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The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
the benchmark consort
Hans W. Koch
Original: the benchmark consort | 3008 * 2000px | 5.1 MB
Original: the benchmark consort | 4800 * 3200px | 440.7 KB
Original: the benchmark consort | 3008 * 2000px | 5.2 MB
“the benchmark consort” is a performance for an infinite number of volunteers with laptops (Mac or PC), playing unamplified. It consists of the pieces “more&more” for a laptop-orchestra of volunteer participants and a soloist, playing the piece bandoneonbook on a Titanium PowerBook.
“more&more” is a piece about failing even the fastest computer. In failing, the machines produce sounds that are impossible to obtain with mere software. Each participant has the same program installed on their machine, which progressively overloads it: new windows are created in random positions and colors, each representing a simple FM synthesizer. After a while, the computers start choking, dropping and/or distorting sound, the window creation stumbles.
Out of these “digital ashes”, “bandoneonbook” emerges as a solo for a Titanium PowerBook’s built-in microphone and speaker, controlling the feedback between the two with a keyboard-operated filter and by opening and closing the lid.
The piece terminates by all participants purposely crashing the software after it has faded into silence. “the benchmark consort” is part of my ongoing research about computers as musical instruments. Its goal is to explore the physical properties of (laptop) computers and find ways to exploit these for musical purposes.
“more&more” is a piece about failing even the fastest computer. In failing, the machines produce sounds that are impossible to obtain with mere software. Each participant has the same program installed on their machine, which progressively overloads it: new windows are created in random positions and colors, each representing a simple FM synthesizer. After a while, the computers start choking, dropping and/or distorting sound, the window creation stumbles.
Out of these “digital ashes”, “bandoneonbook” emerges as a solo for a Titanium PowerBook’s built-in microphone and speaker, controlling the feedback between the two with a keyboard-operated filter and by opening and closing the lid.
The piece terminates by all participants purposely crashing the software after it has faded into silence. “the benchmark consort” is part of my ongoing research about computers as musical instruments. Its goal is to explore the physical properties of (laptop) computers and find ways to exploit these for musical purposes.
Hans W. Koch (DE), born in 1962, studied music, history and physics at the Weingarten/Wuerttberg University of Education from 1984 to 1988 and composition at the Cologne University of Music with Johannes Fritsch from 1988 to 1995. Besides developing performances and open forms for various, often interdisciplinary ensembles, he creates (sound)installations, sometimes involving Computers and digital media. As a side-effect, the search for hidden aspects of everyday-tools, such as household electronics, hairdryers, metal wool, old Computers (and traditional instruments as well) leads to sounds and musical structures. On the other hand, when working with digital media, he tries to explore its boundaries and implicit (de)faults, in order to arrive at interactions that have a life of their own and react to human input in an unpredictable way.