“What if Your Instrument is Invisible?”
is my chapter in the new book “Musical Instruments in the 21st Century: Identities, Configurations, Practices” (December 2016, Springer: Singapore).
Abstract: As an electronic musician I am largely occupied with capturing and manipulation of sound in real time—specifically the sound of instruments being played by other musicians.
Also being a singer, I’ve found that both of my instruments are often perceived as “invisible”.
This article discusses various strategies I developed, over a number of years, in order to “play” sound manipulations in musically reactive ways, to create a live sound-processing “instrument”.
Problems were encountered in explaining what I do to other musicians, audience, and audio engineers about what I do, technically and musically. These difficulties caused me to develop specific ways to address the aesthetic issues of live sound-processing, and to better incorporate my body into performance, both of which ultimately helped alleviate the invisibility problem and make better music.
You can download/read my chapter here — “What if Your Instrument is Invisible” or purchase the chapter here: http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811029509