This paper provides an account and interpretation of Hugh Davies’s electronic music research and documentation from the period 1961–1968. It is argued that Davies, particularly via his International Electronic Music Catalog (published 1968), characterised electronic music for the first time as a truly international, interdisciplinary praxis, whereas in the preceding literature the full extent of that international, interdisciplinary scope had been represented only partially, and in a way that was heavily biased in favour of the ostensibly ‘main’ Western European and North American schools. This argument is demonstrated by referring to a range of published sources dating from 1952 to 1962, which represented the praxis of electronic music as somewhat fragmented and parochial, and to a range of Davies’s published and unpublished writings, which conveyed a sense of the various international, aesthetic and disciplinary threads coalescing into an apparently coherent whole. An interpretation of Davies’s motivations for representing electronic music in this way is provided, which has to do with his belief in international and interdisciplinary exchange as catalysts for the development of the electronic idiom. Many subsequent publications rely upon the data provided in the Catalog, which continues to be, arguably, the most complete record of international, interdisciplinary electronic music activity up to the end of 1967. Some examples are given that illustrate the influence of the Catalog upon subsequent studies. It is concluded that further work is needed in order to fully understand and evaluate the historiographic consequences of the Catalog’s influence upon discourses of electronic music history.

Many software packages for computer music encourage the composer to take either a time domain approach or a frequency domain approach. This paper examines the possibilities afforded by recent software developments of working at the intersection of these two domains. It investigates the relationship between the FOF algorithm, originally used in the CHANT program, and more traditional approaches to granular synthesis, and considers how they can be combined. The author's compositions are used as illustrations of these techniques. The significance of using the FOF algorithm in granulating sound files is explained (FOG). Methods of using and controlling the FOG unit-generator are explained. Compositional and aesthetic issues arising from working with sound at this ambiguous intersection are investigated.

It is a habit to invoke Aristotle when dealing, within the arts, with ‘Nature’ – that the Man–Artist (and not only the musician) would be, he says, ‘inclined’ to imitate. It is true, the history of music clearly attests to the temptation and of the ‘pleasure’ (as Aristotle also says) found in mimesis. We know that very lately in history musique concrète gives a new perspective to this question as well as to other questions, and changes the deal: because the sound objects of the world, of the whole world – the ‘noises’ – that needed to be imitated, can now be easily captured through technology, almost in a photographic way, and then they can be gathered, kept, and finally be composed. Hopefully Pierre Schaeffer, its genial inventor, has, concerning the question of nature within new music, a position that tears him apart, which is paradoxical, uncomfortable, fundamental: that the nature that is so easily captured, he does not want to exhibit; to understand the lessons, the hidden musical lessons, he only wants to examine it. This almost heroic model will only be partially followed by the composers (concrète, electroacoustic, acousmatic, anecdotical composers) who have been working during the last sixty years in this passionate domain. At the end of this article, the sketch of a typology, based on musical examples, tries to clarify the way nature is dealt with, when it appears in musique concrète.

This article explores possible strategies for appraising electroacoustic and computer music to enhance ‘marketability’. It is proposed that the specific aesthetics, characteristics and function of a work may be more salient features than those of the medium of composition (e.g. computer) to many listeners. It is suggested that the common practice of focusing on chronology, geography and specific schools is becoming less relevant due to a proliferation of home studios, the internet, and an increasing saturation of electronic sounds in new media contexts. On the other hand, aspects of form, mood, timbral palette, rhythmic complexity, etc., may become very useful bases for choosing works for a compilation CD or concert programme. The inadequacies of musicians' discourse for describing such attributes leads to the incorporation of analogies from visual and performing arts as well as a discussion of other possible approaches to ‘labelling’ and the inherent dangers in such a task. In conclusion, it is proposed that the time is ripe for shuffling the categories and regrouping composers' works according to aesthetic preferences, regardless of the percentage of electronic/computer content.

Sentire is a body–machine interface that sonifies motor behaviour in real time and a participatory, interactive performance in which two people use their physical movements to collaboratively create sound while constantly being influenced by the results. Based on our informal observation that basal social behaviours emerge during Sentire performances, the present article investigates our principal hypothesis that Sentire can foster basic mechanisms underlying non-verbal social interaction. We illustrate how coordination serves as a crucial basic mechanism for social interaction, and consider how it is addressed by various therapeutic approaches, including therapeutic use of real-time auditory feedback. Then we argue that the implementation of Sentire may be fruitful in healthcare contexts and in promoting general well-being. We describe how the Sentire system has been developed further within the scope of the research project ‘Social interaction through sound feedback–Sentire’ that combines human–computer interaction, sound design and real-world research, against the background of the relationship between sound, sociality and therapy. The question concerning how interaction is facilitated through Sentire is addressed through the first results of behavioural analysis using structured observation, which allows for a quasi-quantitative sequential analysis of interactive behaviour.

Perceptual dimensions underlying timbre and sound-source identification have received considerable scientific attention. While these scholarly insights help us in understanding the nature of sound within a multidimensional timbral space, they carry little meaning for the majority of musicians. To help address this, we conducted two experiments to establish listeners’ perceptual thresholds (PT) for changes in sound using a staircase-procedure. Unlike most timbre perception research, these changes were sonic manipulations that are common in synthesisers, audio processors and instruments familiar to musicians and producers, and occurred within continuous sounds (rather than between discrete pairs of sounds). In experiment 1, two sounds (variants of a sawtooth oscillation) both with the same fundamental frequency (F1: 80 Hz, 240 Hz or 600 Hz) were played with no intervening gap. In each trial, the two sounds’ partials differed in amplitudes or frequencies to produce a timbre change. The sonic manipulations were varied in size to detect thresholds for the perceived timbre change – listeners were instructed to indicate whether or not they perceived a change within the sound. In experiment 2, we modified stimulus presentation to introduce the factor of transition time (TT). Rather than occurring instantaneously (as in experiment 1), the timbre manipulations were introduced gradually over the course of a 100 ms or a 1000 ms TT. Results revealed that PTs were significantly affected by the manipulations in experiment 1, and additionally by TT in experiment 2. Importantly, the data revealed an interaction between the F1 and the timbre manipulations, such that there were differential effects of timbre changes on the perceptual system depending on pitch height. Musicians (n=11) showed significantly smaller PTs compared to non-musicians (n=10). However, PTs for musicians and non-musicians were highly correlated (r=.83) across different sonic manipulations, indicating similar perceptual patterns in both. We hope that by establishing PTs for commonly used timbre manipulations, we can provide musicians with a general perceptual unit, for each manipulation, that can guide music composition and assessment.

This article posits the notion of the post-acousmatic. It considers the work of contemporary practitioners who are indebted to the Schaefferian heritage, but pursue alternative trajectories from the established canonical discourse of acousmatic music. It will outline the authors’ definition of the term and also outline a network of elements such as time, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, noise and performance to discuss work that the authors’ consider to be a critique, an augmentation and an outgrowth of acousmatic music and thinking.

The author examines visual design considerations in the development of real-time screen scores. Such scores are shown to lend themselves particularly well to the representation of non-linear musical processes and the articulation of non-linear musical forms. The author argues that the foregrounding of such scores, through their projection for an audience and meticulous design, draws especial attention to the manner in which such non-linear processes are represented and in turn decoded by performers. While the transparency of the decoding process is shown to vary across a wide spectrum, the central role of the notational schema in works such as these is shown to align them in many ways with a broader interface aesthetics, promoting rich fields of creative and artistic enquiry.

This paper describes an exploration of utilising the World Wide Web for interactive music. The origin of this investigation was the intermedia work Telemusic #1, by Randall Packer, which combined live performers with live public participation via the Web. During the event, visitors to the site navigated through a virtual interface, and while manipulating elements, projected their actions in the form of triggered sounds into the physical space. Simultaneously, the live audio performance was streamed back out to the Internet participants. Thus, anyone could take part in the collective realisation of the work and hear the musical results in real time. The underlying technology is, to our knowledge, the first standards-based implementation linking the Web with Cycling '74 MAX. Using only ECMAScript/JavaScript, Java, and the OTUDP external from UC Berkeley CNMAT, virtually any conceivable interaction with a Web page can send data to a MAX patch for processing. The code can also be readily adapted to work with Pd, jMAX and other network-enabled applications.

This article describes the theories and practices of the German installation artists and composers Sabine Schäfer and Joachim Krebs. Much of their work concerns site-specific sound installations involving the articulation of time and space. Their principal work methods and materials are described. In addition, they have formulated a typology of five installation types which they describe using their own installations as examples. Each installation type responds to a particular set of aesthetic and practical challenges both for the artists and the visitors. These are discussed and illustrated in the article. The typology extends beyond the specific work of these artists and can be applied to installations in general, thus providing a framework for critical analysis. Furthermore, the translators have discussed the issues regarding the specialised vocabulary of the artists and the rendering of such language into English.

Technology influences all art, and therefore all music, including composition, performance and listening. It always has, and it always will. For example, technical developments in materials, mechanics and manufacturing were important factors that permitted the piano to supersede the harpsichord as the primary concert Western keyboard instrument by about 1800. And with each new technical development new performance issues have been introduced. Piano performance technique is quite different from harpsichord technique, and composers responded to these differences with new music ideas and gestures. The multiple relationships between technology and composer and performer are dynamic and of paramount importance to each party. And a true consideration of any aspect of music requires that all three areas be examined. This has always been a part of music, and so these relationships are inherently important within computer music. The difference is that electronic technology has caused a fundamental change for all aspects of music, a difference that is as pivotal in the history of Western music as was the shift from oral to written preservation of music over a thousand years ago, and then also the accessibility provided by printed music five hundred years ago. In computer music, all parties are always acutely aware of the presence and influence of machine technology in both the visual and audible realms.

the memory machine is a context-, people- and site-specific interactive sound installation. it has been developed as a collaboration between two composers, cathy lane and nye parry, who share an interest in sound, oral history, and memory. the memory machine is an ongoing project which, most recently, was part of the british museum's 250th anniversary exhibition entitled the museum of the mind; art and memory in world cultures.

this paper discusses the background and ideas behind the memory machine within the context of the composers' work. the development of the project in collaboration with the british museum is described and an evaluation of some of the issues around the public exhibition of the piece is given as well as a full technical description of the different elements of the installation.

How is performing with responsive technology in a mixed work experienced by performers, and how may the notion of embodied cognition further our understanding of this interaction? These questions are addressed here analysing accounts from singers performing the author’s mixed work Metamorphoses (2015). Combining semi-structured interviews and inspiration from Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, questions concerning the ‘self’ when listening, singing, moving and relating to fellow musicians, as well as the relationship towards the computer, are explored. The results include a notion of the computer as neither separated nor detached but both, and highlight the importance of the situation, including not only the here and now but also social and cultural dimensions. The discussion emphasises the role of sensorimotor interaction and bodily experience in human meaning-making.

The telematic work instance is a performance for viola and dance that digitally connects performers in Vancouver and Cape Town. The network interface enables a violist and a dancer to simultaneously play multi-user digital music-dance instruments over the internet with music and dance. The composition, design and performance interaction of instance draw from acoustic multi-user instrument paradigms and music-dance interactions in the African performing arts to explore the idiosyncrasies of the telematic performance space. The iterative design process implements soma-based research methods to inspire sonic compositional material with the body and to explore the performers’ embodied experience of sonic aesthetics during their interaction.

In contrast to general perceptions of noise as undesirable audio phenomena, consideration of the objective acoustic properties of ‘noise’ and the functional aspects of noise in Information Theory are used to show how, rather than an impediment to communication, noise can aid in increasing communication. A review of noise in music of the twentieth century and beyond shows how this has become increasingly understood by composers, and that the greater use of noise as a sound source has arisen out of developments in audio technology. This article argues that the music of Carsten Nicolai (alva noto) represents a consolidation of this process. The Autorec CD and the track Impulse are cited as examples of how noise is used as part of a new practice in electronic music. By looking at the structural features of the cited musical examples, it is seen how this new practice follows neither the electroacoustic nor the commercial dance music mainstreams but manages to synthesise references to both traditions.

This article discusses the responsive sound installation Reeds. The Reeds project was commissioned by the Melbourne International Festival of the Arts in 2000, and first exhibited in November and December of that year on the Ornamental Lake at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. It consists of twenty-one large floating sculptures, modelled to represent clusters of river reeds in immaculate man-made plantings. Each reed pod contains a collection of electronics for either the gathering of weather information or the reception and dispersion of sound. The sound installation gathered data from two real-time weather stations, and produced eight channels of musical output by interpreting the machine unit pulses of the weather data as pulse inputs to Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) algorithms. The Reeds project focused on a consideration of multiple streams of chaotic and constantly varying sound. I was interested in exploring whether the sonic environment would remain homogenous even though, unlike a musical ensemble, the control inputs varied randomly and independently of each other. The sound installation was site specific, reflecting directly upon the environment it inhabited, both in terms of its visual quality, and aesthetic of the sound.

This article explores the spatial identities of the flautists in playing Kaija Saariaho's music with live electronics, particularly reverberation and harmonisation. The varying spatial position of the flautists are theorised mainly via two approaches: that of ‘local/field’ concepts by Simon Emmerson, and through the philosophy of narrative identity developed by Paul Ricoeur. The article investigates the flautists' experiences of control over the sound, and especially its most intimate form, direct control, by discussing the relationship between the choices of live flautist and the sound director. The sound result is constantly negotiated by several authorial activities, the contributions of which are closely overlapping and conversing with each other.

Challenging the usual acceptance of electroacoustics as a distinct field of its own, this article leads the reader through a series of paths to show the extent to which concerns and techniques of electroacoustics are shared with other musical and artistic disciplines. It continues with a similar questioning of the usual interpretation of analysis by examining the variety of aims, methods, and characteristics of analytical methods, and encourages an increased awareness on the part of all analysts to appreciate where their own work is situated within the field. Typical concerns of electroacoustics, such as the design of timbral structures, gestures and textures are discussed within the realm of parametric analysis, but allusion is also made to other approaches which examine style and context. Disciplines from perception to semiotics are shown to have relevance for further development of adequate analytical tools. The author does not advocate one particular approach, but rather attempts to demonstrate the vastness and intricacy of the field. The conclusion is that analysis of electroacoustics could both contribute to, and benefit from, analysis in other areas of music and art.

The development of computers and technology has made electroacoustic music an important part of modern music. In an effort to broaden the musical dimension and to offer more possibilities for timbral combinations, composers have used various techniques to combine electroacoustic music with acoustic instruments, giving traditional instrumental music a richer timbre, a wider range of pitches and greater sonic expressiveness. The pipa, a typical representative of Chinese music culture, has a long history and its unique timbre is widely loved by electroacoustic music composers. This article uses Marc Battier’s mixed music Mist on a Hill (for pipa and electroacoustic sounds) as an example to explore the integration and practical use of Chinese folk elements in electroacoustic music.