Between piano, electric guitar and live coding, Maia and Tim unfold a performance that explores the boundaries between acoustic sound and real-time digital manipulation. Driven by a shared interest in sine waves, resonances and the expressive possibilities of code, they have developed a SuperCollider instrument capable of isolating and sustaining individual resonances from their instruments in order to transform them live. The piece becomes a space of expanded listening, where code operates not simply as a technical tool but as a way of intervening in, extending and reimagining sonic matter itself. Through unstable harmonies, minimal vibrations and constantly shifting textures, “Mass Spectra” highlights the tensions and affinities between instrumental gesture, electronics and algorithmic composition.
Maia Francisco and Tim Cowlishaw
Maia Francisco is a researcher, sound artist, and experimental musician. She works with piano, electronics, and live coding, and much of her practice focuses on exploring the sonic possibilities of sine waves as a basis for new compositional strategies in music and visual arts. Trained in Sonology at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague, she has presented her work at venues and festivals including Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Korzo Theater, Studio Loos, Holland Festival, LEM, and VIU.
Tim Cowlishaw is a researcher, designer, technologist, and experimental musician. He is currently enrolled in the doctoral programme of the DARTS group at the Open University of Catalonia, where he researches the materiality and ecology of digital waste through an approach that brings together design research, science and technology studies, and environmental humanities. In his musical practice, he works with guitar, electronics, and live coding, developing instruments and effects to manipulate electroacoustic signals in real time. He has presented his work at VIU, Eufònic, Sónar+D, CCCB, Medialab Matadero, and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.