DJ Scotch Egg

Shigeru AKA DJ Scotch Egg is Wrong Musics gameboy gabba producer. The immediate idea that springs to mind is that of sentimentality. The familiar childhood sounds of Tetris and Super Mario obviously evoke feelings of nostalgia in the listener but Shigeru was vague and aloof when questioned on his reasons for choosing the first generation gameboy to be the catalyst of his music. He is not an academic and doesnt feel the need to justify his choice, and nor do the hoards of imitators that have jumped onto the Nerdcore band-wagon.
This abusive, ear-bleeding music has roots in Classical concerto's and Free Jazz. Shigeru referred to Bach for the use of single notes as opposed to chords, as Scotch Egg does with his single game boy sounds. Now the similarities between the two genres of music may be hard to find initially but become apparent after closer inspection. The Baroque style induces faces full of fear and confusion and provokes a dark, macabre atmosphere. Shigeru also finds inspiration in Free Jazz for the unpredictable narratives and natural instantaneousness of the music, how the performers vibe off each other and produce this organic and random arrangement of music that isnt based so much on beats to the bar but how sound progresses through the musicians.
Shigeru also finds influence from the minimalist sounds of John Cage and the delayed repetitious audio of Steve Reich for his continuous echo of one note, which in addition he related to the current Dub Step trend, and this fashion of long deep basslines can be traced back to Stoner Rock.
There were also elements of John Carpenter soundtracks from The Shining, Halloween and A Clockwork Orange, some very fundamental film scores.

“Ariadne’s Maze” Rationale:

In our current information age interactivity alludes to the empowerment of the user. The issue of control and freedom is a paradox in digital media. The user is bombarded with choice but through the very boundaries of media design the user is subtly observed and controlled. With the ubiquity of new media demanding our constant engagement how much freedom does developed society have? We must interact or be lost to the Dark ages. After exploring the themes of totalitarian interactivity and control in relation to causality and free will, I wanted to construct a physical environment that forced the audience to interact. The fact that the installation is predominantly analogue is a reaction to our present digital revolution and represents digital media’s coercive interaction in a tangible form.

The user (User A) enters the first small room in which they are presented with a plinth and switch. They activate the switch turning on the light-box maze which is concealed by a door and is now evident from the light emitted from it. The glow entices them to enter the maze. This maze is made of 8ft high light boxes. The process of an agent activating a switch that turns on a light represents the core basics of interaction. It is immediate causality, the user interacting with an interface i.e. the switch to produce a result i.e. light. This also has religious connotations; as God said "let there be light" and there was light. The maze itself is a literal metaphor for totalitarian interactivity. Once inside, the participant has little choice but to continue until they complete it. This is a physical interpretation of how media manipulate the user, through choice and is forced into interaction through promises and rewards. Hence with this installation the audience is seduced into the maze via the attractive bright light-boxes of the maze, which they themselves have switched on – implied user control equating user commitment. They're goal is freedom, beckoning the questions; when in the maze of media how much free will does the user have? In addition to the ubiquity of media in general throughout our everyday life, how much choice do we have with such engaging and demanding digital media? Simply finishing the maze and escaping the intense enclosed space created by the light boxes. On exiting the user now has a chance to climb the stairs to a low light observation booth 4 floors up. Here they are presented with another switch which turns off the maze light-boxes and simultaneously buzzes the next entrant (User B) into the small primary room. Now User A can look down on the divine design they have just experienced, completed and in a sense created though the turning on of the maze, and watch User B struggle through the same process; the creation of a spectacle, directly experiencing that spectacle and finally observing that spectacle being experience by another. Sign, signifier and signified. User A can now chose to be a voyeur or director, with the microphone linked up to an intercom throughout the maze over which User A can communicate to User B, directing him or her positively or negatively. This is the participant’s second reward; first comes freedom, then control from above; a small taste of Godliness, omnipotence and omnipresence.

This installation is aimed primarily at the Tate Modern. The Turbine Hall has 3400 square meters of floor space and 5 levels high, making it the perfect location. The maze itself will measure 40 meters by 40 meters and will be 8 feet high and probably, but not definitely be created by a computer generated algorithm. The observation tower is 4 storeys high, measuring 15 by 15 meters, constructed of steel and timber, as is the initial switch room, measuring 10 by 10 metres and 1 storey high. The budget will range between £10000 - £20000 and require a 6 man strong team to create.

As with the Tate Modern, there is no specific market this interactive installation is targeted towards. Any member of the public can enjoy the piece, the process of completing the maze and then looking back over it, after the helplessness of being trapped to the potential power they then have of controlling someone else.
There will not be any explanation of the installation on site. It is not important for the audience to understand the work, the significance lies in the fact that they have little choice but to engage with the piece, in order to experience it. The audience are required to use their imagination in deciphering the installations meaning. There will be a website and accompanying information where they can learn more about its contextualisation. I propose to create a complete virtual replica which will be accessible online for anyone to explore. This extra will be an interesting option for the user to explore the space within a digital environment and how their reactions to this version of the installation differ to those of the physical. However this will only be launched half way through the installations time at the Turbine, which is between October and March. This is intended to maintain interest in the work by authoring additional information available to the public at staggered intervals during its life span.

The Light Maze of Digital Media - Installation Proposal

Rationale:

The user (we'll call him User A) enters the first small room in which they are presented with a plinth and switch. They activate the switch turning on the light-box maze which is concealed by a door and is now evident from the light emitted from it. The glow entices them to enter the maze. This maze is made of 8ft high light boxes. The process of an agent activating a switch that turns on a light is, for me, represents the core basics of interaction. It is immediate causality, the user interacting with an interface i.e. the switch to produce a result i.e. light. This also has religious connotations; God said "let there be light" and there was light. The maze itself is a literal metaphor for totalitarian interactivity. Once inside, the participant has little choice but to continue until they complete it. This is a physical interpretation of how media manipulate the user, through choice and is coerced into interaction through promises and rewards. Hence with this installation the audience is seduced into the maze via the attractive bright light-boxes of the maze, which they themselves have switched on. They're goal is freedom, beckoning the questions; when in the maze of media how much free will does the user have? In addition to the ubiquity of media in general throughout our everyday life, how much choice do we have with such engaging and demanding digital media? Simply finishing the maze and escaping the intense enclosed space created by the light boxes. On exiting the user now has a chance to climb the stairs to a low light observation booth two floors up. Here they are presented with another switch which turns off the maze light-boxes and simultaneously buzzes the next entrant (User B) into the small primary room. Now User A can look down on the divine design they have just experienced, completed and in a sense created though the turning on of the maze, and watch User B struggle through the same process; the creation of a spectacle, directly experiencing that spectacle and finally observing that spectacle being experience by another. There is a microphone linked up to an intercom throughout the maze that allows User A to communicate to User B, directing him or her positively or negatively. This is the participant’s second reward; first comes freedom, then control from above; a small taste of God-like omnipresence and omnipotence.

Synchronicity anyone?

I was reading the first few pages of Synchronicity by Carl Jung, supplied by Andreas, and this burst out of me like a Ridley Scott Alien.

In our information based society we have so many more ways of recording reality everyday. Almost everyone in the developing world has a camera on their mobile phone, or a digital camera, or a digital camera on their mobile phone. We have the massive dessimination of CCTV, recording the publics every move. We have the explosion of "reality TV." We have the internet where people can constantly document their lives on diaries in the blogospher, or photos on Facebook and Flickr, or video footage on YouTube. All to broadcast to the entire online community. Now as we move deeper into the digital age we have so many, almost ubiquitos ways of recording reality it seems synchronicity is a lot less likely. Jung states,

"We are dealing with ephemeral events which leave no demonstrable traces behind them except fragmentary memories in peoples minds, then a single witness no longer suffices, nor would several witnesses be enough to make a unique event appear absolutely credible."

This was first published in 1960 when society was still largely industrial, so probably held more weight and potential for scope then, than it does now because of all the mediums and techniques mentioned above. Ephemeral events are no longer ephemeral when they are continually archived to be referred back to whenever by whoever. There is no longer just a single, or several witnesses, but anyone with a motive to look. It would appear that our digital revolution and surveillance society are killing synchronicity. Reality is recorded and chance is explained. Chance is no longer mystic coincidence but noted consequence. Acausal events whither to the triumph of causality and we again wonder to what extent do we have free will?

I went to sleep thinking about physical examples of forced interactivity, not so much metaphorical but more literal interpretations. I woke up thinking about mazes. Once inside the maze the subject has very little choice but to continue searching for the end, or die trying. Unless they're as smart as Theseus turning back is not an option, and they cannot simply switch off, they're committed. Stuck in a God-forsaken Labyrinth. They must continue. Our Postmodern society is stuck in a maze of media. Without these artificial extentions of ourselves we are cut-off from the world, we are lost. As every imaginable form of media increasingly appropriates itself in our lifestyles. We are obligated to interact with it constanly.

With the movement to digital media, the all-encompasing nature of it forces the consumer to engage, and dupes the user into interaction by alluding to control. But it is this very vastness of choice that traps us.

"With over 300 channels there's got to be something on."

And yet before you know it you've wasted 30 minutes idly channel hopping. We have structured options that demand attention, time and effort. There are indeed worthy incentives to attach ourselves to this media; communication, entertatinment, and information. But the devices and services that allow and realise these possibilites are necessitating themselves so much that society cannot do without them, we rely on them every minute of our waking life, and often more. What would we do without our Blackberries, Tom Toms and Wikipedia? Unless we have a digital copy of Ariadne's ball of string society is lost. We wander deeper and deeper into the maze of media, an electronic Labyrinth we have created for ourselves.