In his generative sound installation Distortion Product Lattice (Fokker QDTS Wavepackets) Marcin Pietruszewski combines the computer-controlled microtonal Fokker organ in the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam with digital sound synthesis, pluriphonic sound, and light choreography to stage formal and auditory modulations. Designed and built between 1945 and 1950 by Adrian Fokker and Bernard J. A. Pels, the expansive organ has a 31-tone per octave and can be controlled via a MIDI protocol. The installation subjects the output of the instrument to digital signal analysis and re-synthesis, inducing distortion of tones, patterns, and textures. 

The QDTS (Quadatric Difference Tone Spectra) algorithm that Pietruszewski utilizes produces particular kinds of ‘auditory distortion products’ (ADP), creating a new experimental approach to generating complex spectra. ADPs are low-level sounds emitted from the inner ear’s cochlea in response to two closely spaced stimulating tones. The distortion also functions as an alternative spatial frame as the tones resonate in the head of the listener. Within Distortion Product Lattice (Fokker QDTS Wavepackets), this ‘in-head’ spatiality forms a dynamic counterpart to an extensive setup of the organ, intensifying, amplifying, and modulating the auditory, epistemic, and spatial contexts of this unique instrument.

Bio

Marcin Pietruszewski (PL/DE) is a composer and researcher specializing in sound synthesis and computer-based composition. His work spans electroacoustic music, contemporary sound art, auditory design, computational linguistics, and psychoacoustics, encompassing performance, multimedia installations, and radio productions. He has collaborated with musicians and composers such as Marcus Schmickler, Tristan Clutterbuck, Jules Rawlinson, and Lauren Sarah Hayes. Recent projects include work with Florian Hecker, design company NORM, philosopher Chris Schambaugh, choreographer Agnes Cebere, and the Laboria Cuboniks Collective.

Premiere: Sonic Acts Biennial 2024 (NL)
Part of Re-Imagine Europe – New Perspectives for Action. Co-funded by the European Union. Produced with the kind cooperation of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation.
This work is available for touring.
For further enquiries, contact: info@sonicacts.com