Performing the Electric Violin in a Sonic Space Alexander Refsum Jensenius* and Victoria Johnson † ∗ University of Oslo, Department of Musicology PB 1017 Blindern 0315 Oslo, Norway † Norwegian Academy of Music PB 5190 Majorstuen 0302 Oslo, Norway a.r.jensenius@imv.uio.no, post@victoriajohnson.no www.arj.no, www.victoriajohnson.no Abstract: This article presents the development of the improvisation piece Transformation for electric violin and live electronics. The aim of the project was to develop an “invisible” technological setup that would allow the performer to move freely on stage while still being in full control of the electronics. The developed system consists of a video-based motion-tracking system, with a camera hanging in the ceiling above the stage. The performer’s motion and position on stage is used to control the playback of sonic fragments from a database of violin sounds, using concatenative synthesis as the sound engine. The setup allows the performer to improvise freely together with the electronic sounds being played back as she moves around the “sonic space.” The system has been stable in rehearsal and performance, and the simplicity of the approach has been inspiring to both the performer and the audience. How can a performer use the body to control live electronics? This is probably one of the most discussed and explored topics in the world of computer music performance today. Our approach has been to reduce and simplify the technological setup used in performance, which has resulted in greater artistic and expressive freedom. The starting point for the work being presented here was the idea of letting the performer (the second author) “navigate“ in a large soundscape on stage. As an electric violinist, she has been playing with electronics for a long time, enjoying the possibilities of wireless audio transmission and not having to worry about sound feedback (as an acoustic violinist playing into a microphone would). As she started to explore various types of sound effects and processing, however, the growing collection of effects pedals, MIDI controllers, and computers led to the need for cables and a physical (and visual) presence of various technologies in performance. The aim of this project was to explore how she could be liberated from the technology (and cables) and move freely in space again. All the pieces that the performer has devel- oped over the last few years have been sonically dense with a highly visual presence on stage (www.victoriajohnson.no). We therefore wanted to create a minimalist piece with sparse use of Computer Music Journal, 36:4, pp. 28–39, Winter 2012 c  2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. electronics and little visual clutter, one that allowed the performer to improvise freely while wirelessly controlling the electronics herself. The end result is the improvisation piece Transformation for electric violin and live electronics. From our initial discussions, several research questions appeared: How can we create an “invisible” technological setup that still allows for a fine control of the live electronics? How can we create an electronic part that allows for interaction possibilities that are musically interesting for the performer? What type of sound processing or cre- ation can be used so that the performer feels in con- trol of the whole sound palette during performance? Our aim in this article is to present and evaluate the artistic research and development process that led to the piece Transformation. Through such a critical reflection and discussion of our own practice, we also hope to contribute to the discourse on artistic practice in general (Borgdorff 2006). But first we will start by presenting some background information on the technological challenges that the performer has explored over the years and that inspired the current project’s focus on simplicity. Background The starting point for our collaboration was the per- former’s wish to be liberated from a technological 28 Computer Music Journal