GATES Morning talk - Designing Sound, Sculpting Gesture

In 1977, Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), the Greek French composer/polymath developed the prototype of UPIC (Unité Polyagogique Informatique CEMAMu), a machine that allowed for the interconnection of drawing, sound representation, and music. UPIC freed users from the constraints of traditional music notation by converting drawings into audio signals.

Between 2016 – 2020, Evis Sammoutis commissioned CIX (Center Iannis Xenakis) to develop UPISketch, an app replicating UPIC for mobile devices. While remaining faithful to Xenakis’s original concept, UPISketch offers greater freedom, mobility, and interactivity, making it more relevant and accessible to twenty-first century audiences.

In his talk, he will demonstrate how UPISketch transforms hand-drawn sketches into sound, and will explain its potential as a tool for designing musical gestures. This talk will consist of a discussion about this feature in connection to its historical context, as well as the creative and technical aspects of his own composition work, explaining how this creative research can offer fresh insights into the evolving relationship between sound and image.