forum: Application of new technologies in the musical practices of performance and composition
Milton Mermikides is currently researching a PhD at the University of Surrey in Performance & Composition. He is Head of Music Technology at the Royal Academy of Music and professor of Jazz Guitar at the Royal College of Music. He is also Designer & Director of the Creative Technology Lab- the Electro-acoustic research centre at the Royal Academy of Music.
Milton has lectured in a variety of topics including Music technology, guitar performance, improvisation and music therapy and has created music derived from physical processes in the human body including the tracing of the coronal suture, blood cell production, bacterial growth & MRI imaging.
Milton - first of all let me thank you for taking part in this online interview! Last week you attended the "Opening the Creative Studio"'s last event, organised with support from the Methods Network, where you presented your amazing work called "Microcosmos", an audio/video installation that uses the latest developments in video and audio technology to provide a glimpse into the stunning world of bacteria.
Could you tell us a little bit more about your experience with design, development, and the creative application of new technology in performance and composition? A very common reaction to this type of work is the refusal to acknowledge the influence of technology within the creative process: do you think this could actually affect the creativity and uniqueness that usually underlies the artist's work?
Thank you for the welcome! I
Thank you for the welcome!
I personally have two main incentives for my keen interest in the use of new technology in musical creativity. One of them I term 'Archaeological' : the use of technology to better analyze, understand and be inspired by pre-existing musical processes e.g. computers now allow us to better observe the use of intonation, timbral modulation and subtle rhythmic features in performed music. This understanding is hugely important in terms of creativity, at least to me.
My second incentive for the use of technology may be termed 'enabling'- computers now allow the creation of previously unrealizable sound worlds, as well as new tools for live performance. Also, as is demonstrated in 'Microcosmos', new technology may be used as a routing mechanism between the world of sound and other art-forms or physical phenomena.
I am happy to acknowledge the influence of technology in the creative process! The way I see it, in order for a musical creation to be realized at all, one must ultimately consider how it can be rendered in the physical world, technology in the broadest sense: a human voice, two hands at the piano or a laptop and soundcard- and this is bound to feedback into the creative process. Considering the narrower definition of 'technology' (e.g. computers) I am happy to admit that it fuels my creativity. Particularly as a 21st century composer, I feel compelled to broaden the available art forms of 'music' with the digital technology of our time.
Whether technology affects my 'uniqueness' as a composer (if any) is harder to understand. However, I suspect that if I were to be born 500 years ago, I may have toyed with instrument design and choir placement, if I were to be born in 150 years time, I would be experimenting with 3d interactive holograms in musical improvisation. Working in 2007, I'll just do what I'm doing with the tools currently available.