How can I describe The {Re}Happening? Such a unique event. Many simultaneous performances of music, dance, multimedia, all taking place from 6 PM to midnight on April 5, 2014, held in what is now a summer campground near Black Mountain, NC.  I was honored to be selected to make an installation.  Thank you, {Re}Happening!  The setting for my installation was in a cabin, reached by climbing several flights of wooden steps at night in the dark.  My cabin was at the top level, and I was surprised at the number of people who made that climb!  Thanks to Diana and my friends David Linton and Vincent Wrenn, the setup went smoothly.  David and Diana took turns minding it, while I ducked out to hear Vincent’s performance on his monochord.  On my return I was astounded to find the cabin nearly filled with people surrounding The Influencer and taking turns playing with it.  It seems that a large measure of the fascination it held was the mystery of the relationship between it and the sound.  Everyone seemed to be having fun and the whole thing was so much more well-received that I had ever expected.

Here’s a short video of getting it set up, with David helping out.

Here’s Vincent Wrenn trying it out.

And here’s Claire Elizabeth Barratt trying her hand.

I’ll briefly describe the patch, for those interested.  Two Buchla 258J clone VCO modified sine waves are mixed into the Bugbrand Frequency Shifter.  Downshift into one MOTM-490 VCF, upshift through the BugBrand digital delay into a second MOTM-490 VCF.  Each VCF through a CGS Tube VCA to the outputs, left and right.  Three sample and holds are triggered by the CGS Slope Detector by motion on one axis of The Influencer.  These steps select new pitches for the VCOs and a new rate for the frequency shifter.  One axis of the Influencer modifies the VCF cutoff frequencies (each inverted from the other) and the second axis modifies the CV of the VCAs (also in an inverse relationship).  The result is fairly playable, because a rapid motion of the Influencer will generate new pitches, but slow motions will only change the filters and loudness.  Players seemed to pick up quickly on the filter and level effects, while seeming to be a bit mystified by the random pitch changes.  No one needed to understand how it worked to be able to play it.

Finally, here’s a recording of one of the audience (unknown) playing it.

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