NIME 2018

Arrest
by Kristina Warren

"Arrest," a sonocybernetic work for vocal body and Exoskeleton, explores embodied performance. I designed and built the Exoskeleton, a wearable, hybrid analog-digital instrument that uses body-to-body connections, such as wrist to wrist, to close different circuits, thus altering analog audio and digital control routing. MaxMSP consolidates the audio and adds an element of randomness in an effort to create parity within the human-computer interaction. "Arrest" uses closed, covered gestures to reflect the carceral state and limited contemporary access to NIMEs. The Exoskeleton explores the complete body – choreographically, vocally, expressively, and socially – as a crucial musical affordance.