Move over, marching band: laptop orchestras are here. Princeton’s laptop orchestra PLOrk will be the featured guest at dorkbot in New York this week, but it’s not the only “laptop ensemble.” The Electronic Music Foundation’s Arts Electric notes laptop orchestras span the globe from New Jersey to Russia:
Oddly enough, these pictures seem to go against the zeitgeist of readers here on Create Digital Music, many of whom prefer to stow their laptop out of the way and focus on physical controllers. I’m hoping that occasionally these laptopists (?) get some more physical interaction with their machines. But there’s no question laptops open up new possibilities for ensemble playing. Challenge: find a way to build rhythms as intricate as those in Indonesian gamelans, only with new wave sounds. Not easy, huh?
Anyone got some other computer music ensembles? I saw Berklee School of Music’s ensemble (a school that also has a turntable ensemble), so that’s at least one, but I expect readers here know of / play in / direct others.