ENDOGENOUS MUSIC I

Endogenous Music I is a live sonic performance that delves into the relationship between collective memory and the sonification of real-time physiological data. This piece is the result of nearly a decade of exploration into memory, sonifying emotions, and real-time responses to nostalgic experiences. At its core, Endogenous Music I uses the sonification of these ephemeral moments to shape the unique musical trajectory of each performance, challenging the performer/audience dynamic and allowing for incidental experiences to be shared in the process. This work has been in development for nearly a decade, evolving from a personal journey through grief and loss into a broader musical methodology grounded in shared nostalgic experiences and the unique sonic expressions they can elicit. While this iteration of Endogenous Music stands strong on its own, it is inherently unfinished. Endogenous Music is a fluid and ever-changing experience, shaped by the personal and internal states of those experiencing it in the moment. The piece serves as a collective expression of shared pasts, sonified and interwoven, much like our beautifully decaying memories that blur and merge over time.

Composed, programmed, and performed by: Danny Hynds

Footage provided by: Eri Nakashima, Danny Hynds, Juling Li, Igor Segrovetz, Aoi Uyama, Takuro Nakao

Live biological data: Eri Nakashima, Danny Hynds, Juling Li, Igor Segrovetz, Elizabeth Shen, Takuro Nakao

Technical supervision and data recording by: George Chernyshov

Performance coordination by: Lady DingDing Zheng

Videography by: Lucas Ogasawara de Oliveira & Jack Brophy

Brainwave headsets provided by: VIE, Inc.

Project support and supervision by: Yazz Imamura, Shinya Fujii, Kenta Tanaka, Kenshiro Taira, Satomi Tanabe, Giulia Barbareschi, Kouta Minamizawa

Filmed live at Beta Dome, Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus, on February 23rd, 2025.

Special thanks to the Nakashima, Hynds, Li,, Segrovetz, Uyama, and Nakao families for kindly providing home movies.

This work was supported by JST COI-NEXT Grant Number JPMJPF2203.

KYŌSHIN (Sonic Resonance: Event for Muscles, Heartbeat and Breath)

KYŌSHIN (Sonic Resonance: Event for Muscles, Heartbeat and Breath) was performed in collaboration with KMD (Keio Media Design), Keio University at CCBT (Civic Creative Base Tokyo) on 18th February 2024. This was a one hour performance with an aesthetic surveillance system of 4 cameras – a small wrist camera, a camera positioned above the body, a camera looking up at the robot arm and a camera attached to the end of the robot arm that generated dynamic video feedback. The soundscape included ECG, EMG and Breath amplified body signals that are augmented by synthesised sounds from the two wrist Sensor Bracelets. The percussive sounds from the right hand were intermittently looped via a digital delay pedal, sometimes synchronising, sometimes counterpointing the heartbeat. The choreography of the body movements composed the sounds. An interactive sensor system attached to the head and arms allowed the body to become the live video switcher and video mixer for the images projected on the screen beside the body. The robot arm was preprogramed to scan the body, but lifting the right arm enabled the artist to switch to the robot camera and control its rotation, pan and tilt motions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

George Chernyshov- Sensing and Hardware design

Sound Artist – Danny Hynds

Robot Designer – Marina Nakagawa

Video Artist and Editor – Lucas Ogasawara de Oliviera

Videographer Assistant – Paing Sett Hein

Head Set and Graphics Designer – Michael Pogorzhelskiy

Engineer – Juling Li

Research Supervisors – Kouta Minamizawa, Kai Kunze

Research Supporters – Giulia Barbareschi, Minyang Xu, Peng Danyang

Production and Management – Yoko Negami, Akane Kanagawa (Living Together Co)

Organiser – Keio University Graduate School of Media Design

Co-Organiser – Project Cybernetic Being Technical

Co-Operator – Geist (KMD), Embodied Media (KMD)

Partner – Civic Creative Base Tokyo

Spectral Counterpoint

Spectral Counterpoint is a series of performance works which seeks to challenge the notion of time and location in live music. In this series, psychological data is detected from remote audiences and utilized as musical and performative gestures. This data is sent from anywhere on Earth to a central software which aggregates and processes the data. This data is then sent to the performer, who integrates it into the music itself through OSC and MIDI. In other words, the audience's presence has a direct impact on the music, which in turn affects their experience. An experiential biofeedback loop through sonification.

In this performance, the biofeedback of live audiences in Los Angeles and Hiyoshi, Japan co-exist with the presence of audiences from London and Hiyoshi from a previous performance on the piece. As each subsequent performance of Spectral Counterpoint is given, this cumulative data will create an ever-expanding experience of past, present, and future audiences alike. The use of old recording mediums (1/4" tape, cassette, VHS, Betamax) further explores the ways in which recorded media and our fading memories are inherently tied to one another. This presentation of Spectral Counterpoint consists of three interconnected movements. In the first movement, sounds are generated entirely from Max/MSP. The second movement is entirely generated from Eurorack synthesizers. The third and final act is generated from sampled sounds of movements 1 and 2, all recorded onto analog mediums and further processed through the Eurorack system. In each movement, the first half is entirely driven by the real-time biofeedback and involves no intervention from the performer, with the second half allowing for direct performative intervention from the performer. The video for this performance was captured using a Betamax Betamovie BMC-100, RCA DSP3 camcorder, Hi8 CCD-TR11, and MiniDV handicam.

Danny Hynds: composition, Eurorack, laptop

George Chernyshov & DingDing Zheng: physiological sensing platform

Kouta Minamizawa: project supervisor

INNERMOST ECHOES

Innermost Echoes is an on-going performance work in which a robotic koto sonifies and is controlled by the real-time physiological data of the performers and audience members. This work is a collaboration with researchers George Chernyshov and DingDing Zheng, along with koto players Aoi Uyama and Kozue Matsumoto. It is funded in part by the JST Moonshot Cybernetic Being Project.

Danny Hynds: composition, Eurorack synthesizer, design, fabrication, programming Aoi Uyama: Koto Kozue Matsumoto: Koto George Chernyshov: technical director, fabrication Lady Dingding Zheng: design coordinator Kai Kunze: technical supervisor Tatsuya Saito: artistic supervisor Kouta Minamizawa: project supervisor

EPHEMERAL COUNTERPOINT

Ephemeral Counterpoint is a mixed-media work which explores the meaning on memory and how our are manipulated and affected by recorded media. Several 1/4” open reel desks are placed around CRT televisions and cassette players displaying memories from my childhood. This visual/sonic landscape is a representation of my memories via these obsolete technologies.

Danny Hynds: composition, field recordings, sound design, fabrication Ismael Rasa: design, fabrication, programming Kirill Ragozin: web design, programming Lady Dingding Zheng: cognitive psychologist David Henson: voice Bobby Hawk: violin Kai Kunze: technical supervisor Tatsuya Saito: artistic supervisor Kouta Minamizawa: project supervisor