On Monday 28th November, GLEAM (Glasgow Electronic and Audiovisual Media Festival) presents a night of live, improvised, audiovisual performance, featuring John Ferguson, Louise Harris, Nick Fells and other special guests.
John Ferguson will present Circles:
Circles (solo)
This is a new work for self-made post-digital/electronic instrument: Circles. This version is a wooden box that contains a single-board computer and two micro-controllers. Bespoke software is written in Pure Data and Arduino, running on Linux.
Focusing on real-time interaction and the multiple connotations of ‘performing technologies’ the goal is a situation where it is unclear whether I am performing the technology or it is performing me. This, to some extent, might seem to undermine what might be perceived as the autonomy of a musician. However, I am not attempting to remove my own agency from the creative process; this is not in any sense a 'chance' based approach, but one which involves maximum attention and involvement. My approach explores the features and quirks of digital systems, it pushes beyond the digital to digital-analogue hybrid systems, and it seeks renewal through continuous engagement. Less about being in control of a situation than about ways to find lifelike resonances with which to interact, the relationship between imagination, expectation and material is at the foreground.
johnrobertferguson.com