Hands And Samples

This is a live performance on my latest version of the reconstructed Grainger-Cross Electric Eye Tone Tool. The original version of the tool (not used here) was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2004. After that, we made a lighter, more portable version of the tool, which now consists of a box with 8 photocells, and voltage to midi conversion hardware by Angelo Fraietta of Newcastle, NSW. The original Tone Tool was built by Percy Grainger and Burnett Cross in the late 1940s and early 1950s and controlled pitch and loudness of seven oscillators. For this version, our 8 photocells are selecting samples from vintage electronic and computer music machines, including the CSIRAC computer from Sydney. (Thanks to Stephen Jones for samples of the CSIRAC.) Catherine Schieve and I move our hands in the air above the photocells, selecting and shaping the vintage synth samples. Rather than use the Tone Tool to only re-create the past, we wanted to use it to extend its use to our current and future interests. The sounds are produced by a laptop running Ross Bencina's AudioMulch software. Thanks to James Hullick for asking us to be part of the concert series on which this performance was recorded.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Warren Burt
• Catherine Schieve
• Percy Grainger
• electronic music history
• interactive music
• CSIRAC
• new interfaces for music