My Sunset Is Your Sunrise

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. NIME ’25, June 24–27, 2025, Canberra, Australia © 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). My Sunset Is your Sunrise JOCELYN HO, University of Sydney MICHAŁ SETA, Lab148 DIRK STROMBERG, LASALLE College of the Arts, UAS 1 Program Notes In the past five years, the conception of telematic performance has increasingly focused on the nature of virtual space and its implications for musical interaction. This shift has been driven by advancements in technology and the necessity for remote collaboration, particularly highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exploration of virtual space in telematic performance encompasses various dimensions, including the redefinition of presence, the role of avatars, and the integration of immersive technologies. One significant aspect of virtual space in telematic performance is the reimagining of presence and interaction among performers. Traditional notions of presence, which are often tied to physical colocation, are challenged in telematic contexts. For instance, Schroeder (2013)1 notes that networked performers exist in a "space of suspense," where communicative cues such as glances and breathing, which are integral to traditional performances, become absent. This absence necessitates new forms of interaction and communication, leading to a unique virtual performance environment where musicians must adapt to the limitations and possibilities of digital interfaces. This is where Baradian touch is a useful concept to think about the space. At the core of this exploration is the recognition that the fryprone, SteamDeck a game console, prepared piano and found objects, lighting, video, projection, telematic system, and performers are co-constitutive agencies actively shaping the creative process. Inspired by Karen Barad’s concept of touch as an entangled, relational act2, we position touch as extending beyond physical interaction to include the mediated interplay of gestures, sounds, visuals, and temporalities in a networked environment. In our improvisations, touch takes center stage: we focus on how the tactility of each other's interactions with our instruments informs and transforms our own. For instance, how does the tactile resistance of capacitive keys inform the prepared piano’s resonances? How do our performative gestures intra-act with each other? How do lighting and projection shift the gestural logic of the controller-based sound art? This project theorizes telematic improvisation as a practice of entangled differences—where touch, sound, light, gesture merge to generate new relationalities. ! 1!F.!Schroeder,!“Network[ed]!Listening—Towards!a!De-centering!of!Beings,”!Contemporary!Music!Review,!vol.!32,!no.!2–03,!pp.!215–229,!Jun.! 2013,!doi:!10.1080/07494467.2013.775807.! 2!Karen!Barad.!1996.!Meeting!the!universe!halfway:!Realism!and!social!constructivism!without!contradiction.!In!Feminism,!science,!and!the! philosophy!of!science.!Springer,!161–194! NIME ’25, June 24–27, 2025, Canberra, Australia Jocelyn Ho et al. Fig. 1. Telematic performance with Telepæsants and Jocelyn Ho at Australian Computer Music Conference December 2025 2 Project Description In this project, we propose a three-way hybrid-telematic improvisation, by three displaced musicians, featuring 2 DMIs, and an acoustic-prepared piano. The musicians are located in Montreal, Singapore and Canberra at the NIME conference. We have been creating a multimedia meta-instrument to collaborate with telematically. The metainstrument consists of a process that allows for the expansion of musical ideas into the realm of audio, video, projection and lighting. Telepæants instrument can be used in hybrid and remote performances alike and allows for the Interaction of all agencies without hierarchy. Within the metainstrument, we interact with our instruments, and with each other. The instrument is defined by methods of interaction through various software assemblage that allows for performance across mediums. Videos are transmitted via vdo.ninja and different angles and assembling is managed by OBS. There are 3+ cameras, per player, providing angles that show the performers' viewpoint, the intricacies of the performance (finger movements, gestures, body language and anything else pertinent) and a wide angle of the stage area. Layers of video of local aesthetics from each remote location/city/country are layered in at some points to define and underline each locale. Video switching of different camera angles is done interactively through phrase detection. Each player’s composite video stream is sent to a broadcast location, where it is assembled and prepared for streaming and dispatched to a hybrid performance venue. The lighting is controlled via QLC+ and is placed and used in such a way as to illuminate the performer and the space. It is also used as an effect to saturate the cameras’ image. The lighting is simple and responsive to the instruments, to draw clear connections between performers’ gestures and resulting sound. A combination of phrase detection, envelope following and gesture analysis is used to achieve this. My Sunset Is your Sunrise NIME ’25, June 24–27, 2025, Canberra, Australia Projection is used to further expand the lighting and to create an otherness in the telepresence. It includes performers from other spaces as well as local viewpoints to further enhance the sense of presence. All audio signals are sent to the central broadcast location via JackTrip, where they are automixed and composited with the video signals for the final production and relevant minus-1 tracks created for each location. Audio can be expanded in physical locations using diverse multichannel techniques, including ambisonics. It can also be used to excite physical object objects in different locations, through vibration speakers and other methods of experiencing sympathetic vibrations. The multi-disciplinary approach allows each performer to experience an immersive presence from each location. Hybrid locations experience hyper-instrumental remote locations with live performers interacting in a musical conversation through a specific telematic vibe that allows for extra-musical discussions through body language, eye contact and visual relationships. Table I. Channel Configuration Inputs Channel Name Channel 1 (JackTrip) Melbourne Remote Left Channel 2 (JackTrip) Melbourne Remote Right Channel 3 (JackTrip) Montreal Remote Left Channel 4 (JackTrip) Montreal Right Right Channel 5 (local) NIME Location Left Channel 6 (local) NIME Location Right Outputs Source Channel 1 (to JackTrip) Local Sydney Mix L Channel 2 (to JackTrip) Local Sydney Mix R NIME ’25, June 24–27, 2025, Canberra, Australia Jocelyn Ho et al. Fig. 2. Stage Layout 3 Performance notes The performance will feature the pianist physically present at the NIME performance venue, with two DMIs playing remotely. Technical needs: • Sound system (could be multichannel) • Robust internet connection (100Mbps or better) provided via ethernet physical connection • Appropriate sound reinforcement and IEM monitoring system • Controlled stage lighting • Two projectors with two large projection surfaces, appropriate for the venue -ortwo large LCD displays (85” minimum) • One computer for telematic audio with JackTrip installed • One computer for telematic video with VdoNinja • 4+ Channel Audio Interface • Ethernet Connection 4 Media Link(s) • Duo Video: https://youtu.be/E6usQM3vlnw?si=jmuLImmBuC_GVLtL • Trio Video: https://youtu.be/xpmxfXcYxAo?si=SP5KrmQKgFsCtsCq • Jocelyn Ho: https://youtu.be/08DUee-lfkM My Sunset Is your Sunrise NIME ’25, June 24–27, 2025, Canberra, Australia 5 Ethical Standards This project did not involve research with human or animal subjects as defined by institutional review boards or animal ethics committees. All collaborators were co-authors and voluntarily participated in the development and performance of the work. No vulnerable populations were involved, and no personal data was collected or disseminated. The telematic system, audiovisual media, and networked environments used in the performance were developed in compliance with data security and privacy best practices. There are no known conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. This work was conducted with respect for each participant's artistic autonomy, with mutual consent for all recordings and public dissemination.