Pieces of Eight – 八音 (installation) : Multichannel generative sound installation with various acoustic and electronic sound objects

Underlining the concept of Pieces of Eight – 八音 is the ancient Chinese way of thinking about tones or sounds known as the bayin (八音), which are essentially eight categories of material (leather/hide, clay, metal, stone, gourd, wood, silk, and bamboo). The tones and materials are also linked to the eight cardinal directions on a compass. The focus for the composers is on how each musician adapts their performance of the composed material to the soundscape they hear at a specific location – on a nature trail, at a busy commuter point, near a construction site, on a boat in the harbour – by imitating and dialoguing with people’s voices, animals, and other sound sources.

Sets of new, re-invented musical instruments designed by ESKYIU are featured in the performance. The installation showcases eight electric neo-guqins in addition to eight percussion-hurdles built with materials that are conceptually linked to the remote sites. The HKNME musicians perform their given material four times, with subtle variations depending on what happens at the different locations. Remote location audio is streamed back to ArtisTree in real time. In the evening performance, there will be up to 40 individual musical parts and 33 acoustic environments layered – a sonic canvas on the scale of a large orchestra.