When will we return to the ocean’s infinity? for piano, percussion, contrabass, and generative electronics (2020)

When will we return to the ocean’s infinity? is an ongoing collaboration with my trio Else, if Else which centers around a Max patch and accompanying set of scores I developed in 2020. Instrumentalists are tasked with navigating a variety of harmonic and timbral worlds, each described through a combination of text, graphics, and traditional notations, while the computer semi-intelligently chooses between parallel worlds using various systems of logic and analysis. For example, the ensemble’s composite spectral flatness is being constantly calculated, allowing the computer to make informed decisions about the noise and pitch content of samples it recalls from its memory bank. In turn, the ensemble is constantly listening to the computer’s output, gathering information to inform their own musical choices.

Below are two examples of scores provided to the instrumentalists, and an excerpt of the computer’s output.