Dear friends and colleagues,
I hope you're well. I would like to share some exciting news with you:
- A special telematic hyperorgan concert taking place in Berlin and Amsterdam at the same time on the 6th of June at 20:15 CEST
- The debut of the Sophtar, a new networkable string instrument with embedded machine learning
- A party in Berlin on Friday 7th of June!
1. The concert
The TCP/Indeterminate Place quartet (also known as TCP/IP: Robert Ek, Stefan Östersjö, Mattias Petersson, and myself Federico Visi) will perform a telematic concert with networked hyperorgans from two wonderful locations in Berlin and Amsterdam. The quartet will split in two: Stefan and Mattias will be in Amsterdam at the Orgelpark for the International Orgelpark Symposium, and Robert and I will be at the Kapelle der Versöhnung (Chapel of Reconciliation) in Berlin. Both places house beautiful pipe organs that can be remotely controlled. The quartet will interact with them in several ways, none of which involve playing a conventional keyboard. We will network the two locations so that high-quality audio and data can be exchanged in realtime, making it possible for us to perform together while in two different places. This "double duo" networked concert is a special event that is part of a research project conducted by the GEMM))) (Gesture Embodiment and Machines in Music) research cluster at Luleå University of Technology and funded by the Swedish Research Council.
The location in Berlin is a modern building with a deep history. It lies right within the area of the border wall that divided the city until 1989, next to the Berlin Wall Memorial. Next to it, the site of the old Church of Reconciliation that lied inside the infamous "death strip" and was demolished in 1985 by the GDR, just four years before the wall fell. I invite you to read more about it if you are not familiar with it, and I hope to see you there.
When: Thursday, 6th of June 2024, 20:15 CEST
Where:
- Kapelle der Versöhnung, Bernauer Str. 4, 10115 Berlin
- Orgelpark, Gerard Brandtstraat 26, 1054 JK Amsterdam
2. The instrument
The concert will be also the live debut of the Sophtar, a new instrument I have been working on for quite a while in collaboration with Sukandar Kartadinata. 
The Sophtar is a tabletop string instrument with an embedded system for digital signal processing, networking, and machine learning. It features a pressure-sensitive fretted neck, two sound boxes, and controlled feedback capabilities by means of bespoke interface elements. For this concert, I have been working on ways for it to communicate with the pipe organ at the Kapelle der Versöhnung. I focused on subtle gestures that dynamically blend the broad variety of sounds the two instrument can produce. I have to say I am quite excited about this and I am still exploring what the two instruments can do together.
You can read more about the Sophtar in this paper I will present at the International Conference on New Instruments for Musical Expression (NIME) in September this year:
federicovisi.com/wp-content/uploads/visi-sophtar-nime-2024-V3-cr-opt-links.pdf
3. The party
Finally, there will be a party on our beloved roof terrace in Kreuzberg, Berlin, on Friday 7th of June (the day after the concert) starting at 18:00. You're very welcome to join us for some drinks and snacks if you’re in town. Please RSVP and I will send you the address and further details.
I'd love to see you at any of these events and I wish you a nice a weekend.
Federico
