Örjan Sandred

New video

Extending percussion.

Percussionist Jonny Axelsson and I spent an intense, full day in August 2023 at the Uppsala Art Museum recording my composition "Mimétisme" for percussion, live electronics and live video processing. Click the video below to watch the full recording.

Mimétism explores the relationship between visual and aural stimuli and how they affect our perception of music. The live electronics work as an extension of the percussion instruments and responds to every stroke and roll. At times the electronic part goes beyond what the percussionist plays and becomes a virtual double that seems to obtain its own life.

Three cameras capture the performance, which becomes the base for the video projections. Sometimes the video is closely linked to the live performance, but occasionally it breaks loose to support the electronic part. In this way, it blurs what is performed by the percussionist and what is purely generated by the electronics.

Mimétism (Mimicry in English) refers to how organisms and plants are able to mimic another species in order to for example protect against predators. It may also refer to the unconscious reproduction of gestures of others.

The setup for the piece requires among other things 15 contact microphones and 3 video cameras to detect and track the live performance and to control the electronic part (click on the images above to see the full size pictures).

Composed at the time of the travel restrictions during the pandemic, this composition was written for two different percussionists in two different locations; Victoria Sparks (Canada) and Jonny Axelsson (Sweden).

Download the full score (including the technical manual).