Find & Replace for live electronics ensemble

Mattias Petersson, (2019) 2022.

This piece was composed for the Royal Live Electronics ensemble at The Royal College of Music in Stockholm. The first version, composed in 2019 used a film that, along with a fixed media soundfile, provided a dynamic score to be interpreted by the performers. The current version of this score is entirely made in SuperCollider, with a graphical score intended to run locally on the performer's laptops.

Find & Replace is an excercise in rhythm where a shared groove is established by pattern algorithms, individually interpreted by the ensemble members, fed through a multichannel multi-tap delay, and graudally transforms into a shared drone.

Instructions

Preparations

• The players should be positioned in a circle, surrounding the audience and be connected to one mono speaker each.
• A copy of each player's signals should be sent to a separate computer, on a discrete channel, feeding the FindReplaceDelay. The delay should be sent back to the circle of speakers in a one-to-one fashion.
• Any sound produced by any player should bounce around clockwise a full circle, starting in the speaker immediately to the left of the player.

Playing

Run this line (the first argument allows for changing the number of beams in the star):

f = FindReplaceScore();

• Start the piece in sync by simultaneously playing a short, sound together and pressing space.
• The star spins and randomizes a number or a function.
• Play in sync with the delay and use the numbers to count the beats and create a pattern where you play on the first and the last count.
• The gradual fade to black indicates a diminuendo.
• F means "Find", and means that you should find and play a rhythmic pattern in the currently shared texture. The found pattern should be repeated and be as many beats long as the star indicates. If it points to a blank circle – improvise!
• R means "Replace". This entails replacing the percussive, rhythmic patterns with continuous sounds with softer envelopes. Repeat the sound after the number of beats indicated by the star. Blank circle indicates that the sound should be continuous for the whole period.
• After 18 spins the piece ends with an R and a slow fade.