Sky Dice / Mapping the Studio
ARP 2500 Synthesizer,
Publison DHM89B,
Infernal Machine and Computer
11.2 channel audio. Duration ~17 minutes.
Premiere:
Donaueschinger Musiktage, 2018
comissioned by SWR
For ARP 2500 Synthesizer, Publison DHM 89B, Infernal Machine, and computer.
11.2-channel audio, ~17 minutes.
Premiere: Donaueschinger Musiktage, October 20, 2018
In Sky Dice / Mapping the Studio, I explore the history of live electronic music production through the lens of the SWR Experimentalstudio (EXP). The work unfolds as a fragmented acoustic cartography of the studio, where the architecture and its devices become a sonic model for reconstructing historical signal paths.
Mapping the Studio I
In summer 2000, a studio was filmed from seven static camera positions, capturing nocturnal scenes of cats and mice when no humans were present. The intention was, as Bruce Nauman remarked, “to let the animals, the cats and mice, make the map of the studio.” (In AC: Bruce Nauman, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2003) Cameras were positioned in locations where mice were known to roam, observing their interactions with the residual detritus of daily studio activity.
Mapping the Studio II
Using convolution reverb, the acoustic signature of the EXP is rendered audible. Impulse responses recorded from its empty rooms, corridors, and storage areas are used to simulate reverberations, effectively turning the studio’s architecture into a spatialized acoustic fingerprint.
Mapping the Studio III
This engages with no-input feedback systems, where devices are routed back into themselves — inputs connected directly to outputs. These feedback circuits generate autonomous sound, without external input. Of particular interest are ‘star networks’: analog circuits with nodes branching into multiple connections, forming labyrinthine signal paths. When looped through an amplifier, they create inherently unstable oscillations.
Mapping the Studio IV
Expands the commission beyond a piece for the EXP hardware to a piece about the studio itself. I curated multiple perspectives on its history, especially its cultural and institutional dimensions. The celebrated legacy of the EXP invites critical reflection—its funding structures and historical programming raise questions about gender and diversity. Between the 1970s and 2018, the studio premiered 315 compositions (25 by women). Luigi Nono, with 14 productions and over 90 performances of Prometeo, stands out as the most represented composer. Many pieces premiered there have been seldom performed since, though 55 works were programmed more than twice. Yet Nono’s works eclipse all others, having featured in roughly 400 concerts. (Based on Constanze Stratz, Chronologie der Uraufführungen der im Experimentalstudio des SWR entstandenen Kompositionen, SWR 2015/18.)
Mapping the Studio V
The EXP’s timeline is inseparable from its technical innovations—from the Mantra Machine and Halaphone to filter banks and patch bays. While many devices now exist as Max/MSP patches, some original hardware remains in working order. Notably, several variants of the Publison DHM 89 and Infernal Machine—favorites of Nono—are still operational due to their robust interfaces.
Mapping the Studio VI
This segment translates visual schematics and archival data into sound, allowing for a comparative analysis between compositional strategies and the technologies that shaped them. The sonification of these interrelationships reveals the studio’s role as both a technical and artistic crucible.
Mapping the Studio VII
Historical algorithmic methods—Flip, Flop, and Flip/Flop—are employed to structure sonic material, drawing from early procedural systems used in the studio's compositional experiments.
Keywords: Larsen effect, Audio Style Transfer, Topological Sonification
Assistance: Lukas Nowok (EXP)
Commissioned by SWR, 2018
| REFERENCES: | |||
| 2025 2019 | 04.23 | Radio | Point of View [70]: Marko Ciciliani WDR3 Radio |
| 2018 | 10.18 | Donaueschingen | Erich Kästner Halle Premiere at Donaueschinger Musiktage |
| 09.23 | Decomposing the Past Thoughtful article for Norient by Ksenija Stevanovic | ||