Musicians, artists, scientists and everyone in between: we have amazing news! The Body Brain Digital Music Instruments (BBDMI) project, led by MSH Paris Nord, has won a prestigious ANR grant. The partners include:
- MSH Paris Nord: Anne Sèdes (Coordinator) & Atau Tanaka
- Paris 8 University’s CICM/MUSIDANSE: Alain Bonardi & David Fierro
- Sorbonne University, Salpêtrière Hospital, Brain Institute (ICM): Stephen Whitmarsh & Vincent Navarro
- Soixante Circuits: Emmanuel Geoffray, Gabriel Delattre & Martin Klang
- Goldsmiths University of London: Michael Sbysynski
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University: Robert Oostenveld (Advisor)
The project will run for 3.5 years, and is able to have a running start, not least because of all the work and ideas we’ve developed within the EEGsynth project over the years. The EEGsynth is already used as part of a first prototype. I will report more about that soon. For now, let me share the summary of the project and how we see its cultural and scientific context:
The use of physiological signals from the human brain and body in human-computer interaction has matured into the research field of physiological computing. Musicians have been at the forefront of the development of digital musical instruments adopting physiological interfaces, but their efforts have remained at the experimental level, often isolated from the relevant scientific communities.
On the industrial side, EMG or EEG technologies applied to music and digital arts are generally developed in a proprietary manner, without giving access to the knowledge or technologies used. From an industry-wide open science perspective, BBDMI aims for the open development of a physiological musical instrument that is robust and usable by musicians and artists without specialist knowledge in the fields of neuroscience and signal analysis.
The project will be managed using a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative techniques from biomedical research with qualitative methods from the traditions of user-centered design and design research in human-computer interfacing, based on emerging research-creation strategies in the field of music and digital arts.
On the musical and artistic level, the project will be able to take root and proliferate on the territory of the MSH Paris Nord, through workshops and public events. The project will be based on test cases and expertise, and will stimulate interdisciplinary dissemination and cross-pollination between art and science, professionals and the public.
BBDMI will be a new interface for music creation that can benefit several distinct user communities: experimental musicians, instrumentalists, and cultural mediation practitioners working in the world of autism and disabled audiences. The municipal conservatory of the city of St-Denis and the Sonic Protest festival are among the potential partners of the project.
Summary
We are currently developing the infrastructure to keep you informed and are working to get you involved through events, seminars and workshops. The BBDMI website will come together soon, and it is there that we will share reports, plans, upcoming events, etc. Check regularly here, and there for updates.