Van Esser Benjamin. Computer-based creation and performance practice.
Although it seems impossible to separate choices regarding the formation of the computer musician’s instrument from any compositional idiom, the final constitution of this instrument also has an undeniable influence on the possibilities regarding creative and performative potential. This stalemate is a well-known phenomenon for the computer musician, who strives for a balance between all the factors present, in order to obtain as much artistic freedom as possible. This phenomenon takes place both within the context of the “composition” of the instrument, the musical language applied during the performance and the performance mode itself.
Benjamin Van Esser’s research is based on the notion that every computer musician is a “multi-threaded performer” who creates artistic micro-universes in which performance, creation, and “digital lutherie” are inextricably linked. The output for this research project is very broad, ranging from live electronics and multimedia performances to compositions for electronic/electroacoustic scoring and the creation of musical computer programs.
Music and Technology
Music and Technology is the research group that focuses on integrating and applying computer technology in music. As such, it is not inherently constrained to either performance or creation. The profiles of its researchers are often hybrid in nature, combining knowledge in multiple artistic domains. However, the proposed projects are defined by one common denominator: technology. Although technology is an indispensable ingredient, our researchers have no intention to elevate it to an art form. On the contrary, they aim at adopting and integrating cutting-edge technological insights to generate a new artistic dimension.
This dimension is a vast place in which collisions of ideas give birth to new concepts, spanning from microtonal jazz to hybridised co-creation, from interactive installation art to generative mixed media performance. However, these collisions do not only create musical objectives. This research group is also characterised by its vast network of tentacles, connecting and interacting with virtually any art form. Subsequently, it embraces a universe without limitations, in which imagination serves as a guide towards the evolution of music in the 21st century.