Posted on by nelabrown

FLO at Mathematical and Computational Models in Music 2021

The process of composition for Blues and Greys: For Zadar Soundscapes, CubeHarmonic, Piano, Flute, Theremin, Cymbals, Triangle and Tambourine that we presented as part of the workshop called Mathematical and Computational Models in Music, organized by the University of Pavia in Italy (but taking place online due to the pandemic), was a bit different to what we usually do with FLO as we wanted to use different instruments Maria plays (including her CubeHarmonic instrument based on Rubik’s cube) and implement some mathematical principles Maria was exploring in her research (and presenting at the event!). We started off with Nela creating a composition using soundscapes recorded at four different locations in Zadar, Croatia, which she emailed to Maria who was in Palermo, Italy. Maria then created a score for CubeHarmonic, Piano, Flute, Theremin, Cymbals, Triangle and Tambourine and recorded all of the instruments (yes ALL of them!!!) using PreSonus Studio 26c audio interface, a pair of PreSonus PM-2 microphones and Bitwig Studio software (FYI, this was the first time EVER she used this type of gear and she totally smashed it!!!). She then emailed it back to Nela to mix, who then emailed the mix back to Maria with the photos of the soundscape recordings locations so Maria can put it all in a video using iMovie. Talking about ‘creativity on a budget’ in the times of the pandemic! But seriously, how cool is being able to make stuff like this with everything that’s going on in the world at the moment??? Feeling very grateful 🙂

Maria unboxed PreSonus PM-2 microphones for the very first time whilst she was in Venice and learnt how to set them up (with a bit of guidance from Nela via Whereby!)
… so when she went back home to Palermo she knew how to do it all by herself!
Theremin was tricky to record so Maria experimented with a few different set-ups using PreSonus Studio 26c 🙂
Whilst recording CubeHarmonic via Studio 26c was a piece of cake 🙂
Some of the most interesting sounds can be found behind doors with signs of ‘danger’ (however, you don’t have to put yourself in harm’s way to capture them, a decent audio recorder with a stereo mic would do!) …
Soothing soundscapes can be generated equally well by road traffic …
and a quiet boat marina …
…sometimes, recording soundscapes feels like being on a ‘stakeout’. You are waiting patiently for the sun to go down so the tide can wash over the beach and create beautiful textures you can ‘capture’ 🙂
After Nela recorded the Zadar soundscapes and emailed it over to Palermo, Maria created a score for the CubeHarmonic, Piano, Flute, Theremin, Cymbals, Triangle and Tambourine using mathematical principles 🙂
Whilst we were doing testing and recording, Google decided to put a spotlight on Croatian Statehood Day (aka Dan državnosti), a public holiday that happens every year on 30 May to celebrate the constitution of the first modern multi-party Croatian Parliament in 1990. Nice 🙂

The virtual programme was full of interesting works at the intersection of maths and music 🙂
Female Laptop Orchestra-Concert-Mathematical and Computational Models in Music_Maria-Mannone-explaining-CubeHarmonic-July2021
After the concert, Maria talked about the CubeHarmonic instrument (demo version only works on Android phone at the moment, but iPhone version is in the works!) and answered some ‘mathematical’ questions 🙂

You can watch the final video on FLO YouTube channel and listen to the composition on FLO SoundCloud channel 🙂

A BIG THANK you to the following peeps and organisations who supported FLO performance at the Mathematical and Computational Models in Music in various ways.

A BIG THANKS to EVERYONE who watched the inaugural presentation of Blues and Greys: For Zadar Soundscapes, CubeHarmonic, Piano, Flute, Theremin, Cymbals, Triangle and Tambourine and asked questions about how we went about making it entirely remotely!

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  1. Pingback: FLO at Radiophrenia 2025 – FLO

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