Manipulating Musical Surface: Perception as compositional material in live looping and organ with electronics

This research project into manipulating musical surface explores perception as compositional
material, specifically in relation to my creative practice with live looping and organ with
electronics. The portfolio comprises a collection of eight compositions and two
improvisations, as well as supporting essays and further texts which outline more practical
outcomes of my research, including documentation of the system which I developed to notate
live looping. The first essay, Extending the Pipe Organ with Electronics - towards a symbiotic
relationship between the analogue and the digital, situates this project within the landscape
of current practice and research on organ and electronics, with a particular focus on
transferability between different instruments and contexts which is important to my work.
The second essay, Live looping – a compositional approach, explores the possibility of
perception as musical material in this practice through examples from a spectrum of
contemporary loop artists as well as detailed examples taken from the looping compositions
which form part of this portfolio.

Eight printed scores with introductory notes and performance directions are complemented
by a complete set of audio recordings of the works, audio recordings of additional
improvisations, as well as a selection of videos and video excerpts as supporting evidence.
The majority of the recordings submitted were performed by myself as an integral part of the
methodology running through the project. As a mixed media collection this portfolio
documents a period of multidisciplinary research into my practice as a composer, improviser,
and performer.