DADA BENDER

DADA BENDER was created from noisy electronic sounds derived from raw data sonifications and improvisations on a no-input mixer. Raw data sonification is the process of mapping aspects of data to produce sound signals. Sonifying raw data often creates harsh glitchy digital noise and is sometimes referred to as data bending. No-input mixing creates sound by routing a mixer’s outputs back into its inputs to create feedback loops. Like raw data sonification, no-input mixing creates sound by misusing and bending technology. These noisy, skronky sounds were then chopped, quantized, arranged, into the rhythms, gestures, and noises that were then orchestrated for the six performers.

Many of these ideas find their beginnings in Dadaism. Dadaism inherited the term anti-art from Marcel Duchamp which challenges accepted definitions of art. Noise Music has constantly challenged the idea of what music and art is through its relentless abstract form, ugly sounds. and high amplitude. The connections between Noise Music and Dadaism are strong and evident today as can be seen with the Godfather of Noise Music, Merzbow who derives his stage name from Kurt Schwitters concept of Merz.