Crystallization is an electronic music work for a networked smartphone ensemble. It is at the same time a music composition, a piece of distributed computer software and a collective improvisation practice. The performers (The Networked Ensemble) develop the music together and use the system to explore new ways to connect with each other through collective music making. The software performs sound synthesis, visual effects and music-related network communication. Certain aspects of the composition are built into the software itself. Some other aspects are free and the musician can improvise and explore within the limitations and possibilities that the software provides. The work is typically twenty minutes to an hour-long performance of fast and intense loops of synthesized sound. The music in Crystallization is based on a loop which is gradually and systematically modified by admixture of tones whose frequencies are multiplies or fractions of a base tone, like harmonic series and similar tone rows based on small whole numbers and fractions. The process resembles growing of ice crystal in different directions from an ice seed in water. The music explores natural tone intervals, repetition and dependencies between harmony and sound color in natural (non-tempered) scales and low (1-bit) sound resolution.
The work is a sequel to Concert for Smartphone Network (2020).
The Networked Ensemble are: Małgorzata Żurada (CH/PL), Marija Šumarac (FI/RS) and Andreja Andrić (DK/RS).
Andreja Andrić (born 1973) is a Serbian composer and programmer, living in Aarhus in Denmark. He enjoys playful exploration of mathematical processes and chance and uses computer programming as key means of artistic expression. His work has been performed in festivals such as ISCM World New Music Days 2024 (Faroe Islands) and 2019 (Estonia), ICMC (International Computer Music Conference) 2022, Limerick, Ireland, Festival Futura in Crest, France (2018) and others. Holds a PhD in Music Informatics from the State University of Milan, Italy.
http://andrejaandric.com
Małgorzata Żurada (PL) is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher and art writer currently based in Zurich. She develops her works from esoteric theories and rituals of past and present. The main areas of her research are visual languages connected to various belief systems and means of coding secret knowledge. Recipient of various grants, including the scholarship from Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland in 2016. Works mainly with sculptural installations, digital image, text and sound.
http://mzurada.com/
Marija Šumarac is a sound designer, composer and trombonist from Serbia, living in Finland. She holds an MA Diploma in Recording and Sound Design from University of Arts Belgrade and she is currently studying at Aalto University, MA Sound in New Media. She performed with ensembles such as the Youth Philharmonic, New Spark Jazz Orchestra and many others. Her work in film, radio (Electronic Studio Radio Belgrade) and television influences her compositions and drives her interest in sound manipulation. She has presented her work internationally at festivals and venues such as Prague Quadrennial, Ars Electronica and UCLA ArtSci Center.
https://soundcloud.com/marija-sumarac