Score a Hit with the Interactive Music Battle

By Kira Grunenberg

Music and competition aren’t strangers to one another. Aside from dreams to play in the world’s great concert halls, competing to show off musical chops is often a tantamoumt goal–whether the reward be scholarship funding, press coverage, or just plain bragging rights.

The Interactive Music Battle is not this kind of competition though. In fact, you might say it’s not very much of a battle at all. Rather, it is a joining of movement and sound-sensitive choreography. A project meant for anyone who loves making and experimenting with music, the Interactive Music Battle is the brainchild of violinist, Nicolas Rasamimanana, Founder and CEO of Paris-based tech development company, Phonotonic. Currently looking to Kickstarter to reach the next stage of growth, The Interactive Music Battle has 11 days left to get the necessary funding for a goal of $70,000 USD, with 10 tiers of backing and rewards (the “Super Early Bird” level is already sold out!)

What is the Interactive Music Battle all about?

Simply put, the Interactive Music Battle involves the manipulation of small, silicone objects that house a sensor capable of detecting movement and converting that motion into different sounds of varying timbre, pitch, tempo, attack, and decay. The nature and emission of the sound depends on settings chosen through an accompanying app and the method of movement implemented by a user. “Packs” of data allow users to program the sensor for melody (Rock, 8-bit sound, Jazz, etc.) or rhythm. Wielding more than one object, these two elements of music can really create some catchy tunes! Fast and abrupt movement, slow and steady or even a combination of the two –it just means the flow of music is only confined to creativity.

Just shy of two weeks ago, the Interactive Music Battle was demoed and discussed alongside other sound and music related research, as part of a co-produced open house, hosted at IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) during the fifth annual Futur en Seine Festival. This project’s aims and central element of enjoyment refine another project that brought Phonotonic and IRCAM together: the Urban Musical Game, which was created for the Futur en Seine Festival back in 2011. (This type of tech and the Urban Musical Game’s history was presented at Music Tech Fest: Boston, which we highlighted earlier this year.)

A Wi-Fi connection, the sensor-loaded silicone object, the app and yourself are the only things needed to get the music going. The sensor can even be removed from within the object and attached to anything else to make that object’s movement instantly musical. Just think of all the unique ways things move and what kind of melodies could ensue!

Here is the technical breakdown of the Interactive Music Battle objects, as outlined from the Kickstarter page.

Hardware

Inertial motion sensors: accelerometer 3DOFs, gyroscope 3DOFs, magnetometer
Connection: WiFi
Battery Power: up to 2 hours of active use, several days on stand-by, automatic sleep and wake     when connected to the app.
Charge: Micro-USB

Software
iOS (Android coming soon!)
Connect up to two objects simultaneously, one for rhythm, one for melody
Includes 10 music packs, more music packs to come.

Mechanics
Casing size: diameter 4 cm / 1’55 in
Object size: diameter 7 cm / 2’75 in
Total weight: 220g / 7,76oz

It’s hard to curb excitement when imagining the possibilities of these sensors, taken to the limits of trained human movement. Imagine an expert ballet troupe or a Cirque du Soleil show with a few sensors on hand (or leg or foot)! Aside from making appealing music alone, the potential for combination of artistic mediums busts open an entirely new door to the room of what currently houses performance art. As far as any actual “battling” is concerned, a rival dance off is one scenario certainly comes to mind…

You can back the Interactive Music Battle Kickstarter here. Should funding succeed, shipping is slated for December of this year.

Follow Phonotonic on Twitter @phtc and find them on Facebook.

Last, but definitely not least, below are the Kickstarter promotional video and a compilation video showing the reactions of passersby, outside of IRCAM, who witnessed use of the Interactive Music Battle objects and sensors in action!

Kira is an old school music nerd with a love for all things creative; always searching for music’s common ground. She graduated with an M.A. in Performing Arts Administration from New York University. Drop her a tweet @shadowmelody1.

 

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