Cortex

Cortex is the first of a trilogy of pieces that explore the notions of identity in digital space drawing specifically from ideas in the writings of Isaac Asimov and William Gibson. In Cortex we first hear the disembodied voice of a ‘cyber-innocent’ experiencing the rush of entering cyberspace for the first time followed by an initial burst of rhythmic excitement. At this stage the vocal samples are almost unadulterated. As the piece progresses, the ‘cyber-innocent’ accumulates information, viruses, and other digital detritus floating around cyberspace. This is reflected in the vocal samples becoming more and more distorted. By the end of the piece virtually all sonic traces of the original ‘cyber-innocent’ have vanished replaced by a newly constructed digital personality… an avatar… and so to the second part of the trilogy.