New music exhibits novelty in its situation, presentation, compositional process, performance practice, or outcome. In some pieces, that novelty is dependent on or derived from the use of technology.
"Free" Improvised music
One of the great benefits and pleasures of my time at CNMAT was the opportunity to continue to play with a variety of guest free improvisers.
I define "free" in this case as scoreless and without any discussing prior on what we intend to play .
Here are some examples: Headphones please my friends:
with Frank Gratkowski and David Wessel (2006)
Nils Bultmann performing "Ping Pong" for Viola, Ping Pong ball, and 8-channel speaker
Post-Industrial Organisms is an installation that reconstructs sonic landscapes with sound sculptures created from industrial waste. These organisms are constructed with motorized brushes rubbing against metallic bodies. The minute sound of the friction scrapping against each other is amplified through the carefully bending of their bodily shape.
Tentations—its title derived from the mechanical engineering term meaning “a method of making mechanical adjustment by a succession of trials”—came to fruition through exactly such experimental means. The composition, indeed is a posteriori, a musical hindsight born from intense collaboration between cellist and composer.
