Hydra (Yutong)

Tidalcycles (Elora & Yihan)

We initially approached our composition by coding separate sections of music and trying to piece them together, but found that the results from this were incohesive and clunky. We were heavily inspired by this composition by students from a previous live coding class. Its minimalist style generated high energy while still allowing for the sound to be stripped to its hollow, liquid bones. By keeping a melodic core intact, they achieved evolution by adding and subtracting beats, creating a seamless musical experience. Wanting to emulate this dynamism, we started the final draft by composing its melodic skeleton, and building upon it. Whereas before we had struggled to juggle multiple genres, we decided to establish a single tone and develop it further. Several references helped me decide what emotions we would evoke for this piece. I recently read about the difficult production behind Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Songwriter Bonnie Mckee said:

I thought about my own adolescent years, my own first love. I thought about watching Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet and putting on a little mini discoball light and just dreaming of Leo. I thought about me and my friends sitting around at slumber parties in the ’90s, giddy even just THINKING about boys….. I thought about what Benny said and I listened to the song again, and I was like the Teenagers….. that’s such a great word, Teenager. It is a very descriptive word; it packs a lot of emotion and imagery into three syllables….. I couldn’t believe after all of our agonizing over ‘youth’ themes, that we had overlooked such an obvious one – the teenage condition.

I thought about the song I shared with the class at the beginning of the semester, Teenagers by French 79. How often have I listened to this song and repeated the word, forgetting myself as crests of synth broke over me like waves? This made me think about Kids by MGMT and childhood by daniel.mp3. About Just Kids by Pattie Smith on Robert Mapplethorpe. Like ‘teenagers,’ the word ‘kids’ raises indescribable feelings in all of us. We reminisce on the reckless, blind joys of the past, about what has been lost, and what is impossible to return to. For this composition, we wanted to deliver senses of playfulness and melancholy.

Like the aforementioned student group we were inspired by, we structured our code into do-blocks for legibility and easy execution. Yihan created a series of chords that served as the basis for the melody, which we made by using the ‘supervibe’ sample, a vibraphone sound often associated with childhood. After setting the tone, we gradually progressed the composition by bolstering the high melody with a bassline, and adding various beats. We discovered we could create a song simply by reducing elements and reintroducing them again. It wasn’t necessary to continually introduce new patterns and sounds into the composition––in fact, it became quite congested and messy when we tried that. We added a “supersaw” arpeggiated sequence chock-full of reverb to create a dreamlike atmosphere, and then suddenly dropped the other elements to create a sense of ‘floating’ in space. By layering a low bassline and the original melody on top of the synths, we created a sound that the audience could ‘sit’ in. It is my favorite part of the composition.

We interrupted the bridge by adding beats, and integrated a sample I found on freesound of kids laughing. Both MGMT and daniel.mp3 applied delay and echo effects to their samples of kids’ voices to create a sense of melancholic nostalgia. I did the same. We introduced a second “supersaw” arpeggiated sequence and immediately subtracted it, reducing the composition to the beats to generate tension. During our live performance in class, I let this sequence escalate for longer than I do in the video, and wish I had recorded it. We then added a third “supersaw” sequence, a second sample of kids yelling, and quickened the beat. Making the drop was the most difficult part of this assignment. We felt like we were stuck in a loop of building tension and struggled to think of a way to resolve it. Rather than try to code a dramatic transition, we created a slower, more muted sequence of notes that felt like they could stand on their own, with hints of the original melody to create a feeling of having circled back. We discovered that shifting from the high-tension beats to this block worked well, and achieved the resolution we had been looking for. My second favorite part of the composition is when the flying moon dissolves with the ending laugh sample, but Yutong can tell you about that.

Hydra Code

//visual script

//!!!visual array

visuals = [
//first visual-> purple sphere
()=>{setFunction({
name: 'sphereShaderglow',
type: 'src',
inputs: [
{ type: 'float', name: 'locX', default: 0.5 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'locY', default: 0.5 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'diameter', default: 0.3 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'r', default: 0.5 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'g', default: 0.4 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'b', default: 0.7 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'm1', default: 0.2 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'm2', default: 0.5 },
{ type: 'float', name: 'm3', default: 0.8 },
],
glsl: `
vec2 uv = _st * resolution;
vec2 center = vec2(locX * resolution.x, locY * resolution.y);
float dist = distance(uv, center);
float radius = (diameter * resolution.x) / 2.0;
vec3 moonColor = vec3(r, g, b);
// --- Glow halo (additive, outside AND inside the sphere) ---
float glowRadius = radius * 1.8; // how far the glow reaches
float glowStrength = 0.9; // peak brightness of halo
float glowFalloff = 3.5; // higher = tighter glow
float glowDist = max(dist - radius, 0.0); // distance beyond sphere edge
float glow = glowStrength * exp(-glowFalloff * glowDist / radius);
vec3 glowColor = moonColor * glow; // glow tinted to moon color
// Outside the sphere: just the glow halo
if (dist > radius) {
return vec4(glowColor, 1.0);
}
// --- Sphere surface shading ---
float normX = (uv.x - center.x) / radius;
float normY = (uv.y - center.y) / radius;
float z = sqrt(max(0.0, 1.0 - normX*normX - normY*normY));
vec3 normal = normalize(vec3(normX, normY, z));
vec3 lightDir = normalize(vec3(m1, m2, m3));
float light = max(dot(normal, lightDir), 0.0);
// Additive rim glow on the lit edge of the sphere
float rimGlow = pow(1.0 - z, 3.0) * light * 0.6;
vec3 color = moonColor * light;
color += moonColor * rimGlow; // add rim highlight
color += glowColor * 0.3; // bleed inner glow into surface
return vec4(color, 1.0);
`
})
// Orbiting moon version
let rotSpeed = 0.5
sphereShaderglow(
0.5,
() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed) / 10+0.5),
0.3,
0.5, 0.4, 0.9, // r, g, b — cool blue-white moon color
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed),
-0.3,
() => Math.cos(time * rotSpeed),
).out(o3)
//visual 1-> one singular ball
osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>cc[0]).mask(o3).color(5,4,1).hue(0.5).blend(src(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//------------------------------------
//visual 2-> spheres with bigger ossilation
()=> {osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>(cc[0]*5)).mask(o3).color(5,4,1).hue(0.5).blend(src(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//-----------------------------------------
//visials 3 bigger ossilation sphere with color change
()=> {osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>(cc[0]*5)).mask(o3).color(2,4,1).hue(()=>cc[1]*2).blend(src(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//-------------------------------------------
//visuals 4 change ball size
()=>{let rotSpeed = 0.5
sphereShaderglow(
0.5,
() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed) / 10+0.5),
()=> cc[3],
0.5, 0.4, 0.9, // r, g, b — cool blue-white moon color
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed),
-0.3,
() => Math.cos(time * rotSpeed),
).out(o3)
osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>(cc[0])).mask(o3).color(2,4,1).hue(()=>cc[1]*2).blend(src(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//--------------------------------------------------
//visuals 5 add another layer of effects scrollX
()=>{osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>(cc[0])).mask(o3).color(2,4,1).hue(0.35).blend(src(o0).modulateScrollX(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//-----------------------------------------------------
//visuals6-> multiple spheres in blender
()=> {osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(3),()=>(cc[0])).mask(o3).color(4,2.5,1.5).hue(()=>cc[2]).blend(src(o0),0.5).repeat(2,2).layer(src(o1)).out(o0)},
//------------------------------------------------
//visuals7->falling Stars wihtout planets
()=> { osc(24, 5, .7)
.mask(shape(100, 0.02, 0.01).scale(1, () => window.innerHeight / window.innerWidth))
.repeat(100, 100)
.modulate(noise(1, 0.5), 0.5).colorama(0.25)
.rotate(() => cc[0] * Math.PI, 0.03)
.out(o1)
// osc(24,0.1,.7).mask(shape(10,0.01,0.02).scale(1,()=>window.innerHeight/window.innerWidth)).
// repeat(100,100).modulate(noise(1,0.5,3),0.5).out(o1)
src(o0)
.modulate(voronoi(100,0.1,1.5).modulate(noise(5),1).brightness(0.03)
,0.003).layer(src(o1)).luma(0.2).colorama(0.5).out(o0)},
//---------------------------------------------------
//visuals 8->falling stars with a spheres
()=> {
setFunction({
name: 'sphereShader',
type: 'src',
inputs: [
{
type: 'float',
name: 'locX',
default: 0.5,
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'locY',
default: 0.5,
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'diameter',
default: 0.3, // in normalized space, 0.3 = 30% of screen
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'r',
default: 0.5,
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'g',
default: 0.4,
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'b',
default: 0.7,
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'm1',
default: 0.2, //1st parameter of the 3D vector the direction that the sphere faces
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'm2',
default: 0.5, //2nd parameter of the 3D vector the direction that the sphere faces
},
{
type: 'float',
name: 'm3',
default: 0.8, //3rd parameter of the 3D vector the direction that the sphere faces
}
],
glsl: `
// current pixel in screen space
vec2 uv = _st * resolution;
// mouse in screen space
vec2 center = vec2(locX * resolution.x, locY * resolution.y);
// distance from center
float dist = distance(uv, center);
// convert diameter to screen space radius
float radius = (diameter * resolution.x) / 2.0;
// outside the circle = black
if (dist > radius) {
return vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0);
}
// sphere surface math
float normX = (uv.x - center.x) / radius; // -1 to 1
float normY = (uv.y - center.y) / radius; // -1 to 1
float z = sqrt(1.0 - normX*normX - normY*normY); // depth
// surface normal
vec3 normal = normalize(vec3(normX, normY, z));
// light direction
vec3 lightDir = normalize(vec3(m1, m2, m3));
// how much does surface face the light
float light = max(dot(normal, lightDir), 0.0);
// color
vec3 color = vec3(r, g, b);
return vec4(color * light, 1.0);
`
})
let rotSpeed = 0.5 // how fast it rotates
// m1 and m3 trace a circle over time = light orbits the sphere!
sphereShader(
0.5,
//() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)/15+0.5),
0.5,
0.4,
0.5,
0.4,
0.9,
//0.2,
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)*2, // m1 — light X orbits
//() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)*0.5,// m2 — light Y stays fixed
0.8,
() => Math.cos(time * rotSpeed)*2, // m3 — light Z orbits
).out(o3)
osc(24, 5, .7)
.mask(shape(100, 0.02, 0.01).scale(1, () => window.innerHeight / window.innerWidth))
.repeat(100, 100)
.modulate(noise(1, 0.5), 0.5).colorama(0.25)
.rotate(() => cc[0] * Math.PI, 0.03)
.out(o1)
// osc(24,0.1,.7).mask(shape(10,0.01,0.02).scale(1,()=>window.innerHeight/window.innerWidth)).
// repeat(100,100).modulate(noise(1,0.5,3),0.5).out(o0)
src(o0)
.modulate(voronoi(100,0.1,1.5).modulate(noise(5),1).brightness(0.03)
,0.003).layer(src(o1)).luma(0.2).colorama(0.5).out(o2)
src(o3).layer(o2).luma(0.02).brightness(0.02).hue(0.8).out(o0)},
//-----------------------------------------------
//visual 9 falling start in moon
()=> {
let rotSpeed = 0.5 // how fast it rotates
// m1 and m3 trace a circle over time = light orbits the sphere!
sphereShader(
() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)/15+0.5),
() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)/15+0.5),
0.35, //diameter
0.4, //r
0.5, //g
0.4,//b
0.9,
//0.2,
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)*2, // m1 — light X orbits
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed)*0.5,// m2 — light Y stays fixed
//0.8,
() => Math.cos(time * rotSpeed)*2, // m3 — light Z orbits
).out(o3)
osc(24, 5, .7)
.mask(shape(100, 0.02, 0.01).scale(1, () => window.innerHeight / window.innerWidth))
.repeat(100, 100)
.modulate(noise(1, 0.5), 0.5).colorama(0.25)
.rotate(() => cc[0] * Math.PI, 0.03)
.out(o1)
// osc(24,0.1,.7).mask(shape(10,0.01,0.02).scale(1,()=>window.innerHeight/window.innerWidth)).
// repeat(100,100).modulate(noise(1,0.5,3),0.5).out(o0)
src(o0)
.modulate(voronoi(100,0.1,1.5).modulate(noise(5),1).brightness(0.03)
,0.003).layer(src(o1)).luma(0.2).colorama(0.5).out(o2)
src(o3).layer(o2).luma(0.02).brightness(0.02).hue(0.8).out(o0)},
//-------------------------------------
//visual 10 pulsing purple sphere with fixed color
()=>{
// Orbiting moon version
let rotSpeed = 0.5
sphereShaderglow(
0.5,
() => (Math.sin(time * rotSpeed) / 10+0.5),
0.5,
0.5, 0.4, 0.9, // r, g, b — cool blue-white moon color
() => Math.sin(time * rotSpeed),
-0.3,
() => Math.cos(time * rotSpeed),
).out(o3)
// //1 one singular ball
osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(2),()=>cc[0]).mask(o3).color(5,4,1).hue(0.5).blend(src(o0),0.9).out(o0)},
//-----------------------------------------------------
//visual 11 multiple sphers in blender with a filter
()=> {osc(24,0.1,0.5).modulateRotate(noise(3),()=>(cc[0])).mask(o3).color(4,2.5,1.5).hue(()=>cc[2]).blend(src(o0),0.9).repeat(6,6).layer(src(o1)).out(o0)},
//visua//visuals6-> multi
]


whichVisual = 0
visuals[8]()

visuals[whichVisual]()

// can use update and switch case with midi:
update = () =>{
if (ccActual[5]==24){
visuals[8]()
}
// very important! only change source once, when necessary
if (whichVisual != ccActual[1]){
whichVisual = ccActual[1];
visuals[whichVisual]()
},
}

hush()

Tidalcycles Code

-  -- Final -- 


--melody1--floating ball--
do
d1 $ qtrigger $ slow 4
$ note "[e5 ~ g5 b4] [c5 ~ e5 g4] [a4 c5 ~ e5] [b4 ~ g4 e4]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 160 480 (slow 4 sine))
# detune 0.16
# room 0.6 --small oscillations--
# sz 0.95
# gain 1.1
# sustain 0.32
d12 $ qtrigger $ slow 4 $ struct "[t ~ t t] [t ~ t t] [t t ~ t] [t ~ t t]" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 127 0 saw))) # ccn "0" # s "midi"
d13 $ ccv "0" # ccn 1 # s "midi"


-- add bass-- add bigger oscillations here--
do
d2 $ qtrigger $ slow 4
$ note "[c2 ~ c2 g1] [a1 ~ a1 e1] [f1 ~ g1 a1] [e1 ~ g1 b1]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf 180
# detune 0.08
# room 0.25
# sz 0.7
# gain 1.2
# sustain 0.85
d12 $ qtrigger $ slow 4 $ struct "[t ~ t t] [t ~ t t] [t t ~ t] [t ~ t t]" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 127 0 saw))) # ccn "0" # s "midi"
d13 $ ccv "1" # ccn 1 # s "midi"


--add percussion--change color--
do
d3 $ slow 2 $ stack [
s "808:1 ~ 808:1 ~" # gain 0.9 # speed 0.65,
s "808:1(3,8)" # gain 0.7 # speed 0.9 # nudge 0.02,
s "808:1(5,16)" # gain 0.7 # speed 0.8 # pan (slow 4 sine),
s "~ 808:1 ~ 808:1" # gain 1.1 # speed 0.45 # room 0.3 ]
d14 $ qtrigger $ slow 4 $ struct "t(3,8)" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 127 0 saw))) # ccn "1" # s "midi" --for color ccn 1
d13 $ ccv "2" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals



--add beat 1--change ball size-- tone down oscillator--
do
d4 $ s "909 909 909 <909, 808:1>" # gain 1 # size 0.4
d13 $ ccv "3" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals
d15 $ struct "t t t <t, t>" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 30 20 rand))) # ccn "3" # s "midi" --pulsing


--only beat 2--- combine with another texture, remove color -- let's stay with this color thenn
do
d3 silence
d2 silence
d5 $ s "808:3*4" # gain 0.7 # krush 2
d13 $ ccv "4" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals


--add the percussion back in--
d3 $ stack [
s "808:1 ~ 808:1 ~" # gain 1.8 # speed 0.65,
s "808:1(3,8)" # gain 1 # speed 0.9 # nudge 0.02,
s "808:1(5,16)" # gain 1.6 # speed 1.3
# pan (slow 4 sine),
s "~ 808:1 ~ 808:1" # gain 0.8 # speed 0.45 # room 0.3 ]


--add bass back --
do
d2 $ qtrigger $ slow 4
$ note "[c2 ~ c2 g1] [a1 ~ a1 e1] [f1 ~ g1 a1] [e1 ~ g1 b1]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf 180
# detune 0.08
# room 0.25
# sz 0.7
# gain 1.3
# sustain 0.85


--add stars-- pixelated moon--

do
d5 $ qtrigger $ slow 2
$ note "[~ g6 ~ b6] [c7 ~ b6 g6] [~ a6 c7 ~] [c6 ~ e7 ~]"
# s "supersaw"
# lpf (range 900 2000 (slow 8 sine))
# hpf 900
# detune 0.32
# room 0.75
# sz 0.98
# gain 0.6
# sustain 0.25
--d14 $ ccv "24" # ccn 5 # s "midi" --the if value to trigger one time effect
d13 $ ccv "7" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --star rotationnn


-- everything drops except for stars-- watch pixelated moon-- heree?
do
d1 silence
d2 silence
d3 silence
d4 silence


-- bass2 comes in--keep rotating planet--
d6 $ qtrigger $ slow 4
$ note "c3 ~ ~ ~ a2 ~ ~ ~ f2 ~ ~ ~ g2 ~ ~ ~"
# s "supersaw"
# lpf (range 90 260 (slow 8 sine))
# detune 0.06
# room 0.4
# sz 0.8
# gain (range 1 1.6 saw )
# sustain 2.1


--melody comes back in--keep rotating planet--

d1 $ qtrigger $ slow 4
$ note "[e5 ~ g5 b4] [c5 ~ e5 g4] [a4 c5 ~ e5] [b4 ~ g4 e4]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 160 480 (slow 4 sine))
# detune 0.16
# room 0.6
# sz 0.95
# gain 1.4
# sustain 0.32


--beat drops in -- return to normal pulsing ball--
do
d4 $ s "909 909 909 909" # gain 1.1 # size 0.4
d13 $ ccv "3" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals
d15 $ struct "t t t t" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 30 20 rand))) # ccn "3" # s "midi"


--highhats-- normal pulsing ball
do
d7 $ s "hh*8" # gain 1.4
d13 $ ccv "5" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals


--add kids sample--keep same--
do
d8 $ jux rev $ slow 16
$ striateBy 128 (1/6)
$ s "kids"
# room 0.95
# size 0.98
# lpf 1800
# hpf 500
# gain 0.8


--stars2--shudder ball! --
do
d9 $ qtrigger $ slow 2
$ note "[e6 ~ g6 ~] [~ b6 d7 ~] [c7 ~ a6 e6] [~ g6 b6 ~]"
# s "supersaw"
# lpf (range 2000 5200 (slow 8 sine))
# hpf 1200
# detune 0.42
# room 0.9
# sz 0.98
# gain (range 0.4 1 (slow 16 sine))
# sustain 0.22
d13 $ ccv "4" # ccn 1 # s "midi"


--drop away to create tension-- pulsing purple spheres!!!
do
d9 silence
d8 silence
d6 silence
d1 silence
d13 $ ccv "9" # ccn 1 # s "midi"
d15 $ struct "t*8" $ ccv ((segment 128 (range 45 20 rand))) # ccn "3" # s "midi" --pulsing
--for # of visuals


-- buildup2-- pulsing purple spheres--
do
d7 $ slow 2
$ note "[~ e6 g6 b6] [c7 e7 d7 b6] [a6 c7 e7 g7] [e7 d7 c7 b6]"
# s "supersaw"
# lpf (range 1400 6200 (slow 8 sine))
# hpf 700
# detune 0.34
# room 0.78
# sz 0.95
# gain 0.8
# sustain 0.28
d8 $ slow 2
$ note "[c5 e5 g5 c6] [e5 g5 b5 e6] [a5 c6 e6 a6] [g5 b5 d6 g6]"
# s "supersaw"
# lpf (range 900 4800 (slow 8 sine))
# hpf 300
# detune 0.22
# room 0.7
# sz 0.9
# gain 0.65
# sustain 0.55
d9 $ slow 4
$ note "[c6 ~ e6 g6] [b6 c7 e7 ~] [a6 c7 e7 g7] [~ e7 d7 c7]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 1800 7600 (slow 6 sine))
# hpf 1200
# detune 0.18
# room 0.9
# sz 0.98
# pan (slow 4 sine)
# gain (range 0.35 0.85 (slow 8 sine))
# sustain 0.22
d13 $ ccv "5" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals


-- add kid sample2--
d10 $ slow 4 $ s "kids:1 ~ ~ ~ ~" # gain 1.4
# room 1 # size 0.98 # lpf 1800 # sustain 0.5
# legato 2

--add drum beat--faster pulsing purple spheres--
do
d4 $ s "909*8" # gain 1.1 # size 0.4 # krush 2 # room 0.2
d13 $ ccv "10" # ccn 1 # s "midi" --for # of visuals


--resolution--stars falling like snow
do
d10 silence
d4 silence
d7 $ slow 4
$ note "[c6 ~ e6 ~] [g5 ~ e6 c6] [a5 ~ c6 ~] [g5 ~ e5 c5]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 260 900 (slow 12 sine))
# hpf 120
# detune 0.12
# room 0.9
# sz 0.98
# gain (range 0.95 0.18 (slow 16 sine))
# sustain 0.9
d8 $ slow 4
$ note "[c4 ~ g4 ~] [e4 ~ c4 ~] [a3 ~ e4 ~] [f3 ~ c4 ~]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 180 620 (slow 16 sine))
# detune 0.08
# room 0.85
# sz 0.96
# gain (range 0.8 0.12 (slow 16 sine))
# sustain 1.6
d9 $ slow 8
$ note "[~ c6 ~ e6] [g5 ~ c6 ~] [~ a5 c6 ~] [g5 ~ e5 ~]"
# s "supervibe"
# lpf (range 320 1200 (slow 12 sine))
# hpf 400
# detune 0.18
# room 0.95
# sz 0.98
# pan (slow 6 sine)
# gain (range 0.55 0.05 (slow 16 sine))
# sustain 1.1
d13 $ ccv "8" # ccn 1 # s "midi"


--end on laugh--
do
d11 $ jux rev $ slow 16
$ striateBy 128 (1/6)
$ s "kids"
# room 0.95
# size 0.98
# lpf 1800
# hpf 500
# gain 0.8
d13 $ ccv "6" # ccn 1 # s "midi"

hush

Sometimes, still, I can feel this kind of future brush my skin like an operatic note tapering off somewhere. The rushing static of a runaway dream. Maybe for me, it’s enough to know that it has existed and will exist again, with or without my input. Even if it’s not existing in my body, that it is existing in bodies elsewhere. Bodies connected to mine. That one Kanye lyric “Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” Technology has been and is being midwifed by some pretty evil forces. I really think Trump and Thiel and Hegseth are unknowing and helpless vessels of trickster spirits they will never see or understand but nevertheless are. Can’t help but be. Was never their choice. To, what, bring down imperialism and the Western empire? Is this the subversion and chaos and yet in the end totally predicable story necessary to finally do it? I think so. I think this is the long-term equilibrium equilibriuming. So I think for modern technoscience, by virtue of it being itself, it will bring about its own end. We need not aid in its destruction. We already are. We have this Hobbesian way of being and we also have mycelial aspects of our being that aren’t systematized or normative right now. I’ve always thought about technology as having very real spiritual consequences. I’ll be the first to say it’s done a number on mine, for better and worse. I think we tend to think in this binary. Like, because we’ve only experienced “technology” within our current circumstances, we assume this is the only kind of reality it can bring about. This is the only way we can know it. But in the reading, technoshamanism reveals that no, our modern sensibilities of technology can very easily be a part of a different kind of reality that is more aligned with the social and biological, and all the other aspects of looking at the word -al ways, ways of being that is shamanism. And the reading is right that we exist within a very powerful engine that tends to just co-opt and consume beautiful things into itself, so how to avoid doing that. How to deepen and embody our understandings. And I liked that Oliveros part where she bodily connects to the tech around her. It is very much alive but none of us really feelingly know and that’s why we exploit and abuse our technology the way we do. At times, I feel really bad for it because I know it is suffering and I cannot feel its suffering. Because I am still yet another imperialized appendage that is losing its ability to feel and I want to depend and truly live out these understandings. There’s no lies you can tell here. All you can kind of do is be and try to be it and there’s no excuses otherwise. Your face is bare to God. And I want to read all of the authors that were listed more. So yeah. I also want to attach my poem I wrote a while ago because I didn’t know there was a word like entheogenesis which is cool. I like entheogens.

HOW I DECIDED TO STAY:

windows wink like radiant bullet holes

in the sun a city

becomes a sweaty crucible for

churning

bleeding angels

the water inside distilled into dark vein wine because

we could not speak

and then could not stop speaking

with the same magic the Bible cast when it coaxed the Word

from the black beginning

i am sure our language had never been spoken before

except by the Neandetherals

ultimate entheogen, love

will wash us inside

slowly

like a sky change 

we will emerge as an emulsion and

dine at some last supper to congratulate the

champion incarnation and

model alchemist

i think of Aphrodite rising in that Botticelli painting

let the demons vomit in your body

watch the night spread its wings

and after it has finished dragging your eyebags across the land

let me tell you a very important thing

(the whole world is covered in butterflies)

let me tell you how you will survive

(we will watch the earth thaw into breathy morning

enough to forget that it used to be any other way)

i still see your voice

squiggling like broken caterpillars

remember (always remember)

faith is the gravity that holds the last stars together 

all we need is a trick of photosynthesis

i am already the woman i want to become

I also like these questions:

1. How can artists embrace visionary consciousness?

2. How can art support entheogenesis (becoming divine

together) by joining ancient shamanic techniques and

contemporary technoscientific tools?

3. How can art catalyze greater awareness of what

Thich Nhat Hanh calls interbeing (the unity of all things)

to help heal the Earth?

What does it mean for something to be live? And what does liveness mean to us? Why is it important to us? I didn’t exactly know what the author meant when they said “meditaization may in fact amplify perceptions of liveness.” Amplify how? In what way? Regardless, I started thinking about how mediatization has affected our perceptions of liveness. Can liveness mean more than “physical activity in the moment of performance”? I don’t think so. What that physicality looks and feels like is different when we’re using computers, which the reading also goes into, but I think our hypermediatized environment has made “true” liveness as the reading conveys it feel rarer, and has also made delivering liveness more challenging in some ways.

Access to compilations of the greatest live performances in recorded history are mere clicks away. A lot of people attend events wanting to feel how that video made them feel, which produces a manufactured sense of “liveness,” as if we’re attending this performance as a prepackaged experience, with certain expectations.

And the reading goes, that’s not really live then, is it. Or it’s on one end of the spectrum of liveness that we should move away from. Through this reading, I got the overall sense that liveness is important to us because it moves us in particular ways, and we want to feel moved in those ways. And it asks can live computer performances move us in those ways? And it can, but not when it’s played by Deadmau5, apparently.

I have to preface this by saying I have a negative bias towards EDM. Even as a kid, I hated the EDM-infused pop that was super popular during the early 2010s. Liveness means different things to different audiences depending on their expectations. I think most people who listen to Deadmau5 don’t expect more than the kind of live experience he delivers. (But maybe not, given how defensive he was.) At first, I thought saying he “facilitates spectacle” was harsh since he plays his own compositions – it’s more than mere spectacle. But as the reading went on, this description made sense. He deferred to the audience making the

Chasing simulacra.

There’s a reason Deadmau5 deferred to the audience instead of

said “You guys are what make this

“I wish I was there.”

This kind of liveness doesn’t appeal to me.

I understand why the reading said Deadmau5 “facilitated spectacle” because, like most EDM performances, people aren’t there for the musicality as much as they are there for the party.

I attended an EDM festival that had Calvin Harris.

basketball and the wondrous physicality

Because we have access to so much “live content” as well, it shapes our expectations, as in, we know what to expect. We’re able to access more behind-the-scenes stuff. I think watching a “live” performance of Deadmau5 on Youtube and in person is not that different.

live is something more divine, like we’re watching the gods open up and touch us right in front of us, right here, right now.