-
Featured Compositions
Mechanophore Tempo Mecho Opus Palladianum (Voice and Drums)
-
![]()
Mechanophore
2021 for virtual and robotic strings and percussion by Scott Barton robotic instruments by WPI’s Music Perception and Robotics Lab and EMMI Mechanophore was inspired by the force-sensitive molecular units of the same name. As mechanophores are subjected to physical forces, they activate chemical reactions that can communicate their state (e.g. color change) or…
-
![]()
Tempo Mecho
2019 for the robotic instruments PAM, modular percussion and percussive aerophone (built by WPI’s MPR Lab and EMMI) by Scott Barton A groove changes identity depending on the tempo it inhabits. Typically, there are small ranges within which a rhythm feels at home. Once there, a rhythm reveals the energy, detail and character of its…
-
![]()
Experiment in Augmentation 1
Spring 2017 human-robot improvisation with Cyther and Modular Percussion (made by the MPR Lab) In the work, a human performer, Cyther (a human-playable robotic zither) and modular percussion robots interact with each other. The interaction between these performers is enabled by both the physical design of Cyther and software written by the composer. The perceptual…
-
Opus Palladianum: voice and drums
Winter, 2013 2-channel recording; 7:00 I am fascinated by organizations that consist of contrasting elements. I am interested in the surprise that such juxtapositions create, and the musical forms that result from their statement. I am interested in the musical parameters that contribute to such percepts. The piece explores kinds of contrast, from those that…
-
![]()
Rise of a City
2009 for guitar and robotic ensemble (PAM, MADI and CADI) produced and recorded by Scott Barton, mixed by Marc Urselli and Scott Barton at East Side Sound Studios, NYC Rise of a City introduces a human performer to the robotic creations of EMMI (Expressive Machines Musical Instruments, expressivemachines.com) for the first time. The piece features…
-
Effusion
Summer-Fall 2016 2 channel recording; 5:59 In “Pleasure Beats: Rhythm and the Aesthetics of Current Electronic Music”, Ben Neill describes how popular and art music are distinguished along rhythmic lines. He predicts a future music where such distinctions are less clear; where the rhythmic vernacular of pop music is spoken in artistic territory. Much of…
-
Breeding in Pieces
Summer – Fall 2009 2 channel recording Breeding in pieces combines compositional and production practices from rock and electroacoustic music. The piece creates (dis)continuity and form through higher-level feature (here, genre) contrast. Here, compositional and production practices from rock and electroacoustic music are combined and contrasted to create a diverse set of textures and relationships.…
-
Carried by Currents
for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and electronics August 2017 In the process of creating carried by currents, I imagined something ambient to balance the rather frenetic and fragmented character of other recent works. I felt motions that were smooth and rolling; that rippled through a surface in a variety of directions. I sought a hybrid…
