Trace Diamorph is an interactive sound installation that invites visitors to strike or rub a Tibetan singing bowl to start the piece.
The sound spectrum of the bowl is broken up into its constituent parts and is rebuilt and transformed in various ways by a computer. The computer has pre knowledge of the harmonic structure of the bowl and only unlocks upon receipt of of this sonic finger print, each reawakening prompting a different transformational scene. Electronic transformations of the acoustic sound of the bowl are carefully restrained so that they retain connection with the source's spectral purity and simplicity: perhaps transformation is therefore too dramatic a description for these sonic extensions and refractions.
Visitor interaction can stretch beyond merely starting a transformational scene; their continued influence upon the sound of the bowl and the space itself can apply further nuance to the nature of the transformations expressed by the computer.
Iain McCurdy is a composer of electroacoustic music and sound art originally from Belfast and currently based in Berlin. Having come from a background of writing for fixed medium, more recent work has focussed upon sound installation, exploring physical metaphors of compositional structures through the creative use of electronic sensors and innovative human interface design. Physical designs are minimalistic, using primary shapes and colours and utilising instinctive user inputs. Similarly, his musicincreasingly aims to direct the listener to the key concerns of the work through simple coherence rather than to misdirect through layers of complexity.