MSN/AV: Maximum Silence to Noise/Audio-Visual

John R Ferguson, and Andrew R Brown

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

MSN/AV (Maximum Silence to Noise/Audio-Visual) is an interactive audiovisual system performed by two musicians. The sound world is created via ring modulation synthesis controlled by multi-dimensional touch gestures, which provides a rich diversity of sonic potential whilst maintaining clear remnants of physical gesture. Each musician uses ROLI Lightpad Blocks and an iPad running TouchOSC in combination with bespoke software written in Pure data. Data from each performer’s interactions with their instruments is passed to a Touch Designer network which generates and/or manipulates visual materials. MSN/AV celebrates physical interplay with gestural interfaces and situates live improvisation with interactive technology within a responsive audiovisual environment. Sensor data is used to generate sound and graphics in real-time, the overall goal is an audiovisual entanglement that provides sonic and visual catalysts ranging from the gentle steering of musical improvisation to more autonomous and potentially disruptive behaviour.

Citation

John R Ferguson, and Andrew R Brown. 2025. MSN/AV: Maximum Silence to Noise/Audio-Visual. Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17802579 [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2025_music_3,
 abstract = {MSN/AV (Maximum Silence to Noise/Audio-Visual) is an interactive audiovisual system performed by two musicians. The sound world is created via ring modulation synthesis controlled by multi-dimensional touch gestures, which provides a rich diversity of sonic potential whilst maintaining clear remnants of physical gesture. Each musician uses ROLI Lightpad Blocks and an iPad running TouchOSC in combination with bespoke software written in Pure data. Data from each performer’s interactions with their instruments is passed to a Touch Designer network which generates and/or manipulates visual materials. MSN/AV celebrates physical interplay with gestural interfaces and situates live improvisation with interactive technology within a responsive audiovisual environment. Sensor data is used to generate sound and graphics in real-time, the overall goal is an audiovisual entanglement that provides sonic and visual catalysts ranging from the gentle steering of musical improvisation to more autonomous and potentially disruptive behaviour.},
 address = {Canberra, Australia},
 articleno = {3},
 author = {John R Ferguson and Andrew R Brown},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.5281/zenodo.17802579},
 editor = {Sophie Rose and Jos Mulder and Nicole Carroll},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 note = {Live Performance},
 numpages = {4},
 pages = {9--12},
 presentation-video = {https://vimeo.com/1054018899/a050c16da0},
 title = {MSN/AV: Maximum Silence to Noise/Audio-Visual},
 track = {Music},
 url = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2025/nime2025_music_3.pdf},
 urlsuppl1 = {http://nime.org/proceedings/2025/nime2025_music_3_file01.mp4},
 year = {2025}
}