Tentacle Orbits

I will be attending and presenting work at the Australasian Computer Music Conference in Melbourne in October. I’ll be presenting a work called Tentacle Orbits.

Program Note
Tentacle Orbits is a participatory performance composed with sewn and knitted, tactile electronic instruments that are tentacle-shaped and played live through manipulations such as squeezing, stretching and shaking. The custom-built instruments are supported by live electronics that build a framework for improvisation.
The audience is invited to wear and play with the instruments during the performance, culminating in a cacophonic musicking experience.The instruments’ sounds — which range from bright square waves, built with digital logic circuitry, to delicate synth arpeggios, built with the daisy seed platform — are driven by their materials and shaped through the process of making. Their sonic concepts and design are informed by the parameters of the electronic components, the affordances of code, the ways of thinking when working with code, the building blocks in the daisy seed library, and the nuanced expression afforded by the tactility of the instrument.

Bio:
Tara Pattenden is an artist and musician who works with tactile electronic instruments, creative code, and performance. Tara is a PhD candidate at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University; her project combines wearables with participatory practices to discover how costume-based, audience-worn instruments – with visually impactful and intuitive electronic interfaces – can enhance engagement and expression for coauthored audience engagement during participatory sound works. She is the founder of Cyber Palace, a studio for creative technology workshops and Cyber Bunker, a project space for experimental practice in Meanjin. She has delivered workshops internationally, including Norberg Festival (SE), Onassis Stegi Cultural Centre (GR), and Victoria & Albert Museum (UK). Performance highlights include Milhoes de Festa (PT), Cafe Oto (UK), Pohoda Festival(SK), Tectonics (UK), Novas Frequencias (BR), and Le Guess Who Festival(NL).