Real Time Systems – Concert Program Notes. Friday 13th September, Basil Jones Orchestral Hall. Welcome to the Real Time Systems concert for 2024! In this course, students explore the creation of new software-based musical instruments and develop associated musical practice beyond the latent dictations of commercial products. Students create and perform bespoke software instruments using Pure data (Pd), an open-source visual programming language that offers a graphical environment ideal for creative experimentation. Tonight, students will perform an original work using self-designed software instruments alongside their peers in a small ensemble. The outcome will showcase the initial progress of developing new works for bespoke real-time systems in a creative context. Thank you for being here, and we hope you enjoy this evening’s program!
Edward Webster, Laurence Dougherty – Wave of Emotion For this performance, we wanted to create a piece with a focus of generative, trance-like elements that continuously layer and evolve, reflective of how, say, emotions tend to react when faced with difficult, unpredictable situations. As such, we have titled our piece “Wave of Emotion”, a performance that brings its listeners on a journey of self-reflection and discovery. The piece was brought to life through the program Pure Data (PD), which allowed for us to experiment and create new and interesting instruments and sounds. This enabled us to create different unique and interesting textures in our piece, including a MIDI-controlled poly-synth and ambient pad that make for the pieces ambient background (set in A minor key). A clock sequencer developed in PD allows for the piece to keep a consistent tempo while being able to freely manipulate the tempo to add variety and depth to the performance. Additionally, the sequencer enables a set of synthesised drums to be introduced later in the piece, bringing a dynamic shift in tone which is paired with vocals that feature a set of manipulatable effects. Each of these elements also feature a set of changeable release, frequency and reverb filter effects that give our performance a unique sense of unpredictability that ties into the song's themes of tense emotional conflict. Keenan Swanson, Dominic Martin, Simon Lane – tiktokkesharemix ‘tiktokkesharemix’ is a fresh take on Ke$ha’s hit "Tik Tok," reimagined in the style of Jersey Club by Keenan, Dominic, and Simon. This performance blends the late 2000’s classic with the hard-hitting beats of New Jersey Club music. Taking inspiration from artists such as Jane Remover and the members of Twerknation28 (gingus, kmoe); we transform the iconic track into a strange, hyper-liminal-modern performance piece. Using the abstraction system within PureData we built frameworks for sequencing, polyphonic synthesis, audio mixing and routing, to add performability to the piece, whilst also making our own creative spin on the original song.