About Exercices d’étrangeté III Mycorrhizia by Sandeep Bhagwati
video documentation: https://vimeo.com/934892624
Exercices d’étrangeté III Mycorrhizia is an explorative work at the convergence of music, technology, and visual art. Its central feature is a digitally generated score projected onto the floor between musicians, utilising a cloth patterned with a custom mycelium-dye procedure as the projection surface. This visual backdrop symbolises interconnectedness, with musicians wearing vests made from the same cloth. The score’s projection metaphorically simulates the exchange of bio-chemical information in mycelial networks using icons derived from mycelium images. These icons move around the space, triggering specific musical gestures and shaping the overall musical form, offering a new approach to ensemble composition where communication and coordination among musicians evolve dynamically. In addition to the main movements, the work incorporates interlude movements featuring large-scale cellular automata simulations of mycelial growth, influencing musicians’ improvisation through comprovisation scores. This unpredictability adds spontaneity to the performance, enhancing the immersive experience for both performers and audiences. The potential for the score to become interactive introduces further possibilities, with the mycelial network responding to musical behaviors as if they were external influences, offering avenues for novel forms of interconnected musical growth.
Objectives
The core objective was to create a piece where musicians could communicate with each other akin to the exchange of nutrients and chemical signals in mycorrhizal networks. The intention was to develop a metaphorical representation of this natural phenomenon through music. The team aimed to design a digital score and performance environment that felt dynamic and unpredictable, similar to the behavior of mycelial networks. This involved integrating visual projections, wearable costumes, and interactive elements to immerse performers and audiences in a metaphorical mycorrhizal world. The project sought to explore new approaches to ensemble composition where communication and coordination between musicians were not centrally regulated but emerged from mutual interaction and exchange. This involved rethinking conventional notions of scores and performance dynamics. Through collaborative work, the objective was to continuously iterate on ideas, materials, and technologies to achieve the desired artistic vision and functionality.
Ultimately, the work aimed to offer audiences a transformative experience that challenged their perceptions of music, technology, and interconnectedness. By immersing audiences in an evocative mycorrhizal metaphor, the project sought to provoke thought and emotion, fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world through human creativity.
Process
The collaborative team, including Sandeep Bhagwati, Alexandra Bachmayer, and Mike Cassidy, worked together to design a digital score that could metaphorically communicate behavior of a mycorrhizal fungi network to performers and audiences. They experimented with various visual and technological elements, aiming to create a living and unpredictable environment that represented mycelial networks. The score projection, made interactive through the musicians’ interactions, aimed to challenge traditional notions of ensemble composition and foster dynamic communication among performers. Throughout the process, the team encountered challenges and made decisions to adapt to practical constraints, such as the need for portability and tourability. They explored different materials, colors, and projections to optimise clarity and communication within the performance space. Additionally, they integrated interlude movements featuring large-scale cellular automata simulations to further immerse performers in the mycorrhizal metaphor.
Despite limitations, such as the inability for the programmed score to react to live sound in real-time, the team considered the performance a prototype, with plans for further development. The collaborative process involved constant dialogue, testing, and refinement, with each member contributing their expertise to shape the final outcome. The work aimed to offer audiences a transformative experience that challenged perceptions of music, technology, and interconnectedness.
Connectivity
Communication Network
· The project represents musicians’ interactions as communication through a network, drawing inspiration from mycorrhizal networks where trees exchange information and nutrients.
· A digital score serves as a mediator between musicians and the environment, facilitating their interaction within the simulated network.
· The project draws analogies from biological systems like mycelial growth and cellular automata simulations to simulate connectivity and interaction patterns.
· Complexity emerges from artificial life algorithms like the Primordial Particle System, which govern the behavior of the digital environment and its responsiveness to musicians’ actions.
· The project aims to capture the dynamic and unpredictable nature of natural systems, reflecting in the performance’s spontaneity and variability.
· The digital environment is generative, creating a new iteration of the score at each performance.
· The project represents the interconnectedness and behaviors found in natural systems, offering a unique perspective on how communication networks operate in both biological and digital realms.
· Eco-friendly materials and organic aesthetics are incorporated, reinforcing the project’s thematic connection to nature and sustainability.
Design considerations
· The digital score provides musicians with a diverse range of interpretative possibilities, spanning deterministic, generative, symbolic, and abstract directions. This approach enriches the musical experience and opens avenues for creative expression.
· Assigning a limited set of gestures to each movement helps manage cognitive load and facilitates better connectivity by reducing complexity. This ensures that musicians can focus on expressive performance rather than deciphering overly complex instructions.
· The success of the performance hinges on the connectivity of musicians, both technologically and materially.
· The integration of digital projections, custom mycelium-dyed fabrics, and physical costumes fosters a deep sense of connection among performers and with the piece itself.
· The design of the digital score is responsive to the needs and abilities of the musicians. Icons and molecules are carefully crafted to be visually distinct yet meaningful, allowing performers to navigate the score with ease while maintaining engagement and clarity.
Continuous Feedback Loop
· The iterative process of developing the digital score involved constant adjustments based on feedback from musicians and the discretion of the composer.
· This feedback loop ensures that the score evolved together with the performers’ needs and artistic vision.
Embodiment and Interaction
· The use of hand-dyed costumes and a mycelial network enhanced performers’ embodiment of the piece, fostering a way of thinking and communicating.
· The physicality of interaction with the score, projected onto fabric, further reinforces the connection between musicians and the music.
Collaborative Process
· The development of the digital score involved close collaboration between musicians, composer, and designers. This collaborative effort ensured that the score is not only technically functional but also artistically meaningful and resonant with performers and the audience.
· Immersive Performance Experience: The integration of digital projections, physical costumes, and interactive elements created an immersive performance experience that transcended traditional boundaries between audience and performers. This immersive quality enhances audience engagement and fostered a deeper connection with the music.
Flow
· The creative process involved continuous evolution and flux, with constant refinement based on feedback and experimentation. This iterative approach allowed for the exploration of different possibilities and ensured the alignment of musical behaviors with environmental dynamics.
· There was the necessity for extensive preparation for the performers due to the demanding nature of the work.
· The performance demands high levels of engagement and concentration from the performers due to the unpredictable nature of the score. This engagement is further heightened by the dynamic movements and elements within the score, requiring performers to maintain focus and adaptability.
· The digital score environments are categorised into macro and micro approaches. Micro-environments involved rule-based instructions generating specific movements, while macro environments focused on landscape representation.
· The use of comprovisation scores, influenced by the unpredictable behavior and mood of mycelial simulations, suggested a dynamic interplay between the performers and the environment they’re responding to.
· Musicians engage with the environmental elements, composing scores that react to the overall environment rather than specific components. This interaction necessitated a deep understanding of the environmental dynamics, influencing the composition and performance of the music.
· Musicians described the score as having a game-like aspect, requiring engagement, concentration, and adaptability. The future interactive nature of the score could add excitement and challenge, enhancing the performers’ level of engagement and concentration.
· Contrasts between composed sections and solos provided breaks for performers, offering a shift in focus and cognitive processing. These breaks served to refresh the performers and maintain interest throughout the performance.
Digital Musicianship
· The use of generative score shifted the traditional approach to ensemble composition, allowing for decentralised communication and coordination between its creators.
· This generative score offered a more inclusive approach to musical performance, as it did not require specific musical education but demanded a certain level of musicianship to interpret and react to unforeseeable musical behaviors.
· In this work, performers are challenged to develop new skills, such as adapting to non-stable scores and synthesizing various information resources into cohesive musical expressions.
· As this work evolves to become more interactive, it can react to musical behaviors and external influences, creating a relationship between the performers and the score. This will necessitate a high level of adaptability and responsiveness from the musicians, enriching the overall performance experience.
· Performers faced challenges in staying connected with each other while navigating this work, requiring concentration and memorisation of musical gestures.
· Despite these challenges, there is a recognition of the potential for improvement through iterative rehearsal and performance, with the goal of reaching the full potential of the project.
· The process of working on Mycorrhizia involved complexity and collaboration across various disciplines, including music, technology, visual arts, and textile arts. This interdisciplinary approach enriched the creative process and expanded the understanding of how different mediums can interact and influence each other.
· Musicians expressed a desire to continue exploring and refining their performance of Mycorrhizia, recognizing the ongoing learning process and the potential for further innovation.
Transformation
· Participants in the project recognised the importance of experiencing the musical event as a unified, global result. This approach emphasises the interconnectedness of various elements within the performance, leading to a transformative experience for both performers and audience.
· The collaborative nature of the project, involving multiple disciplines such as music, technology, visual arts, and textile arts, fosters a transformative environment where ideas flowed freely. This style of working contributes to a deeper understanding of what a digital score can be and expands the possibilities for creative expression.
· The project is viewed as an ongoing process of transformation, with each performance presenting new opportunities for growth and exploration. Participants acknowledge that the piece is never truly finished, as it requires ongoing creative input and adaptation to remain relevant and impactful.
· Participants express that the project introduced them to new and unique experiences, pushing the boundaries of their artistic practice. From the improvisational nature of the performance to the integration of digital technologies, each aspect of the project contributed to its transformative quality.
Summary
“Exercices d’étrangeté III Mycorrhizia” is an innovative work combining music, technology, and visual art. Central to this piece is a digitally generated score projected onto a custom mycelium-dyed cloth, symbolizing interconnectedness. Musicians wear vests made from the same material, reinforcing thematic unity. Icons inspired by mycelium images move across the projection surface, triggering specific musical gestures and shaping the performance.
The development process, led by Sandeep Bhagwati, Alexandra Bachmayer, and Mike Cassidy, involved experimenting with visual and technological elements to create a living, unpredictable environment. The interactive score projection aimed to foster dynamic communication among musicians. Practical constraints, like portability, were considered, and materials, colors, and projections were optimized for clarity. Large-scale cellular automata simulations were integrated to further immerse performers in the mycorrhizal metaphor. Connectivity is a key theme, with the project representing musicians’ interactions as a communication network, drawing analogies from biological systems like mycelial growth. The digital score mediates between musicians and the environment, creating a generative and unpredictable performance. “Gestural molecules,” short rhythmic gestures, allow flexible yet consistent communication. The project uses eco-friendly materials and organic aesthetics to reinforce its connection to nature and sustainability. The iterative process involved continuous feedback from musicians, ensuring the score evolved with their needs and artistic vision. The project is seen as a prototype with potential for further development, aiming to offer a transformative experience that challenges perceptions of music, technology, and interconnectedness.
Personnel