Monday 5 May 2008

PwRHm - A new Second Life collaboration


PwRHm is a piece made by Humming for a performance by the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse in a concert hosted by the Deep Listening Institute Women and Identity Festival in New York City April 17, 2008.

The composition is based on the 50 Hz and 60 Hz AC current in Europe and North America respectively, to acknowledge the collaboration that brings artists living in those 2 continents together as the Avatar Orchestra. In the photo above, Humming is seen with the HUDs (Heads Up Displays) representing the 4 "instruments" for the piece that were built by Bingo Onomatopoeia. These 4 instruments formed the basis for the sound of the piece, which explores the relationship between the harmonic series of the 50 Hz and 60 Hz cycles (the 5:6 ratio, or a just minor third) along with some of Bingo's field recordings of electric motors tuned to both series.

The visual aspects of the piece were a collaboration with Goodwind Seiling (Sachiko Hayachi), who designed the set and 'receivers' for the virtual instruments - beautiful spheres emitting coloured particles that indicated the pitches and volumes that were played by the performers.

In the photo below (by maxxico), from a rehearsal of the piece, AOM members Fernsing Llewelyn (Cathy Lewis), Zonzo Spyker (Viv Coringham), Goodwind Seiling, Miulew Takahe (Bjorn Eriksson), Maxxo Klaar (Max D. Well) and Humming can be seen playing early versions of the HUDs and receivers alongside two giant water tanks that Goodwind built for the set. Part 2 of this blog item will talk about the collaboration with Goodwind and the performance.