshaw has been working on a project to create a Zoom version of his Music Machine 4 for 8 players sound installation.
The Arts Council funded physical installation was scheduled for March 2020 but had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.
The piece uses 8 novation launchpads and 8 Raspberry Pi computers. The launchpads have an 8x8 grid of buttons, when one of these lights up the performer presses it and a short cell of music is played.
The piece runs for 8 minutes and begins by choosing only one note, then two and develops from there. It starts slowly with short cells and (fairly) lengthy intervals between them and ends playing long cells with short intervals. By the end there is a mass (wall) of sound with many parts overlapping.
Throughout its course the piece sounds as if it is about to get going but falters, never settling into a steady state. It is similar to a mechanical machine that has trouble starting and when it does it malfunctions.
For the Zoom project, Simon asked 8 friends to be involved. He delivered the launchpads and Raspberry Pis around Exeter (following Covid-19 safe guidelines) and made a video that explained how to set it all up. He ran a couple of trial events with 2 or 3 participants before going ahead with the full thing. The Zoom meeting was recorded on Friday 31st July and then Simon edited the audio to match. The result can now be seen on youtube:
Or search for Simon Belshaw on youtube or visit simonbelshaw.co.uk for more information. You can also try a performance of this using the web based version here:
