KENNETH
KIRSCHNER:
LOOP.CL
by
Guillermo
Escudero
Interview in it's original form on Loop.CL (click here)
Please
tell us about your experiments with software-based indeterminate
composition.
“In the past, indeterminacy in music has been realized
primarily through performance: an indeterminate piece by John
Cage, for example, will be different each time it's played live.
What I've been trying to do, in a sense, is to create not indeterminate
performances, but indeterminate recordings. By adapting the
concepts of indeterminacy into a software-based context, you
can essentially create a recording that is different each time
you listen to it. These pieces, which are constructed using
Flash and playable in any web browser, consist of a number of
different musical fragments which are rearranged randomly by
the computer as the piece is being played. Thus each piece is
different every time it's heard, and the listener can control
the piece's duration, listening for as long or as short a time
as they wish.”
Are the piano pieces in your work "05 Compositions"
released on the Galician Alg-a netlabel more structured compositions?
“Actually, the Alg-a release consists entirely of mp3
examples from the indeterminate series, and the piano pieces
on it are essentially recorded "outputs" from some
of the indeterminate software. The Alg-a release was put together
to showcase some of these pieces before the final Flash software
was finished; that software has now been completed, and so interested
listeners can now go to my site and download generative versions
of these pieces which will play indefinitely and be different
on each listening.”
It's really amazing the kind of sounds which are produced
under software design. In the future can we expect a new dimension
of digital sounds?
“There's no doubt that the evolution of music technology
will continue to provide new possibilities for sound design
and enhance the creative palette available to musicians. But
technology alone is not, I think, the limiting factor in the
creation of new sounds. Already, electronic musicians have so
much power available to them with current technology that we
have only just begun to explore what's possible. And unfortunately,
as with anything, experimental music can sometimes be driven
by fashion and trends; our current software already allows for
a much wider range of expression than has been achieved so far,
I think. The focus therefore needs to be on something more than
pure technology -- Morton Feldman, after all, revolutionized
music using instruments that were hundreds of years old. So
I think we need to look to creativity, vision and artistic insight
rather than just to new technology as we try to envision the
music of the future.”
Your works are released both on labels such as 12k and
Sub Rosa, and can be freely downloaded from netlabels like Conv,
Alg-a and on your own website. What's your approach about netlabels
and offering your music freely?
“My dream has always been to release my music freely online,
and so my website is really the primary focus for me in terms
of distributing my work. When I'm approached by netlabels to
release music, I usually invite them to ‘curate’
a selection of music from my site by choosing pieces that reflect
their own interests and aesthetic. And when I'm working with
more traditional CD labels, I'm always very clear and honest
with them about the fact that my music will remain freely available
on my site; this is my philosophy, and I really consider it
an integral part of my whole artistic project. And I've been
very fortunate to work with labels like 12k that are very supportive
of this approach and understand the philosophy behind it.”
GuillermoEscudero
June 2006
