Lagu Hantu: Creating computationally-mediated ensembles across time

Anastasha Rachel Gunawan; Matthew Caren

Lagu Hantu: Creating computationally-mediated ensembles across time
Image credit: Anastasha Rachel Gunawan; Matthew Caren

Abstract:

Lagu Hantu is a large-scale interactive instrument inspired by the Indonesian gamelan tradition, which invites people to create sound in collaboration with both each other and past participants by using distributed tactile interfaces. When the instrument is played, a program summons fragments of past participants’ performances by recalling how people accompanied similar gestures in the past. We describe the design and technical implementation of the instrument, the underlying system that allows users to collaborate across time, and the instrument’s use in a public installation.