Drinks reception in B28, 6pm

Attendees are welcome to this  reception in room B28, a room filled with loudspeakers and currently used to support NESS (Next generation Sound Synthesis), an ERC funded project concerned with sound synthesis, effects processing and physical modelling. Gordon Delap has been resident in this room for several weeks developing his sound installation “Ashes to Ashes” which will open for the first time this evening. Here’s what Gordon says about it:

“Ashes to Ashes” was constructed from virtual uranium instruments.

Sounds were created through physical modeling technology developed by the NESS project at the University of Edinburgh. Vocal sounds were recorded. These recordings, too, were driven through massive virtual metal sheets which had been assigned the physical properties of uranium.

In the twentieth century, humans attempted to harness energy from the nuclear reaction.  Uranium, a silvery metallic element which occurs naturally in the crust of the earth, allowed this to occur.  The atomic bomb was latent in nature, and the fabric of the earth was threaded with the means of its own destruction. The title relates to a widely-known phrase, encapsulating an outlook on the relationship between destruction and creation which can be found across many spiritual traditions.

With thanks to Stefan Bilbao, Paul Graham, Alberto Torin, James Perry and the other members of the NESS group.