Imagine yourself in Brighton, relaxing in the audience as you enjoy the trio improvising on stage when suddenly, someone points to you at random and orders you up on stage to replace one of the members of the ensemble.
No, this is not a recurring nightmare like the ones where you have to take the final exam for a class you forgot to attend, it’s what’s known as a “rotating improvisation session”, and Kyma consultant Alan Jackson is here voluntarily! In fact, it’s the reason his whole Kyma setup is battery powered (from a single PD battery) — primarily to make it easier to carry it up on stage and plug into an amp.
As Alan explains, “I don’t take the computer on stage. This adds a frisson of danger to the performance!” [Editor’s note, we’re sensing a theme emerging here]
“There are two power connections: battery to ‘Mara and battery to eurorack case containing the ‘Mara’s sound card (ES-8). And there are two USB connections: ‘Mara to ES-8 and the midi-controller-tilt-sensor to the ‘Mara. If any of these drop connection while I’m carrying the setup to the stage I would need to restart the Sound which needs the computer attached. So I carry it very very carefully.”
Jackson is always on the lookout for longer-lived batteries because, due to the nature of the performance, he never knows when he’ll get called up.
When he’s not subjecting himself to stressful performance situations, Alan Jackson consults with film, game, and television sound designers. He’s also organizing an informal Kyma “show and tell” weekend, 1-3 November 2024 in Amsterdam. See the Discord Kyma Community for details.