Sonic Space no. 9: for deliberate sculptural agents

An Installation Composition for a Chamber Ensemble of Physically Unique Single-Board Computer Based Agents

Sonic Space no. 9: for deliberate sculptural agents (2015) is a sonic ecosystem, whose composed interactions create a complex emergent composition that unfolds in consort between the small ensemble of digital agents, visiting human participants, and the physical space of the chamber that it is installed within.

This work has its origins in One Deliberate Day; Sonic Space No. 8 – Iteration No. 1, which was composed as a large, sonic ecosystem installation for the performance of the opera, One Deliberate Day to occur within. The premier performance was presented in New York City, in August of 2015. For the composition of Iteration No. 1, I took the inspirations of Henry David Thoreau that my collaborator Erin Heisel brought to this process. This inspiration drove the composition of interactions that has given distinct character to the digital agents of the sonic ecosystems. I worked to create an environment that allows for a group of musicians to play and explore within, being inspired by the sounds of the digital species, and influencing the actions of the ecosystem itself. The goal was to capture some of the wonder that Thoreau experienced while observing the music of nature.

Iteration No. 1, is composed of two separate systems. The first is a large central system on a computer, that is comprised of a virtual environment housing the digital agents. These agents are able to communicate with each other and participants to the installation through 8 microphones and 6 speakers. This represents the way all previous sonic ecosystems have been composed within The Sonic Spaces Project. The other system in Iteration No. 1, is comprised of a set of physically distinct agents. Each agent is housed in a wooden structure, runs from a single-board computer, in this case, a Raspberry-Pi, and has its own dedicated microphone and speaker. This change in structure and technology, has created exciting new opportunities for the exploration of group interactions between individual agents, each with their own understanding and awareness of the physical world.

Sonic Space no. 9 uses the physically distinct agents from SS8. They have been adapted for presentation as a interactive installation to be presented in a gallery-type space.

Composition Recording:
thumbnail of ss8_it3_ScoreThe recording is from a longer installation presentation of Sonic Space no. 9: for deliberate sculptural agents. Four of the physical agents where suspended in a 7ft square area within a blackbox-style recording space. The agents were left to run, interacting with the background noise of the space and each other for a period of two hours. Audio from the agents was captured by suspending a pair of spaced Earthwork M30 omnidirectional microphones. No direct output was taken from the agents themselves, instead the final recording is the emergent acoustic room mix. The audio recording presented is a straight excerpt from this presentation. The cycle of the day would roughly break down to:
1. Morning –2:21
2. Afternoon – 4:52
3. Night – 4:16