top of page

Reiko Yamada

composer & sound artist

Of Randomness and Imperfection artistic research project (2020 - ongoing)

An interdisciplinary research project in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Maciej Lewenstein (ICFO, Barcelona)

Randomness has attracted great interest in the field of music composition for quite some time. As early as 1962, Iannis Xenakis started exploring a stochastic approach to randomness by using computer-based interlinking probability functions to determine compositional structure, pitches and their durations. Soon after, composers and music technologists started to explore randomness with various methods of algorithmic compositions, sometimes with the help of artificial intelligence. However, in most cases, the source of randomness they used was in fact deterministic in nature. That is to say, the random numbers that they employed are imperfect in the strict sense (simply put, perfect random numbers never have repeating patterns). Moreover, the method in which they produced such randomness was extrinsic to the method in which randomness was applied. In this project, we attempt to take a further step by directly producing sound events from the genuine quantum true randomness of quantum physical systems. Through this method, we aim at achieving a new sense of aesthetic effect in music which derives from the true randomness that prevails in the natural quantum world.   

apparent_randomness1.jpg
rabi_osc1.jpg

EVERYTHING YOU FIND HERE IS STILL WORK-IN-PROGRESS

A succession of timbres deriving from quantum randomness originating in Rabi-oscillation

sampling_g0p25_o0p2_d0.txt_ShortShort.waR.Yamada
00:00 / 01:05

sampling_g0p25_o0p2_d0

sampling_g0p25_o1_d0_shortR.Yamada
00:00 / 01:04

sampling_g0p25_o1_d0

sampling_g0p25_o1_d0_reverseR.Yamada
00:00 / 01:05

sampling_g0p25_o1_d0 reverse

Here are timbres deriving from classical randomness for reference

Example of 2 timbresR.Yamada
00:00 / 00:15
rabi_osc2.jpg
topological_order1.jpg

Research Paper

Applications of Quantum Randomness: From Rabi Oscillations to Fourier Axis Controlling the Musical Timbre

 

IJMSTA - Vol. 3 - Issue 2 - July 2021
ISSN 2612-2146

Reiko Yamada, Samuele Grandi, Gorka Muñoz-Gil, Luca Barbiero, Albert Aloy

and 
Maciej Lewenstein

Concert Presentation

SONAR Festival AI&Music S+T+ARTS - Interpreting Quantum Randomness

 

October 28, 2021

CCCB Barcelona, Spain

Concept by Reiko Yamada and Maciej Lewenstein

Prepared and performed by Ángel Faraldo, Andres Lewin Richter Osiander, Ilona schneider, Barbara Held, Artur Majewski, Vasco Trilla and Reiko Yamada

photo by Alba Ruperez para Sónar Festival

Quantum_Randomness_Teatre_Sonar2021_AlbaRupérez027 copy.jpg

Digital Album

Released on May 6, 2022 from Phonos netlabel and available on bandcamp. A limited number of vinyl will be released soon!

bottom of page