Tagged: l2ork

A Perfect Drop

Today marks an important milestone for L2Ork and its half-dozen brave L2Orkists. This evening we premiered our very first crowdsourced work written for the newfound L2Ork Tweeter platform and did so online with the ensemble members residing hundreds of miles away from each other, yet delivering that perfect “drop” (check out the 03:13 mark in the video).

Like every other aspect of the work, its title “Into the Abyss” is a result of a truly crowdsourced effort that describes both its literal and figurative meanings. Due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, both L2Orkists and Ico had to take a leap of faith in exploring the newfound platform and seeking new forms of musical expression. The piece is also split into three sections filled with leitmotifs, exploring eerie moments before a literal leap off an imaginary cliff into an abyss, the fall, and finally plunge into the water and a discovery that it was all worth it. This unprecedented semester was also a particularly emotional journey, realizing that any repeat performance will be possible only for as long as we have this exact group of L2Orkists with their unique talents and contributions, and that it is unlikely we will ever be able to recreate the work as it was presented today again. Even though L2Ork has a long history of experimenting with crowdsourced elements in its works, none of them have ever gone this far.

Today also officially marks a beginning of a new era in the Pd-L2Ork development, which for the past several years evolved into the Purr-Data effort. Today, we are pleased to announce that not only is Pd-L2Ork back. It’s new release is also imminent. In fact, pre-release versions of the new Pd-L2Ork are already available on the L2Ork Tweeter page given that the latest version of Tweeter requires its latest updates, the official release of the next stable version is scheduled in the next couple of weeks. Until then, we wish you a safe and restful Holiday season and look forward to a New Year!

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L2Ork Tweeter Alpha Test and L2Orkist Reunion

It’s been a while since we’ve posted news on our main site, in good part because we’ve been voicing ourselves mostly via Facebook. Today, however, things are different. A whole lot different. The world is facing an unprecedented pandemic, and we felt like we had to do something to help us all get through these tough times. While we may not be good at developing a vaccine, what we are good at is connecting people. And connect people we shall. With this in mind, we are pleased to announce a free collaborative online laptop music making tool whose brevity has inspired its name.

L2Ork Tweeter (formerly known as L2Orkmatic) is a free open source, collaborative, and cross-platform laptop orchestra telematic (online) jamming tool destined to bring current, past, and aspiring L2Orkists and the community members closer through music. Driven by a simple FM synthesis engine and a loop-based 64-note tracker that runs locally, it aims to minimize the impact of the network latency inherent to online collaboration. The system allows for basic server admin, presence of both performers and guests/observers/audience, includes a chat system, as well as a way for sharing instrument presets, tracker loops, and even entire sessions. It also offers an offline mode where users can create their own works, or enhance the existing ones. So, head to the L2Ork Tweeter page to learn how to install your own free copy and start jamming today!

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Manu Delago

Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts in collaboration with the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, the West Ambler Johnston Residential College, Digital Interactive Sound & Intermedia Studio (DISIS), and the Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork) are pleased to announce a guest performance by the world-renown Hang player, percussionist, producer and composer Manu Delago. Manu’s performance will also feature internationally accomplished multi-instrumentalist artist Isa Kurz, as well as Virginia Tech’s Linux Laptop Orchestra (L2Ork). A part of a larger US tour, the concert is scheduled for April 20th @ 730p in the Virginia Tech Cube. Tickets are $15 adults, $12 seniors, and $7 students. Click here to purchase tickets. Please note Cube has a capacity of approximately 100 to 120 seats.

 

As part of Manu’s 3-day Virginia Tech’s residence, in addition to rehearsing with L2Ork, Manu Delago will also present a talk and a master class for students, faculty, as well as community members. Below is the schedule breakdown:

  • April 18th 130-220pm Lecture and Master Class in DISIS (Newman 121)
  • April 19th 1-3pm Presentation in the West Ambler Johnston Residential College Great Hall
  • April 20th 730pm Performance in the Moss Arts Center Cube (buy tickets)

 

What others have said about Manu:

“Amazing percussionist and Hang player” Björk
“Intriguingly beautiful… A mercurial sound indeed” – DJ Mag
“A man with a head full of ideas”
– Songlines
“Captivating and compelling… truly mesmerising”
– i-D
“An incredible musician in everything he plays”
– Nitin Sawhney
“A masterful and sensitive musician”
– The Telegraph

Stay tuned for more details regarding Manu’s visit and additional opportunities for engagement. In the meantime, check out Manu’s recent music video below:

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On the Road Again

L2Ork North-East Tour of 2012 Yep, it is that time of the year and L2Ork is getting ready for our first mini-tour of the 2012 with following performances and presentations:

February 19th @5pm — University of Maryland Baltimore County
February 20th @12pm — Rutgers University
February 21st @12pm — Temple University
February 21st @2:30pm — A talk at Community College of Philadelphia

Some of the PR is already up, so please make sure to check it out for more detailed info on the events. Hope to see you there!

Apart from the frantic tour preparations, things have been particularly busy on the recruitment front. L2Ork has again grown to over dozen members, many of whom have joined us less than a month ago. Needless to say, last couple of weeks were quite intense as everyone worked hard to get up to speed with the L2Ork repertoire. There are also a number of exciting announcements we would like to make, pertaining to our Spring itinerary as well as other related developments. So, as we work towards our next blog, here’s a quick update for pd-l2ork users. Pd-l2ork now features regular releases of both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. A bunch of updates have been made to improve responsiveness of the user interface and to squash a few lingering bugs and regressions and the latest version released earlier today is making its way online as I write this. I am particularly proud of the fact that pd-l2ork has been rock solid in terms of stability for over a year in rehearsals and performances alike. So, head over to our software page for more info…

Stay tuned for more updates!

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Midpoint

L2Ork in front of Zagreb's Museum of Contemporary ArtsEleven days behind us and another eleven to go, today marks the midpoint of the tour. Having performed last night at Hamburg’s Academy of Music and Theater as part of the Blurred Edges Festival, we are using one day to catch-up with sleep and follow-up on outstanding matters. For one, I spent a better part of today producing long overdue L2Ork performance videos. Consequently, we got seven new videos ready out of which four have been already uploaded onto the DISIS YouTube channel. Similarly, we’ve been trying to consolidate tour photos which should be finding their way onto the media and facebook pages hopefully soon. Tomorrow morning, we head to Amsterdam. On the 24th we have a workshop at STEIM, followed by two performances, in Amsterdam on 25th, and Utrecht on 26th. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

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