PRISM BELL is a large-scale digital musical instrument that seeks to explore the influence of instrument size on music performance. Its large size is inspired by research on audience perception of large digital instruments [1].

PRISM BELL was prototyped and performed live at various concerts in 2019 [2][3]. The final design which debuts via Live Stream at Ars Electronica 2020 is two metres tall, two metres wide and features twenty pendulums each with a unique bell-like tone. Despite its large size, PRISM BELL in incredibly sensitive - a feature that was influenced by the unexpected sensitivity of oversized acoustic instruments. Gestures used to perform PRISM BELL range from full-body choreography to millimetre-sized micro-gestures that can change the overall timbre of the instrument.

Watch Lia Mice perform with the PRISM BELL as part of Ars Electronica 2020
Sun Sep 13, 2020, 1:00 pm - 1:25 pm (UTC +2)
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Lia Mice - AU

Lia Mice is a multidisciplinary artist whose works range from live A/V performance, composition, instrument design, and interactive sculpture to academic papers [4]. In her practice, Mice uses new technologies to explore relationships between the musical instrument and embodied performance. Mice's all-hardware live A/V sets incorporate large scale self-designed instruments, live voice sampling, dancers and audio-reactive visuals. Her instruments and interactive sonic sculptures have been exhibited at The Barbican Archives Residency, The V& A Museum Digital Design Weekend and Ars Electronica. Her latest album The Sampler As A Time Machine is out on Optimo Music. Her PhD research explores large scale digital musical instrument design.

l.mice@qmul.ac.uk
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