The link between technology and temporality has been explored extensively within academic and philosophical spheres, with the philosopher Bernard Steigler coining the term ‘tertiary retention’ to conceptualise how our perception of time is influenced by the technology around us (2009). When using this analytical framework to evaluate the past half a century of audio-based technology, as the modes of our consumption of media have changed, so has our relationship with time. Where analogue forms such as tape and vinyl are prone to degradation and imperfection, digital forms remain pristine and unchanging. Where analogue forms involve user-agency in finding and listening to music, digital systems create algorithms and autonomous systems that remove this need. From these two observations alone we can see a move from traditional human experiences of time into a less natural digital landscape.
These concepts have been explored in the writings of Jakko Kemper, who draws on the idea of ‘frictionlessness’ (Berardi, 2011) when dissecting current time perception through digital media. Kemper argues that current media has been designed to be about frictionlessness interactions, with as little upset as possible (2021), and that obsolete analogue systems such as tape retain a relevance as a counterpoint to this due to providing an aesthetic representation of time and imperfection more akin to the human experience (Kemper, 2019). Kemper further explore this reading of media and time-consciousness through the theoretical lens of ‘chronolibido’ (Hägglund, 2012), observing that loss is a crucial component of desire, and if we take away the inevitability of loss, we take away the nature of desire and our interactions (be it with an object or subject) lose meaning (Kemper, 2019).
Although the above theories and frameworks have been applied to the analysis of various works of media, little exploration has been done to intentionally explore this within practical pieces. This project therefore aims to explore this academic area through practice-based research. The success of the project will be measured against its exploration of the above-mentioned philosophical and aesthetic concepts, as well as its functionality as an instrument. This will be consolidated by feedback from academics, professionals, peers and the general public.
This research informed the conceptualisation of a digital sampler instrument and integrated analogue based installation/performance. The first core design principle of the sampler would be lack of user choice of the sampling material, instead utilising the endless streams of the Spotify algorithm to provide audio pieces into the sampler. By using the instant and constant access to music that streaming services provide, alongside the algorithmic patterns that mean that it can exist autonomously, this project aimed to actively use the concepts of frictionlessness within the design methodology of the instrument. The second core design element was to enforce a lack of awareness and control in what music is sampled and what the individual sample pads will play, meaning that failure and imperfection are likely outcomes within what is usually a ‘perfect’ digital space. Finally, each pad will reset its timing when the user stops playing, and will be written over by an additional pad. Therefore, when a desired musical outcome is found, it can only last for as long as the pad is held down, and then is lost, bringing in notions of ephemerality and chronolibido into the digital space.
Having helped inform some of the main conceptual frameworks for this instrument design, Jakko Kemper was consulted directly at the prototyping stage to offer invaluable insight. Kemper commended the project as a logical exploration of these philosophical ideas which are currently not widely used within media and art analysis or creation (J. Kemper, personal communication, July 13, 2022). To bolster the conceptual research, Kemper provided a copy of his PhD thesis Technological Aesthetics of Imperfection in Times of Frictionlessness (2021) which further builds upon the theories discussed in his previous published works. Kemper also signposted Derrida and Steigler’s Echographies of Television : Filmed Interviews (2002) as an integral work to explore in further conceptualisation of the project due to its main focus on the significance of technological acceleration, and the wider social impact of digital media.
The project’s instrument was technically realised through Max MSP, with sections being partially inspired by the work of musician, producer Ed Chivers who is also a lecturer specialising in Max MSP. Chivers collaborated on this project, offering early technical and creative input in the actualisation of the early prototype. Most invaluable was the recommendation of the shell object within Max, which allowed the patch to control other systems within the computer (E. Chivers, personal communication, July 5, 2022). This informed the core brain of the instrument, which allowed it to send messages to Spotify in the background without any user interfacing, and was set up so that Spotify automatically opened and perpetually skipped through the algorithm. This was patched into an 8-channel multichannel sampler which directly sampled from the Spotify output to create the core prototype of the instrument.
The final consideration of the prototype was its presentation as part of a wider performance/installation, as well as within its own interface. Due to his impressive body of creative and esoteric Max for Live patches that explore quite unique concepts (Bagley, 2022), sound artist and developer Dillon Bastan was contacted to consult on the project. Bastan advised that the presentation of ideas should symbolically speak to the greater themes of the project and provide the audience with recognition of the overarching concepts of time and how we access this through media (D. Bastan, personal communication, July 5, 2022). From this discussion the prototype evolved to contain a visual accompaniment of the project's ideas through the use of a visual patch emulating social media consumption. These ideas would be further bolstered in the prototype exhibition piece by the addition of analogue outputs for both the audio and visuals, with these being sent respectively to a reel-to-reel tape machine and old television set.
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