array.

Welcome to Array, the journal of the International Computer Music Association ICMA (http://computermusic.org).

Having started out in 1980, Array has evolved as an open access journal, contributing to topics within the broad field of computer music. Recent foci have included specific areas in composition and performance, its relationship to digital technologies, AI, and history of computer music, including research articles, interviews, and reviews.

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OPEN: CALL for Array2022 , Issue: Space – a frontier?

Computer music contains, by its very nature, the aspect of ‘space‘ in many different ways as it is an art form that relies on the reproduction of sound and was historically confined to (multiple) speakers situated in a physical performance space. However, ‘Space’ can invoke many other aspects, including the space music is created in (e.g. the studio or conceptual space in the composer’s mind); the space audible in the sound samples themselves; the audible space within a musical work the composers creates as part of the artistic vision (e.g. reverb, panning); the space the piece will ultimately be performed in; the superposition of these different spaces, real and/or imagined; virtual spaces and their relationship to real spaces and vice versa; etc.

All these different aspects of space-ialty have a major influence on how a piece is created, shaped – in terms of compositional structure as well as the required performance/technical environment, preserved, and how we talk about it. The emergence of spatial thinking can already be seen in the Venetian polychoral style (cori spezzati) of the 16^th century when multiple choirs where spatially displaced at St. Mark’s Cathedral. Today, we have expanded and maybe even removed the notion of spatial confinement with the aid of technology and high-speed internet access. Therefore, physical space and displacement (seemingly) has no longer the same meaning as it did to church composers of 16^th century Venice. However, with the complex combination of real and digital spaces arise new challenges such as accurate recording and playback of spatial elements and the conceptual frameworks surrounding them – in production, composition, and performance.

On the one hand, standard recordings techniques commonly reduce at best have the spatial sound field into a stereo recording, and at worse collapses it altogether; on the other hand, multi-track recordings allow to capture the sound of one space at many spots similarly, which can be used for completely virtual acoustic simulations. Equally challenging is the notion of field recordings and their inherent spatiality, both physical and semantical. How do composers, sound artist, and sound engineers consolidate the audible spatiality of a sample into a new artistic spatiality and its larger context? What is the impact of artificial spaces, virtual spaces/virtual reality, and augmented spaces/augmented reality on current artistic practices, technical discourses and research questions? How is the aspect of ‘space‘, spatial representation, spatial transformation, spatial information, etc. addressed within computer music and media art research? How can we incorporate space in all its plentiful interpretations into the creative practice of the 21^st century? Is there anything specific about today’s spaces (real, imagined, arranged, digital, architectural, etc.) that could lead us towards a new style similar to the evolution of cori spezzatti into polyhony?

Array2022 seeks for contributions dealing with the nature of space in the full breadth and diversity within computer music. We solicit articles that address artistic interpretations of space, compositional approaches to space, interesting ways of preserving and re-living space, technical issues surrounding the creation of (digital) spaces, aesthetic and critical discussions on the current state of space in computer music, as well as research concerning aspects of ‘space‘ in computer music.

In addressing the various approaches and practices concerning this topic, we are happy to also include different formats and forms, including various text forms as well as audio and audiovisual media content (please read below for specifications).

Submission: We call for submitting ready works (not abstracts): Text length: 6,000 – 11,000 characters (plus up to 4 images)
Media-material: please upload a description of the work (3,000 – 10,000 characters) and a link to the media file(s). The work can have a duration up to 10 minutes. Please do not upload the media files on the submission platform!

Deadline: 30.06.2022

For submitting, please register and upload your full text or work description and the corresponding link to the media file on our journal’s platform: https://journals.qucosa.de/array/information/authors.