Sound Junction Satellites: Live Coding & 3-D Sound – Online Live Stream

Due to the new national lockdown, we have unfortunately had to cancel the live event, however we are pleased to announce a live streamed version with a brand new workshop, which is now only £5 per ticket. All ticket holders for the original event will be refunded.

An evening of performances, talks and a workshop exploring algorithmic pattern, 3D sound-worlds and more. Experience the cutting edge of electronic music and learn some new techniques in an exclusive live streamed event.

In the first of what we hope will be many collaborations, we’re excited to announce that Sound Junction Satellites are collaborating with Algomech; a festival of algorithmic and mechanical movement, and a Sheffield home for the burgeoning live-coding electronic music scene. If you’re staring boggle-eyed at the page asking ‘what is live-coding?’ – you can find out more here.

3.30pm – 5pm

Online workshop: Algorithmic Patterns – musical patterns as code

Over 90 minutes Alex McLean (Algorave, Algomech, Yaxu) will give a brief intro/demo to the idea of ‘algorithmic pattern’ using his “tidalcycles” live coding environment, and will then play a series of pre-prepared patterns that he’s created using it. We will talk about how each one is structured and how they ‘feel’ to us. No musical or technological knowledge will be assumed! Please plug in headphones or stereo speakers if possible. Please email concerts@sheffield.ac.uk once you have bought your ticket to let us know if you would like to take part in this workshop.

Live event:

7.30pm – 9.40pm

A live streamed concert featuring the best of live-coding and electroacoustic composition. Starting at 7.30, expect an evening of sound both immersive and frenetic – as performers explore the possibilities in live coded music, and acousmatic composition. We’re especially excited for some binaural live performances from our live-coders – so you’ll be able to experience 3D binaural effects at home. Binaural sound is a way of creating the illusion of 3D sound through stereo audio – it’s a strange but immersive experience, and can be achieved through any pair of headphones. Right now, that might be the closest you get to the real thing, and it should be a lot of fun!

Estimated schedule:

7.30pm to 8.30pm – Live-coded performances from Alex McLean, Gerard Roma and Anna Xambo

8.30pm to 9pm – Discussion of the potential of binaural effects in live coding and a Q & A (access link will be sent out to the audience).

Alex McLean 

Alex McLean is a musician, developer and researcher based in Sheffield, UK. Through his work on Algorave and the Algomech festival he has played a key role in developing a community of musicians both locally and internationally who use code to create live, electronic music. This highly creative and burgeoning scene has been featured in The Guardian, Medium.com, BBC and other national/international news outlets, and Alex performed everywhere from dingy DIY venues to Bluedot Festival and The British Library. He performs as Yaxu, and also in several other groups including the bludgeoning live-coded techno duo CCAI.

Gerard Roma

Gerard Roma is a musician and music technology researcher from Barcelona. He performs and releases electronic music under different project names. His practice includes live coding and algorithmic music, corpus-based performance and participatory music.

His work often involves multi-channel setups, and he has performed with systems such as Sindicato de Altavoces (Barcelona) or the Huddersfield immersive sound system (HISS) (UK).  His work has been presented in Spain, UK, USA, Ireland, Norway and Germany.

http://g-roma.github.io

Anna Xambo

Anna Xambó is a Senior Lecturer in Music and Audio Technology at De Montfort University and an experimental electronic music producer. Her research and practice focus on new interfaces for music performance looking at live coding, collaborative and participatory music systems, and multichannel spatialisation. For the latter, she has experience with the Sindicato de Altavoces in Barcelona and the high-density loudspeaker array The Cube at Virginia Tech. Her solo and group performances have been presented internationally in Denmark, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA. To date, she has released three solo recordings: “init” (2010, Carpal Tunnel), “On the Go” (2013, Carpal Tunnel) and “H2RI” (2018, pan y rosas). Her solo works are known for their unique sound of working with hypnotising basses, industrial ambiances, and noise as concept art.

http://annaxambo.me/

USSS

Led by composers and researchers Adrian Moore and Adam Stanović, the University of Sheffield Sound Studios specialises in acousmatic music composition and performance. In particular USSS researchers are interested in the methods composers use to create their sonic art and how these works adapt and extend the ways music is created, performed, produced and experienced. They run the regular Sound Junction concerts, where immersive sound worlds are diffused and thrown across an impressive 32 speakers system. This set of pieces will include the cutting edge of work from Adrian, Adam, and students at the studio.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/usss/