CYCLE#7 - FINAL CONCERT - MANIFESTATION & CUTTING EDGE-, CURRENT CIRCULATION

Intuitive improvisation in the framework of the established circular rhythmic- & ambient musical context as a guideline for the final concert’s idea 

Beside the many meaningful insights and established practices, this artistic research from 2022-2024, was an investigation of my internal relationship to the music & the search for meaning and resonation through the practice & creation of a musical language, based on improvised circulating electronic music.

With this two-year artistic investigation, I’m witnessing the birthing process of a personal improvisational musical language & the growing awareness to a circular mode of operation within research, exploration and playing music, that is rooted within intuition in the present moment, transcending the linear perception of time.

For that reason, it is important for me to keep all possibilities for the actual performance open and intuitively improvise within a circular rhythmic- and ambient framework through sequence based modular synthesis.

In other words, even though I described all the explorations & gathering of new rhythmic- & melodic concepts in each CYCLE#X, I specifically want to keep all possibilities of performative- and sonic qualities open and might only explore one or two of the ideas from the investigative cycles.

Performative intentions, further content for the concert on the 17th of June & conceptualizations from elements within Classical Indian Music
For this final manifestation and closure of my time at RMC, I want to explore and draw performative elements from Classical Indian Music into the performative space.

Already highlighted within the music, as well as the research itself, the rhythmic cyclic structuring of the improvisation, the overarching resonance and tonal orientation, occurring like in a Raga through each improvisation, as well as the spiritual orientation in meditative circulating patterns and it’s transcending potential of linear perception shall be further contextualized through having a similar audience-to-performer relationship like in classical Indian music performances in the darbar-festival, annually happening in London:

I would like to explore this concert as a collective contemplative space, playing morphing meditative patterns, seated on stage. Important generative concepts for the concert will be the circular improvisation through sequence based modular processing.

As mentioned, I draw a tremendous amount of inspiration from elements within Classical Indian Music. I play the Tabla since I’m 14 years old, but a big shift happened for me, when I discovered the Instrument “Rudra Veena”, especially within the context of Dhrupad, a genre in Hindustani classical music, as played by Ustad Bahauddin Dagar, known for its meditative approach.

These elements of cyclic improvisation, the endless possibility of merging rhythmic and melodic components and the spiritual & transcendental orientation through opposing linearity with circularity, accompanied by an underlying overarching resonance of the Rudra Venna, and further spotlighted by the Tanpura, - symbolizing the cosmic completion of melodic entirety that is recited by the Indian classical musician. Those musical constituents are all omnipresent within my personal artistic context as well. For instance, in analogy, the underlying resonance is played out within my circulating structures, materialized through modular resonators, giving a melodic context, thus contextualizing particular ragas in each presented improvisation.

There is also a chance that I could invite a Tanpura player and improvise the concert as a duo for further highlighting this resemblance in reference.

Also the incorporation of percussive-, electro-acoustic elements in intuitively improvising the Tabla could deepen this contextual allusion. For me, the option of including a percussive- & physical expression within my music, further allows me to access deeper states of intuition and shall be freely explored during the concert.

As described in CYCLE#3; so far and beside my explorations in merging my music with field recordings, the musical - and especially the rhythmic creation- happened nearly exclusively in absence of Natures influence: literally within my own interaction to a modular electronic set up. Yet, I want to point out, that my practice is still deeply impacted by linear rhythmic processing with a circular perception and I enjoy this radical aspect through confronting the paradox between circularity and linearity within my electronic music context.

So to the question of why I wouldn’t always integrate the gained artistic insights from incorporating the sonification, like that of the heart, as a method to further dissolving the linear aspect of the circulation, I want to point out that this reflects just one dimension of the research and also explores a specific application of the methods I’m currently exploring. Again I want to emphasize, that I strive to keep my possibilities as intuitive as possible and remain all option for improvisation open.

At the moment though, I’m leaning more to a strict contemplative rhythmic linear processed circularity in order to highlight the contextualized paradox in perception.

Performative possibilities & growing archive of ideas for exploring concepts in live-performing the rhythmic- and ambient circulating music (not included in the manifestation on the 17th June)

I’m still trying to identify the communal value and personal meaning through the actual artistic practice of live-performing the modular circulations. How to listen to, and conceptualize these artistic perspectives? There are many interesting questions to ask, when we consider the contextualization of circulation within my specific case and artistic research. There are so many possibilities. And that, of course, is a main investigation of sharing my work with the public on an ongoing, developing basis and underlines the importance of social feedback and the validation of the community. This is the ongoing research for CYCLE#7.

This CYCLE#7 shall be a growing archive of ideas for exploring concepts in live-performing the rhythmic- and ambient circulating music.

In one of the possibilities, I could examine the artistic potential in placing the improvisation of circular rhythmic electronic music in a multi-speaker-context through playing it on different speakers, amps & transducers on various objects, laid out in a variety of positions in the room.

Using a variety of improvisational concepts, obtained from each investigative cycle, containing milestones & gained artistic outcome, I could explore the perspective of the listener through a circular concept, like with parameters of actual circular panning of the music within an immersive intention.

A similar possibility describes the concept for an album release, that is going to happen in autumn 2024. With using the album-material, that happened throughout the whole research project, I intend to visualize a contextualization for a sonic-exhibition and final manifestation of this process, showcasing the artistic outcome during the past two years of work in various stages of the project in a performative context. Through including various qualities of the speakers and the placement, parameters like coloring and immersive-perceptions of further circulating the music could be explored.

For this concept I would need to build an instrumental surface which triggers the start of the pre-recorded electronic circulations and finding dramaturgically meaningful ways of how to connect them musically, so that there exists a coherent flow for all the participating musicians to improvise on. This could be with including field recordings, blending the material like a DJ-Set (CYCLE#6).

In another performative set up, I’m interested in the artistic and ecological potential of projecting the musical creation into a performative space. Especially the contextualization of the radical cardiovascular- & ecological synthesis: How would the relationship of the heart interact with the direct feedback of a resonating room within the context of Lars Greve’s resonant rooms, giving an immediate reflection and response of the own electromagnetic & emotional state to it’s animating circulation, rhythm & quality ?

Within this approach, I would be interested in the integration of both rhythmic dimensions and mode of processing - on one hand the linear electronic modular signaling and the aesthetic potential of rhythmic flow through a quantized system; and in a separate method of investigation: the dynamic ecological dimension of rhythm through the sonification of biological oscillators and systems like the heart.

Another possibility represents the inclusion of an ensemble of musicians into the performative

space, placed in separate positions of the room. Together we would explore this electronic rhythmic material as a framework for improvisation. Through bringing in intuitive playing of improvising musicians with different electro-acoustic instruments (each playing on an individual amplifier & placed in different parts of the room), I intend to add further sonic complexity and an immersive experience for the listeners, being able to walk freely in the room, exploring various structural and sonic perspectives of the material.

In this idea the aim would also consist of creating a coherent dramaturgy in linking the

circular modular electronic material with improvising live music. The musicians will be invited to play freely to the material, yet parameters like rhythmic merging, as well as adding ambient texture to the existing musical framework will stand in the focus point of investigation.

The intention is to create a wholesome merging “organic“ electro-acoustic sound structure and further encouraging a different mode of listening, using the electronic circulations as a dramaturgical guidance.

The musical potential of using my electronic rhythmic circulations as an framework for additional electro-acoustic improvisation lies in the diverse artistic collaboration with other musicians & improvisers. Through this opening-up and ultimately adding musical elements to the already existing music - a so far unexplored way of creating electronic circulating music, shall be investigated.

So another exploration is the integration and interplay with different musicians and instruments. Research question will ponder on how to effectively and artistically project the existing electronic circulating music into the room and “successfully” mixing an electro acoustic ensemble into it. The aim is to achieve a wholesome integrated sound, including techniques & technology like transducers & amplifiers to experiment with a circulating immersive sound in the room.