Introducing TaCEM and the TIAALS software.

This paper introduces the TaCEM project (Technology and Creativity in Electroacoustic Music), funded for 30 months by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK, investigating the relationship between technological innovation and creative practice in electroacoustic music of the last 40 years (http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/tacem/). It is a collaborative project between the universities of Huddersfield and Durham in the UK and outputs from the project will include a book and freely available interactive software. This paper explains the context for the project and its goals, and discusses some of the generic software that is being developed as part of the project, intended not only for use in the project itself but also to be freely available for others to use in the study of any electroacoustic work as appropriate

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

Trade-offs and synergies in the ecosystem service demand of urban brownfield stakeholders

Brownfield site redevelopment presents an opportunity to create urban green spaces that provide a wide range of ecosystem services. It is important, therefore, to understand which ecosystem services are demanded by stakeholders and whether there are trade-offs or synergies in this demand. We performed a quantitative survey of ecosystem service demand from brownfield sites that included all major stakeholder groups. Results showed that there was a strong trade-off between demand for services related to property development (e.g. ground strength and low flood risk) and all other services, which were linked to vegetated sites. There was a secondary, but weak, trade-off between demand for services of more ‘natural’ vegetated sites (e.g. with a biodiversity protection role) and those linked to aesthetics and recreation. Stakeholders with a strong preference for biodiversity protection formed a distinct group in their ecosystem service demands. While a ‘development’ vs ‘green space’ trade-off may be unavoidable, the general lack of strong trade-offs in demand for other services indicated that the creation of multifunctional greenspaces from former brownfield sites would be desirable to most stakeholders, as long as these are biophysically possible

Encounters with Erving Goffman

A letter describing encounters with Erving Goffman

Reconciliation and Perpetrator Memories in Cambodia

This article considers the reproduction of perpetrator memories to reflect on processes of reconciliation in Cambodia. The article explores the circulation of memories around local memorial and heritage sites within a former Khmer Rouge (KR) community, Anlong Veng. Anlong Veng was home to several senior KR leaders, two of whom were found guilty of crimes against humanity at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).1 The article draws on ethnographic and interview data to illustrate examples of the traction, limits and dissonances that flow from the ECCC and its attendant discourses of ‘national reconciliation,’ as they intersect with local accounts of the past. I argue that while perpetrator and ‘counter’ memories can have the potential to disrupt reconciliation, the case reveals complexities in the reproduction of memories of atrocity among both victim and perpetrator groups that appear simultaneously ‘unreconciled’ and commensurable to the ECCC project. In doing so, the article opens a critical space for reflections on the place of perpetrator memories in reconciliation initiatives and human rights scholarship

Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: A Study

This thesis focuses on Sondheim’s 1979 work, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (referred to simply as Sweeney Todd from now on), and serves as a brief study of the piece, examining its musical and dramatic significance. Sondheim’s score for Sweeney is one of his richest and most complicated, while the subject matter provides its own weight as an unusual plot for a Broadway musical. Rather than focusing on any one particular feature of the work, the thesis delves into various aspects of music, text, and character, and brings to light some of Sondheim’s most innovative compositional and textual devices. The controversial plot, rich book and stylistically interdependent almost sung-through score gives the work a unique quality that separates it from the other titles in Sondheim’s canon, and overall, from other works in the broader musical theatre catalogue. Sondheim’s appreciation in academia by both musicologists and theatre scholars has taken quite some time to develop because of the apparent stigma attached to the form. This dissertation ultimately responds to both the attention and the neglect given to this composer in the world of musicology

Electronic music and the computer: a critical study of the development of electronic music systems and the introduction of computer-based technology, with particular reference to the interface problems encountered in composer/machine communications

This thesis examines the development of electronic synthesis systems and their associated philosophies from the antecedents of the first half of the twentieth century to the early part of the current decade, viewed in the first instance from a musical rather than a technical standpoint. Such a task is in itself an exercise in communications, for it is necessary to evaluate the artistic characteristics of a rapidly expanding area of inter-disciplinary activity which has been largely dominated by technological interests, not always to the best advantage of the art and practice of music. Although the development of the medium has led to the publication of numerous books and articles, ranging from general descriptions to detailed scientific accounts, the former for the most part are uncritical in their approach, and the latter are rarely presented in a form which may be readily appreciated and commented upon by musicians in general. This account thus attempts to fill a major gap in the literature of the subject by presenting a broadly based critique of its most important historical features. After an introductory perspective of the background to electronic music systems, the first volume continues with a critical study of the main developments during the period 1948-1964, concluding with an examination of the characteristics of both voltage and digitally based control technology and their impact on studio designs during the remainder of the latter decade. The second volume is primarily concerned with the application of the digital computer, both as a means of directly generating sound information and also as a control device for analogue studios, particular attention being paid to the systems MUSIC 360 and MUSYS. The overriding objective of this study is to establish a sound and coherent basis for determining the artistic criteria which must be applied if future technical advances are to benefit the creative uses of the medium