Projects SI 28/Writing Machine Ensemble
Description
Writing Machine Ensemble
Explorations in Potential Musicality
With the Writing Machine Ensemble, rythm and repetition are experienced in a radically new form. Explorations in Potential Musicality is a musical journey through the sonic qualities of printers—with a strong emphasis on improvisation, yet promising dramatic intensity.
Writing Machine Ensemble
The Writing Machine Ensemble, co-founded by it's current members, is an international group of experimental musicians from around the XPUB Studio. Independent and idealistic, they focus on blending the role of 'instrument' and 'musician' in an assemblage of artistic creation, striving to find the essential musical quality in tools of writing. Since its debut in September 2025, the ensemble has performed once on WORM Radio, for the 5th edition of XPUB's Special Issue Radio show, where the group's unique live scoring method was born.
Members
Emanuele Arrigoni, Daan Princen, Robin de Haan,Thijs van Loenhout, Monica Olympia, Erika Model, N.E.C. (Dottie) Parson, Taxan X.Y. Plotter
Medium/Media
Performance (not naming the printers as medium is part of the concept)
(or, if possible, change formatting to that of a concert announcement, so no mention of medium)
Conversations with the curators ---> this can be deleted
Keywords: Technical Assemblage, Live Scoring, Scores, Notation, Sound, Performance, Writing Machines, tools shape practice practice shape tool
-> Input -> Output ->
INPUT: Finger movements that originate symbols and letters onto electronic devices.
OUTPUT[S]: the same input text BUT on long continuous sheets of paper, thanks to the use of ink that is both being sprayed onto the paper thanks to the marvellous technical engineering of a head that moves horizontally, and imprinted, thanks to the mechanical movements of engraved metal rods hitting the paper. --> This sums up into Printing, and those types of printing techniques produces noises. --> Together, noises and symbols on paper, leads people to wander into stuff called semiotics, thoughts and imagination through the use of interpretation.
Performance overview: WRITING MACHINE ORCHESTRA performance overview
PREPARATION FOR WRITING MACHINES: pen-plotter: bring multiple pens dotmatrix: robin's laptop + usb cable typewriters: good to go body: pigment powder, tape (for keeping paper in place, framing the area so audience doesn't stand there?) all: a lot of dotmatrix paper for scoring, extension cord for plugging plotter, dot, laptop.
check monday in worm for table cloth, if not there, robin brings from studio load all printer stuff on card on tuesday to bring to worm on wednesday morning 9:30 (sidenote: Luca asked if we could transport the books for his project on the card)
PREPARATION FOR COSTUMES: humans: as black / formal as possible (maybe paper bowties?) machines: come as your best beautiful selves robin: suit, as formal as possible
PREPARATION FOR PRODUCTION:
- / I don't have a good overview hehe, if someone wants to add important notes here?/*
SET-UP: on tables - typewriter 1 - typewriter 2 - dotmatrix + computer with right files - pen plotter + pen colors
on floor in front - A body + pigment powder
all writing machines are set up unloaded with paper, with a microphone. sound checked for the right volumes.
PERFORMANCE RUN-THROUGH machines are set on the table, unloaded.
0 min: humans walk up to stage, holding stack of dotmatrix paper as if it's a score sheet. they greet the applauding audience. Then, accompany their machine counterparts and prepare them for the performance. They load the paper, test the sound, etc. then check in with the other ensemble members if everyone is ready to start.
When everyone is ready, Robin takes a moment to clear their mind, focus, then send the dotmatrix the cue to start.
The dotmatrix starts with an opening sequence and follows it up with a steady rhythm the other members can follow. From here, the ensemble builds up the sounds by introducing new players one-by-one. They have space to improvise.
And the 8 min mark, Daan will walk up to the front to lay out a line of paper and will start playing the body. (From here, the other members will have some space to move around?)
During the performance the dotmatrix will have moments of silence to give the floor to the other players.
around the 15 min mark, human players will leave the stage one by one. The dotmatrix will be left to play out it's last sequence followed by a small silence to indicate the end of the performance.
the human players will walk up to the front of the stage and bow to the audience, gesture at the machines to receive their applause, then, exit the stage again.
The performance is over.
DOTTIE's PROTOCOL The dotmatrix will play sequences of 4x16 lines, to keep a steady rhythm for at least about a minute each time.
Only the fragments we played during the rehearsal on thursday 13th nov will be used.