KYMA

Kyma is a multimedia live performance in which an electroacoustic ensemble and an analog real-time visualization interact in a multimedia dialogue.

The starting point is the creation of a feedback system and its dynamic response to the ensemble’s visual and acoustic interventions. A central question explored in the work is the human impact on our environment and its resulting consequences.

The trio’s sounds — inspired, among other things, by noise and electronica — interact in real time with a water surface. This surface is excited by a transducer, influenced by the ensemble’s dynamics and overall sound. As a result, wave patterns form on the water, which the visual performer modifies using substances and objects, as well as light and camera settings. Depending on the nature of the interventions by the ensemble and the performer, the water’s dynamics change — a visible echo of the musical and performative actions. The process is filmed live, projected, and forms its own layer interwoven with the sound; the musicians, in turn, respond to these visual impulses. In this way, a dialogue emerges that goes far beyond mere ornamental visualization, with the musicians simultaneously acting and reacting as part of the system.

The composition is structured into clearly separated scenes, between which short pauses function like cinematic cuts. Some sections are precisely composed, while others are openly notated, specifying only duration and sonic character. The sounds of the electronic instruments are processed live with effects, creating an immersive atmosphere within a four-channel setup.

Kyma premiered in 2024 at the Salzburger Limina Festival, performed by the Ensemble NAMES. The work combines analog image production, live electronics, and algorithmically supported composition, making visible the direct interplay between sound and its influence on a physical medium that serves as the basis for the visual component.