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!