when the lights go out
When The Lights Go Out was a collaboration with composer Eve Harrison Blue Touch Paper New Work Night commissioned by London Sinfonietta and the Jerwood Foundation presented at the ICA, London in May 2014
This was a development programme that considered dreaming and the ritual of sleep through interactive musical and visual sketches which explore the smartphone’s role in an immersive and interactive multi-disciplinary work.
We divided the audience's journey into to four phases to build up their engagement with the event over a period of time
The section was a remote interaction with the audience via text message
prior to the event itself. We introduced the dreaming narrative, invited our audience to submit images of their beds and also offered a
chance to familiarise and play with the works' musical themes through a webapp sketch.
electroconnecto.com/clients/btp/app/
The second phase took place in the foyer and presented interactive sketches for the audience to explore. The space greeted you personally - if you texted "hello" a greeting that included your name was shown. The audience could also play with our Glue technology that allowed them to curate their own sunset within the performance space using their smartphone.
Phase three was the performance. Flute, clarinet and string quartet performed a new fifteen minute piece of music composed by Eve. The audience experienced an enhanced performance through a webapp on their smartphone which provided visual context for the music by receiving images and colours sent in real time.
The interactive nature of the performance was enhanced by the musicians on-stage using their own smartphones to turn out the stage lights before they began playing.
The performance ended by an eruption of birdsong forming a dawn chorus played through the audience's phone handsets. Each handset downloaded a different song which were then triggered in unison. A playful and surprising end to an immersive experience.
The event was brought to a close the next day by sending a recorded momento of the musicians imitating birdsong to audience members.