Human-powered computer music. No tapes. No spacebar playback. Just body movements turned musical mutants.
DistanceX is a new digital musical instrument I’ve developed for live performance, specifically tailored for Kyma. The input controller consists of a hacked Gametrak, cut in half to leave a single 3D joystick fader, which is then strapped to the right arm. A Nintendo Wiimote provides additional button and accelerometer controls. In Study 1 (TCF4), a single 6.928 second audio sample serves as the material, a mid-range frequency oscillation that is controlled directly by the performer. Both Gametrak and Wiimote control analysis file parameters, and these controls shift slightly depending on varying control states. The performer has full command over each control state. The result is a choreographic relationship between performer and sound, a movement-based sonic composition wound within the boundaries of his own parametric kinesphere.

The performance was recorded at Virginia Tech on May 2, 2017. Thank you to Tanner Upthegrove for running sound and Charles Nichols for organizing the concert.