Transmedial (R)Evolution: {SinOsc.ar(400, 800, 0, 0.1)multisensory.experience}.play;

Abstract

The digital revolution and technology has led us towards a more intimate understanding of the acoustic instrument and its sound. What was the modern piano for Chopin was a tape recorder for Schaeffer. Today, there is little distinction between the sounds of acoustic, natural or electronic. In this paper I describe the shift of musical perception throughout recent technological developments. My starting point of exploration is the spectral attitude of 1979, which inspired further sonic evolution and changed our perception of the sound, performance and instrumental body or instruments, as well as introducing the computer as an essential instrument for composing. Further, I highlight the importance of software and discuss the ways in which software-generated musical ideas can incite human creativity and influence a post-digital vision of gesamtkunstwerk. The evolution of hybrid instruments and real-time audio-visual interactive software has led to changes in temporal freedom and created a multisensory experience. I explore how this transmission breaks down the barriers and limitations of the human creative mind and discuss how this can potentially lead to the new musical era. Finally, I reveal some art experiments within the concept of transmedial composition in recent times.