Indira Lakshmi reflects on her Nestival Residency

It’s always a pleasure to be at the Nest!

I spent the last two weeks on June in the Helloland studio. I had been working on building midi instruments with Arduino and Pure Data for some time, having made a rudimentary teddy-bear with potentiometers that control an FM Synth I’d programmed with Pure Data.

I wanted to develop soft sculpture midi instruments and needed a starting point. I knew time at The Nest was short, two weeks, so I decided to use the time to intensively work with different sensors and push buttons. I was recovering from Covid and still have residual fatigue, so had to take things a little slower than usual.

I had a collection of sensors that I wanted to start working with. My aim was to use a pressure sensor along with a ribbon sensor to control a digital synth. I used an Arduino with the sensors, and unpacked the data into Pure Data, where the sensor data played synth patches that I had developed. This was straightforward, however I faced issues with buttons. I eventually reached out to a friend who suggested using a debounce section in the patch, which seemed to solve my issues.

During my two weeks at The Nest, I spread out my equipment and components on the large table in Helloland, then set up my soldering iron near the window at the smaller table, and spent the days experimenting with different sensors, Arduino, and programming synths in Pure Data… and having brief naps in the corner (post-Covid fatigue). The outcomes of this residency were not instant at all, however rolled out in the months following. My practice is continually developing, and this intensive phase at The Nest was really valuable for me.

One of the first outcomes was a small interactive audio piece for Ludic Rooms. I was working as a facilitator at Roam and Dwell – a series of fun, experimentation, making and play at Coventry Canal Basin. One of the Roam and Dwell days coincided with Pangaea’s Hand Earth Gesture Return event at the Canal Basin. I was given a bag of Warwickshire clay by Lucy (of Pangaea) to go away and create something with. I visited Hand Earth Gesture Return before Roam and Dwell. I recorded sounds of visitors manipulating wet clay, and the sound of two percussionists who were performing there. I used these recorded sounds to create a touch-and-play midi controller where the viewer/listener could touch different pieces of clay and play with the different recorded sounds. I also created another midi object – a piece of wet clay which viewers could push pull and manipulate to generate different sounds. I used a pressure sensor and Arduino with Pure Data, where the sensor data controlled the parameters of an FM synth I made in Pure Data.

I have modified the teddy-bear midi instrument multiple times, and have created other wearable midi instruments, such as masks that can be worn and played. I have used these in my performances as Lucifer Sky, my solo project. I aim to keep developing in this direction. I’ve been thinking about the direction my work has been going in… Performativity, fun, play, accessibility, sensorially engaging experiences, altered states… these are all things that are constantly in my mind. There was a really great moment when I was performing at Eastside Projects in Digbeth, Birmingham, when a group of children came up to the desk and started playing with my midi instruments, which I encouraged! I hope that I can create more environments when this kind of interaction to happen.