Hymn for 12 Butterflies

Hymn for 12 Butterflies is an ode to twelve butterflies that have gone extinct from Danish nature. It is an experiment more than an actual song or finished composition. It emerged after our process of  reversioning stereo material, and entering a new phase of letting go of songwriting as we knew it and exploring new approaches and methods. In this experiment, we juggled with multiple elements: the improvisational system/instructions, spatial movements and language around those movements, and joint performance/composition methodology, including interface design and playing with spatial agency and chance between human and non-human actors.

Final Score

Final Score Hymn for 12 Butterflies. For two voices, one plant, electronics, and spatialization interfaces.

Hymn for 12 Butterflies was specifically created for a performance at the Sound & Science Festival 2023, which had the theme of Biodiversity.

Process

We created spatial strategies inspired by twelve butterflies that have gone extinct from Danish nature, and their behaviors and characteristics, and composed a spatial performance for each butterfly as a way of reviving and honoring them.

We set up an improvisation system to develop and test various strategies in a joint performance-composition process using notes with instructions and visual/spatial cues and interface prototypes.

We defined and visualized spatial movements, such as “random jump,” “circular motion,”and  “intuitive glide,” which later led to our spatial notation system.

Prototyping our interfaces was an integral part of this exploratory process, defining layouts, desires, and possibilities.

We experimented with agency between plants and humans, using a PlantWave synthesizer, which translates biofeedback from the plants to MIDI notes to control various parameters in the music, such as notes or effects on our voices.

The biofeedback from a plant influenced various parameters of the musical palette, such as pitch, rhythm, reverb, delay, and timbre.