Richie Hawtin Debuts Plastikman SYNK Live Performance Companion App
Richie Hawtin has officially released Plastikman SYNK, the official companion app for his 2010 Plastikman Live world-wide tour, which ends up at Electric Zoo in NYC over Labor Day weekend. The App is a component of the immersive environment that the show hopes to create using various converging technologies.
Partnering with visual architects Derivative and visual designer Ali Demirel, viewers will experience a unique integration of audio, visuals and interactive technology, which now includes a customized iPhone/iPod Touch application called Plastikman SYNK. SYNK was developed by RJ Fischer, better known for his TouchOSC action, and Bryan McDade from Hawtin’s label Minus. Hawtin claims that SYNK will allow users to participate in an experiment in audience-performer interaction aiming to blur the lines of perception and participation. However, we have really no idea what that will actually translate into since the promotional video that was released to hype the show provides no concrete data.
SYNK breaks down into four elements:
LOGIKAL – Based upon earlier “Lodgikal Nonsense” and “Vokx” voice tracks, this state invites the audience to re-organize the word samples using a user interface of 20 touch buttons. In this state the centre of performance control is moved from the stage and into the audience.
KAMERA – This state is accessible throughout the show and gives users a live video stream of an internal perspective of the performance.
SYNKOTIK – This state explores the synkronicity of realtime-generated percussion patterns and their visual counterparts, integrating the stage LED wall and the built in displays on each SYNK activated iPhone/iPod Touch.
KONSOLE – This state is active during the entire show with realtime performance information. At specific moments an extended Konsole state becomes activated, allowing further insight into the realtime programming of the performance’s drum and percussive elements, while also providing visual feedback of musical and effect parameters. A simplified remote Konsole is available to all SYNK users worldwide and will be activated during all Plastikman Live performances.
Participants should connect to the Plastikman Wi-Fi network at each performance and will be notified of the activation of the different states by their iPhone/iPod Touch at specific moments during the show.
This could be the worst promotional video Richie has released to date…
The SYNK experience will not be limited to viewers of the live show. In between the performances the SYNK application will be in sleeper mode and function as a Plastikman atmospheric location shifter. By using visualizations inspired by Derivative, combined with the iPhone’s built-in microphone and accelerometer, users are immersed in a Plastikman environment. For best results, Plastikman suggests using headphones.
SYNK is available now in the iTunes App Store and is compatible with iPhone or iPod touch sporting iOS 3.0 or later.
