FESTIVAL EUROPEAN ART SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY NETWORK FOR DIGITAL CREATIVITY
O’culto da Ajuda 14-11-2021 19h30
“EASTN-DC #3”
PROGRAMA
Marko Ciciliani – Rave Séance (90 min.)
RAVE SÉANCE is an interactive live-installation.
The project creates an audiovisual environment that fuses aspects of Rave culture and esoteric séances. By combining aspects of techno music – a form of music characterized by electronic sound production and mechanical repetition – with pseudo spiritistic practices, it thematizes the seemingly contradictory coupling of scientific discovery and magic, which has existed since discoveries in the field of electricity have entered popular culture in the 18th Century.
The performance is designed as a fictitious invocation of a techno-ghost that exhibits its own ‘will’ and therefore influences the performance in a variety of ways. Key components are design by using principles of algorithmic and generative composition which also includes live-input from audience members, as well as Artificial Intelligence (RNN).
Five small tables are arranged in a circular fashion with a diameter of approximately 5 meters. One of the tables is used by the performer and "master of ceremony". The entire equipment for the performance is positioned on thistable.
The other 4 tables offer altogether 12 seats for the audience (3 per table).
In the middle of this circular arrangement laser projections are displayed on the floor, coming vertically from the ceiling.
Three large buttons are built in each table, which will offer the audience the possibility to influence theperformance. The tables are also equipped with solenoids and shaker-motors, which will be turned on at keymoments during the performances. In those moments the tables will start to knock, shake and move - akin to atable-turning séance.
Rave-Hymns
A total of 7 rave hymns are heard during the complete performance. These hymns are inspired by female chants in a style that was typical for rave music in the 90s. This style of singing evoked a sense of other-worldliness,often combined with esoteric imageries.
In this project, all hymns are produced with the advanced voice synthesis program Vocaloid and the texts havebeen derived from esoteric oracles based on animal spirits.
The synthetic female voice here is a representation of the ghost that is evoked through the Rave. I amdeliberately giving in to the gender clishée. While the typically female voice of rave hymns evokes a sense ofephemeral eroticism, the position of the ghost in this project is a place of empowerment.
AI generated Rave Music
A soundtrack is used that was generated by AI (SampleRNN). A neuronal Network was trained with techno musicfrom the 90s and the soundtrack was generated by the AI based on the training. During the performance thissound track is manipulated by the performer in real time.
Modular Synthesis and TR909 sounds
A response to the Hymn will take place as a live generated pseudo Rave, which is generated algorithmically witha modular synthesizer setup. The synthesizer components contain modules that are emulations of the RolandTR909 drum machine, that defined the sound of techno beats in the 80s and 90s. In contrast to original techno music, these pseudo raves have constant tempo instabilities. The severity of the instabilities depend on whether the performer selected a particular rave that functions as a response to the hymn that was played just beforehand.
Visual Media - Laser and Lighting
The laser produces shapes based on forms that consist of 5 points, which are then multiplied and distorted in avariety of ways. During the hymns (see 2.2.1) the individual words of the sung text are also displayed.
While the laser projection is confined to a relatively small space in the center of the table arrangement, there willalso be a light design that is going to illuminate the space in different colors and intensities, depending on the state ofthe performance.
