Innova
647
BIT
BY BIT, CELL BY CELL
music
for soprano & Atari 800XL
Yoav Gal & Yael Kanarek
with dancefilm by Evann Siebens
Narrative:Yael Kanarek
Music:Yoav Gal
Soprano:Sarah Rivkin
Dancefilm:Evann Siebens
Intro:
World of Awe, created by media artist
Yael Kanarek, tells of a traveler who searches for a lost treasure in a
parallel world called Sunset/Sunrise.
Yoav says:
When I first entered World of Awe, I
encountered an alien desert landscape that contained the warm and poignant
human presence of a lone Traveler. The landscape emanated from the Traveler who
in turn inhabited it. A collection of letters, written to an absent
lover, were signed with the phrase: "Yours forever, your sunset/sunrise
forever yours, yours forever yours." To convey the longing of these
words, I gave the Traveler a lyrical voice and cast it inside a machine
universe. Polyphony, a musical style that originated in medieval cathedrals,
was used as an inspiration. Through sampling and manipulation, Sarah's voice
was transformed into multi-layered topographies. To express the digital
"nature" of this universe, Yael introduced me to the Atari 800XL.
This beige-colored machine became an alluring, yet excruciating, presence in my
studio, but I have learned to program it without a manual or a mouse. Sounds
and sequences coaxed out of the Atari 800XL, along with Sarah's voice, and a
few Apple alert sounds, emerged as the musical code for World of Awe.
Track 01
Portal (2:06)
Travel log 85.6/98
Sunset/Sunrise
I'm looking back. Peeping through the
hole I just passed my body through. I can still see 6th street and the
apartment complex across. In a blur though. The deafening noise of adjacent
worlds rubbing against one another was replaced by a deep quietude. A whispery
wind is blowing constantly. I am in the Sunset/Sunrise.
It is a major leap of faith following
the trail of my imagination. I look through the hole and I see the familiar world
I just left. What it has in store for me I put on hold. I turn my head looking
into the vastness of the Sunset/Sunrise and I see a magnificent desert terrain.
What future it holds I do not know. Yet the wondrous sense of adventure that
has charged my spirit is unparalleled to anything I had experienced before.
Therefore, with no further delay, I will follow the tracks of the lost
treasure. Once found, I will carry its brilliance over to light up my mundane
Track 02
Vanishing Point (4:39)
Track 03
Sugar High (5:11)
"[And then it opened up. A little
cave not higher than 5 ft. and no larger than 10 sq. ft.—cool and still.
In the center, on a little altar, I saw the last glowing bits of a treasure
that had just disappeared. The altar was still warm and the treasureÕs glow was
still rippling through the air. I screamed. "Almost! I almost got
it–oh my no–this is unreal–I canÕt believe it, this is
incredible!" I was running around chasing the treasureÕs tail bumping into
the walls of the cave and then hopping to the altar sniffing the last fumes of
glow.]
Then motion slowed down, as my body
became heavyÉ "What a beauty! What a treat!" I mumbled in a daze,
"beauty! beÉU... tee!" (the image of the you was forming (in the
imagination mind) a nose (large nose) a belly (a nice attractive belly (covered
in a fabric, blue (teasing)) (Hello... I love you) hello I love you) (I said)
then a head, nice eyes (green in golden rings) yes, your eyes (IÕs.) my eyes?)
spreading legs, you beautiful YOU handsome you (many-many fingers, running
around, many-many) the smell of love fingers–your arms, is this close
enough to the source?) did I alter much?) my IÕs am (eyes) this is my body)
then it was over) then it was over) it was over."
Track
04
Eep
(3:07)
The 1st ring displayed a 100 ft radius
of geographical information with 99.8% accuracy. That area was drawn as a green
wireframe (hexadecimal value: #66CC00). The 2nd ring provided 68% accuracy for
a three-mile radius of data, drawn in red (hexadecimal value: #FF0000). The 3rd
ring drew 30 miles radius of information with 16.7% accuracy. This rough data
was drawn in burgundy (hexadecimal value: #990000). The background of the
interface was a dark gray (probably a #333333).
Track 05
Your Forever (11:57)
Yours forever,
Your sunset/sunrise forever yours,
Yours forever yours
Track 06
Grid (6:28)
Track 07
Window (2:17)
Track 08
Bit by Bit, Cell by Cell (14:49)
Love Letter 1330/75
Sunset/Sunrise
My love,
In the course of the last seven cycles,
I've been putting myself together again—a tedious job of mending my
pieces—bit by bit, cell by cell. Unbeknown, I stepped into an old
minefield, as all of a sudden I was sailing through the air in many different
directions.
Fortunately, I found most of the pieces.
Spent, however, much time collecting the blood cells. The red and blue ones are
easy, but the white and yellow camouflage with the earth and I can't tell if
I'm stuffing myself up with blood or silica. I bet the end result would be
interesting, as silica's a natural source of energy. As a matter of fact, did
you know that?
Thank goodness I have no mirror and
there aren't any water ponds reflecting images because I bet I'd fall in and
drown if I faced my reflection. Some cosmetic parts are missing. Will you still
find me desirable?
I should not forget to mark the minefield
on my map; you know we tend to walk in circles.
Yours forever
Your sunset/sunrise forever yours,
Yours forever yours.
[Still
searching for the lost treasure]
Track 09
Resolution (3:43)
Track 10
Toolbox (4:23)
Track 11
Extreme Beauty (3:13)
Love Letter 42/2
Sunset/Sunrise
My dearest,
I have found the key to extreme beauty
but I donÕt have the keyhole, So I tried all the holes in my body but none seem
to fit.
Yours
forever
Your
sunset/sunrise forever yours
Yours forever yours
Track 12
PORTAL (Video - mpeg2, 2:25)
Yoav thanks:
I dedicate my work on this project to my
beloved mother, Dahlia, who passed away on November 5, 2004.
Special thanks to Michael Gordon for his
inspiration and advice.
Tim Cramer for early help with Wind
samples.
Heather Green for being wonderful.
We both thank:
Carol Parkinson for supporting the
project from inception and Hans Tammen, both from Harvestworks. Cory Arcangel
for advice on Atari. Sylvie Myerson for re-introducing us at a Sandbox Magazine
event.
Yael thanks:
Chris endless love, my family, Michael
Somoroff for showing the plenty.
Evann thanks:
Keith for love, support, listening and
everything else, Rhondda for the phone calls, Kate for sharing her friends,
Dawn for the costumeÉ
Credits:
Music production: Yoav Gal
Sound engineering: Paul Geluso and Jody
Elff
Mastering: Jody Elff
Graphic Design: Shual.com
Innova is supported by an endowment from
the McKnight Foundation.
Director: Philip Blackburn
Operations Manager: Chris Campbell