Barry Truax Riverrun (1986/2004), a case study from the TaCEM project, exploring new approaches to techniques of analysis and re-synthesis in the study of concert electroacoustic works

At last year’s EMS in Lisbon we introduced the TaCEM project (Technology and Creativity in Electroacoustic Music), a 30-month project funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council, and demonstrated the generic TIAALS software being produced as part of this project. This year we present an update on the project, focusing particularly on the first of our case studies, Barry Truax’s Riverrun. Eight works have been selected for the project, taking into account criteria such as historical context, the nature of the synthesis techniques employed, and the aesthetics that have underpinned their realisation. Key considerations have included the accessibility of the technical resources and composing materials used in their production, and opportunities to pursue particular lines of enquiry with the composer concerned. In selecting the eight works for detailed study, a further consideration has been the extent to which the composers explored techniques that were already available at the time in ways that are unique and distinctive, or alternatively developed entirely new methods of synthesis in pursuit of their creative goals. The pioneering work of Barry Truax in terms of developing techniques of granular synthesis assign his achievements almost exclusively to the latter classification, and the composition of Riverrun (1986/2004) is a landmark achievement in this regard. Truax’s composing environment evolved from the early study of interactive real-time synthesis techniques at the Institute of Sonology, Utrecht 1971-73, exploring the possibilities of using Poisson-ordered distributions in the generation of microsound, to the emergence of entirely granular techniques at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia a decade later, culminating in the development of his program GSX designed specifically for waveform-based synthesis and first used to compose Riverrun, and its later extension, GSAMX, that extended these granular techniques to include the manipulation of previously sampled sound material. At the time of composition conventional minicomputers still lacked the capacity to generate multiple voices of granulated sound material in real time, but for Truax the acquisition in 1982 of a high speed bit slice array processor, the DMX-1000, provided the enhancedprocessing power necessary for achieving such a goal. The unique characteristics of its special hardware and associated programming environment, managed in turn via a host PDP 11/23 computer, both empowered his creative objectives and also materially shaped and influenced the ways in which they could be practically achieved. The significance of such causal relationships in the evolution of the electroacoustic music repertory has yet to be widely understood, and this study of Riverrun corroborates the importance of such a line of investigation. In this case it has been possible to carry out a detailed study of the original system, still maintained in working order by Truax, leading to a reconstruction of key elements of Riverrun using a Max-based simulation of GSX, the authenticity of the results being assessed both subjectively by means of a direct aural comparison and also measured objectively using software. Our presentation at this year’s EMS in Berlin included a demonstration of examples of the software we have developed to enable readers to engage with Riverrun interactively, both by analysing the original recordings and by using our emulation of the GSX system to be able to recreate passages of the work and manipulate the techniques employed in order to learn more about them. We also gave examples of other materials we have collected in relation to this case study, including videos of the composer himself working with the GSX system and discussing the composition of Riverrun

Olimpíada Brasileira de Robótica: relatos da primeira regional em São Carlos-SP

The Brazilian Robotics Olympiad (OBR) has been consolidating itself every year, as an initiative to attract and disseminate interest in robotics, computing and various areas of engineering to students throughout Brazil. This article describes the experience of the organizing team that promoted for the first time a regional stage of OBR at São Carlos-SP, which received dozens of teams from different cities in the region.A Olimpíada Brasileira de Robótica (OBR) vem se consolidando a cada ano como uma iniciativa para atrair e disseminar o interesse na robótica, computação e diversas áreas da engenharia em estudantes por todo Brasil. Este artigo descreve a experiência da equipe organizadora ao promover pela primeira vez uma etapa regional da modalidade prática em São Carlos-SP, que recebeu dezenas de equipes de diversas cidades da região

Consumers’ preferences for different energy mixes in Australia

Policy makers worldwide face several challenges in addressing climate change, including an understanding of how to successfully introduce initiatives reliant on renewable energy sources (RES). A key component in this is understanding citizen preferences in terms of willingness to pay (WTP). This research focuses on utilising a discrete choice experiment and associated hybrid choice model to model individual WTP for four different RES types (biomass, hydro, solar and wind) against four current and potential non-RES types (gas, oil, nuclear and coal). The model accounts for latent segments in relation to WTP based on pro-environmental attitudes and various socio-demographics. The research examines the case of Australia, but reports on WTP at each state and territory level rather than at the national level. The findings indicate that respondents from different states and territories have heterogeneous preferences in terms of energy mix composition, which led to different WTP values. A large dissonance emerges also comparing preferences at national and state/territory level, which may potentially act as hindrance to the achievement of the goal set for the Paris agreement

Channelisation of Noise through a Rhythmic Grid: Brutalist Mechatronic Sound-sculpture

The aim of this thesis is to provide accessibility and appreciation for sounds that are conventionally perceived as non-musical or “noise”. Ordering the noise on a grid of metric rhythms, and underlining its materiality through an audiovisual mode of expression are the two main strategies employed. Using the medium of mechatronics, mechanically generated sonic by-products of technological developments are chosen as the focus sonic material. As a result, the output of this research extends what is known as glitch music outside the territory of amplified sound, to a realm where noise is created physically and acoustically. Based on these objectives, and following an investigation on the use of mechatronics in contemporary sound-based art, an ensemble of mechatronic sound-sculptures is designed and developed. Varying in terms of material, sound-generating mechanism, and sonic quality, the ensemble is divided into three different instrument-types, each of which is introduced, thoroughly described, and sonically evaluated. Next, three new audiovisual works are developed and realised utilising the mechatronic sound-sculptures, in order to turn into practice the ideas explored in this research. These compositions – which are all exhibited in competitive international symposiums – undertake the integration of mechatronics in three areas of sonic arts that are interconnected with the sound-sculptures. Furthermore, this thesis also establishes an aesthetic framework that formalises a significant body of contemporary sound art and music that, prior to this work, had suffered academic inattention. Probing the various parallels between the ideas developed in this thesis and Brutalist architecture, ‘sound-based brutalism’ is coined and formulated as an aesthetic underpinning for not only the academically marginalised works discussed, but also the work of the author. Lastly, two audiovisual projects (a performance and a series of ten installation pieces) are developed using the entire mechatronic sound-sculpture series in an effort to realise ‘sound-based brutalism’

Organisational drivers and sustainability implementation in the mining industry: A holistic theoretical framework

While few studies have examined the role of institutional pressures on sustainable business practices, there is a dearth of empirical research regarding the influence of internal organisational characteristics on sustainability implementation in developing countries. This paper examines internal organisational features and how they influence multinational companies (MNCs) operating in a resource-rich developing country to embrace and embed sustainability into corporate policies and practices. The findings show that the history of past sustainable practices, the level of internationalisation and managerial cognition internally drive MNCs to implement sustainability in their host countries. We discuss that managerial cognition drives MNCs to embrace sustainability in non-enabling institutional environments based on private morality and perceived ethical obligation. Accordingly, we have proposed a holistic theoretical framework for sustainability implementation based on external drivers, institutional voids and complexity and the moderating role of internal organisational features

From Technological Investigation and Software Emulation to Music Analysis: An integrated approach to Barry Truax's Riverrun

This paper presents an approach to studying Barry Truax’s Riverrun as it is being carried out within the TaCEM project (Technology and Creativity in Electroacoustic Music), a collaboration between the Universities of Huddersfield and Durham funded for 30 months (2012-2015) by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the United Kingdom. This approach aims at realising an Interactive Aural Analysis with which the user can explore the creative and technological environment used by the composer to build his oeuvre, as well as navigate aurally through the results of the musicological study. It involves an important technological investigation of Truax’s GSX program for digital granular synthesis, leading to the implementation, in the Max environment, of emulation software allowing for the live recreation of each of Riverrun’s sequences, along with further tools dedicated to the musical analysis of the piece. This paper presents the technological investigation and its issues, the pieces of software for the Interactive Aural Analysis of the work, and musicological observations drawn from such an approach

Third International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation TENOR 2017

The third International Conference on Technologies for Music Notation and Representation seeks to focus on a set of specific research issues associated with Music Notation that were elaborated at the first two editions of TENOR in Paris and Cambridge. The theme of the conference is vocal music, whereas the pre-conference workshops focus on innovative technological approaches to music notation

Sonifying Urban Rhythms: Towards the spatio-temporal composition of the urban environment

This thesis is concerned with the composition of the urban rhythms generated by urban design and planning. It recognises the temporal limitations of the graphic urban masterplan, with its tendency of being static and singular in the composition of urban experience. Thus it proposes the integration of rhythm into the urban design and planning process, with the aim to improve the temporal quality of urban design. In order to represent these urban rhythms, as designed in the graphic masterplan, we propose their sonification. A Sonified Urban Masterplan (SUM) tool was developed, allowing the sonification of multiple layers of maps (raster or vector images) along a number of paths of interest. An urban sonic code was then developed in order to map the relevant graphic urban parameters into sound parameters. This sonification strategy was applied to the city of Paris as a case study, producing a sonified set of maps whose composition could be ‘listened’ to over time. Temporal issues concerning human movement, transport infrastructure, activity distribution, and the structuring of urban form and design elements could be represented and heard. We then investigated the potential of the SUM tool as a design and planning tool. We explored how sound could be used to inform the composition of urban form in both time and space, in order to generate the urban rhythms we may desire to experience. Thus through the integration of sonification in urban design and planning, this thesis permits the spatio-­‐temporal representation and composition of urban form. It allows urban designers and planners to compose future urban rhythms and improve the temporal quality of our urban environments. Furthermore, the potential of this tool in other fields has also be recognized, for example in music and the composition of multi-­‐layered open graphic scores