mnartists.org: Doug Geers

Twisted Pair

Doug Geers — Wed, 30 May 2007 01:28:39 GMT

Twisted Pair is a brief work that explores issues of origin, chance combination, and consequences. In it, signal processing techniques have been applied to combine "parent" source materials into new sound objects that exhibit varying degrees of stability and coherence. On another level, it is also an act of reveling in the beautiful sound qualities of harmonic distortion, inspired by a range of musicians from Iannis Xenakis to Neil Young. The sounds in this work consist mainly of sounds of toy musical instruments that have been extensively manipulated via a software system crerated by the composer that combines intuitive real time control with a number of algorithmic methods for rearranging grains and strata of digital audio. More details available upon request.

audio: Twisted Pair

Sonar

Doug Geers — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:55:28 GMT

"Sonar" is a piece co-composed by the electroacoustic improv band Sønreel: Doug Geers, Liubo Borissov, and Maja Cerar. See www.sonreel.com for more music.

audio: Sonar (by Sønreel)

Gilgamesh

Doug Geers — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:46:46 GMT

Conceived by Doug Geers, this 70-minute stylized tracing of the ancient Gilgamesh story combines elements from puppet theater, installation art, chamber music, and ballet. The plot is presented as an improvised game of the gods; and the three players in this game are a violinist, computer musician, and actor/puppeteer. Their only "speech" is music--No written or spoken text happens during the entire piece. Beginning with a seemingly static installation, the performers breathe life into the objects with music and motion and immerse themselves in the epic. The characters' evolving relationships oscillate between cooperation and revenge, bringing about both symbiosis as well as destruction. It is sometimes purposely made unclear who is 'animating' whom, and occasionally even the music, from which all of the action and emotions arise, completely breaks down.

video: Gilgamesh-Overview

Ripples

Doug Geers — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:16:19 GMT

Ripples is a completely synthesized computer music piece that explores qualities of pulse and timbre. It begins with 16 synthesized musical lines, separated by pitch register, pulsing together at a steady rate. As the piece progresses the speeds of these voices increase and decrease at different but related rates, eventually reaching speeds so fast that the individual pulse lines blend into composite timbres, exploring the boundries between listeners' perceptions of line vs. texture.

audio: Ripples

Tremor Transducer

Doug Geers — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 04:12:12 GMT

Tremor Transducer was written to explore ideas related to two ephemeral phenomena: fire and sound. Both of these are seemingly disembodied yet able to instill awe or wreak destruction; both can exist as silky tendrils, sudden bursts, or raging calamities; and both depend on the air for their existence. Formally, Tremor Transducer is modeled on both the composite envelope of a single sound and the transcription of the changing heat levels of a fire. The electroacoustic sounds in the piece are synthesized in real time by a software instrument created by the composer in the Max/MSP environment. The computer music's role in the music is to be the "smoke" around the musicians, created by them but floating above, its incorporeal performance symbolizing the incorporeal nature of both sound and fire, emerging as if rubbing bows across strings could start fire as well as sound. Tremor Tranducer was written for the NeXT Ens.

audio: Tremor Transducer (live performance)

Memory Dust

Doug Geers — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 04:10:04 GMT

Memory Dust, for big band and computer, was commissioned by Dean Sorenson for the University of Minnesota Jazz Ensemble, who perform it here. The piece interweaves a network of 28-note harmonies with jazz-derived materials and harmonies.

audio: Memory Dust (live performance)

Sugar Cookie

Doug Geers — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 04:05:08 GMT

Sugar Cookie is a computer music piece designed as a light but satisfying musical snack. All of its sounds are synthesized physical models of stringed instruments such as harp and guitar. The various "instruments" of the piece often play rhythmically proportional canons with each other, increasing in register and speed until they transform into a single swirling texture.

audio: Sugar Cookie mp3