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7=C2=B0C / 10=C2=B0COrchestrations
Experimental music, robotic instruments =
and naked=20
dancing in Ghent
![3D"Godfried-Willem](3D"http://www.flanderstoday.eu/sites/default/files/weblogos.jpg?12590= "3D\"Godfried-Willem")
After two years of publishing Flanders Today, none of the=20 extraordinary things people do in Flanders surprises us anymore. Until=20 now.
Flanders, I recently discovered, is home to the world=E2=80=99s = largest robot=20 orchestra. Godfried- Willem Raes, founder of the Logos Foundation in = Ghent, has=20 assembled an array of robotic instruments, which are not only impressive = to=20 behold in terms of design and engineering; they also play extraordinary = music.=20
The Logos Foundation is run by a small but dedicated group of = composers and=20 artists. They hold weekly concerts in a silver, tetrahedronshaped = concert hall =E2=80=93=20 a space designed by Raes for optimal acoustics. Each concert is = distinctive =E2=80=93=20 the featured material could be avantgarde sound poetry one night and = robotic=20 renditions of tango music the next.
Raes has been dedicated to the promotion and performance of = experimental=20 music and sound art for more than 40 years. He and partner, Moniek = Darge, were=20 named =E2=80=9Ccultural ambassadors=E2=80=9D to Flanders in 1997 for = their pioneering=20 performances and extensive travels as the Logos Duo.
Logos was initially conceived at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent in = the late=20 1960s. Frustrated with the lack of opportunities to compose or even play = contemporary music while studying at the conservatory, Raes and his = colleagues=20 formed an alternative ensemble.
=E2=80=9CAt that time in the conservatory, music was only considered = worthwhile if it=20 was at least 100 years old,=E2=80=9D says Raes. =E2=80=9CWe started = questioning this attitude=20 and =E2=80=93 in the revolutionary spirit of the time =E2=80=93 decided = to form a group of our=20 own that would refuse to play music of the past. We would only do = contemporary=20 pieces.=E2=80=9D
The ensemble of five started composing their own music and holding = concerts.=20 Raes wrote a piece titled =E2=80=9CLogos=E2=80=9D that required each = musician to play in a=20 different metre. The piece was so technically challenging that he had to = construct a sort of conducting machine =E2=80=93 what would be his first = robot =E2=80=93 to help=20 coordinate the musicians.
Many considered this performance, as well as the philosophy and = actions of=20 the ensemble, scandalous. Ultimately, all five musicians were thrown out = of the=20 conservatory, but by then they had attracted a following. The group = continued to=20 organise concerts and started inviting artists from other locations and=20 disciplines to collaborate and exchange ideas.
Raes soon realised that in order to truly create new music, new = musical tools=20 were required. =E2=80=9CWhy do we still play historic instruments if we = are to play=20 contemporary music?=E2=80=9D he asks. =E2=80=9CMy idea was to create our = own instruments.=E2=80=9D
And so, Raes became an instrument builder. In Logos=E2=80=99 first 20 = years or so, he=20 focused on the promise of the time: electronics. He built instruments = such as=20 synthesizers to perform this experimental music.
But eventually, the electronic music performances posed a = philosophical=20 problem that Raes couldn=E2=80=99t ignore. In a typical concert setting, = there is an=20 intimate connection between the audience and the performer. With a = visible=20 performer, the audience is able to perceive the process of music making. = The=20 effort it takes a trumpet player to hit the highest note, for instance, = or the=20 finesse a percussionist uses in soft dynamic ranges is readily apparent. = But=20 with electronic music, there are not often visible gestures that allow=20 spectators to make this connection. The audience is left to stare at an=20 inanimate set of speakers.
This dissociation troubled Raes and caused him to reconsider the use = of=20 acoustic instruments. Ultimately, he decided to combine traditional = acoustic=20 instruments with his knowledge of electronics and began to construct=20 programmable, musical machines.
Today, Logos is home to 42 such instruments =E2=80=93 an entire robot = orchestra that=20 includes everything from organs and percussion to string and wind = instruments.=20
While machines can get better with each advance in technology, humans = have=20 limits, explains Raes. =E2=80=9CThe real idea is to go with these = machines beyond what=20 is humanly possible, to extend the possibilities,=E2=80=9D he says. = Raes=E2=80=99 robotic piano,=20 for instance, can play much faster than a human. And it can hit many = more than=20 10 keys at one time, each at a different dynamic level.
The robot orchestra is a composer=E2=80=99s dream =E2=80=93 it can be = programmed to play just=20 about anything imaginable. Its repertoire is extensive because the = foundation=E2=80=99s=20 members are all active composers, and they invite guest artists to write = for the=20 orchestra, too. There is even a composer=E2=80=99s guide for the robots = available on the=20 Logos website.
The robots are typically controlled through a computer interface, but = they=20 are also capable of perceiving their environment and responding to it. = They are=20 dubbed the Man and Machine (M&M) Orchestra because they can respond = to human=20 interactions =E2=80=93 such as viola playing.
The robots can also respond to movement, like dancing. Through = extensive=20 research into gesture, using both radar and sonar technology, Raes has = created=20 an =E2=80=9Cinvisible=E2=80=9D instrument that allows dancers to control = the M&M Orchestra=20 through the movements of their bodies. There=E2=80=99s just one catch: = the dancers have=20 to be naked. Though unorthodox for a concert setting, the nudity is = essential,=20 according to Raes, because clothing obscures the tracking = system=E2=80=99s ability to=20 detect subtle movements.
This counter-culture mentality translates to Raes=E2=80=99 robot = designs. He is=20 anti-copyright and doesn=E2=80=99t patent anything. All of his designs = are open source=20 and are published on the Logos website.
This unparalleled research and prolific instrument building have = gained him=20 much recognition in the field of experimental music technology. This = past year,=20 electronic music artist Aphex Twin contacted Raes to see if he could buy = one of=20 the robots. Raes refused but agreed to design and build a robot = specifically for=20 the musician. After seven months of work, the percussive =E2=80=9CHit = Anything Robot=E2=80=9D=20 (<HAT>) made its debut at a recent Logos concert.
Though this project may bring the foundation popular recognition, not = to=20 mention valuable funds, Raes says he=E2=80=99s finished with building = instruments for=20 others. For one thing, he=E2=80=99s busy: he=E2=80=99s currently working = on harmonium, bassoon,=20 and cello robots. But, more importantly, he wants to keep his new = progeny with=20 their kin. That way, more composers have the opportunity to explore the = bounds=20 of this one of a kind, ever-expanding orchestra.
Raes=E2=80=99 hope is that Logos and the robots will continue to = serve as catalysts=20 for the development of avant-garde techniques for innovation in music = for years=20 to come. =E2=80=9CWe are expanding expressive possibilities for = composers and new=20 music,=E2=80=9D he says, =E2=80=9Cwhich is what new music is all about." =
Melissa Maki
(November 25, 2009)
Flanders Today: Feature articles
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