Where are we? Extended music practice on the internet

Abstract

At the time of writing at least twenty years of extended sound-based performance via the internet is now behind us. Already in 2003 Alvaro Barbosa summarised the elements that had emerged in the first generation of networked performances. It is interesting to see how the emphasis has been further refined or changed since. This chapter starts by examining the effects of ‘space-time relativity’ in internet performance: the lack of a central clock time, the impossibility of absolute synchronisation. What does this afford the composer/performer? Furthermore more global concerns emerge – from different time zones to different seasons, all directly effecting musical relationships. Some ancient musical techniques (of layering, rhythmic exchange and complexity) may remain totally appropriate to this new world, while others will emerge slowly through practice. The ability of the internet to make global connections allows new kinds of site and location sensitivity which have rarely been explored. New forms of perceiving space and time are slowly emerging. The chapter’s concluding section looks at examples of developing performance practice through the lens of the Syneme group’s playlist as it has developed since 2009. Rather than focus on the technology an attempt has been made to see (and hear) some of these relationship possibilities through the music.