SOUND OF MIND AND BODY is a collaboration by Bill Coleman and Gordon Monahan that uses concepts of human-to-computer brainwave interfacing to manipulate and produce real-time music, sound and lighting, integrated with dance, body performance and slapstick.
All of the sounds you will hear in this performance are the result of either direct audio amplification of brainwaves, or of instruments manipulated by brainwave-controlled software in real time. Sometimes the brainwaves are heard directly as they are simply transposed into the audible spectrum; at other times, MIDI note patterns generated by waveform fluctuations of brainwave signals are mapped onto a player piano keyboard; or brainwave signals are amplified into small electric motors that play rhythmic patterns, determined by brainwave fluctuations, on a drum and cymbal as the performer transitions through various levels of mental concentration. At certain times, Monahan harnesses Coleman’s brainwaves to control fluctuations of intensity in the stage lights.
The artists will be available for a question-and-answer session following the performance.