Haircut No. 1

Release Date Friday October 11, 2024

CREDITS

Music Composed by
J. Anthony Allen
Jack Curtis Dubowsky

© 2010 De Stijl Music (BMI) / Hackademica Music (ASCAP)

Max/MSP patches, programming, and video capture by
J. Anthony Allen

Performed by
Jack Curtis Dubowsky

ABOUT HAIRCUT NO. 1

Composer/filmmaker Jack Curtis Dubowsky cuts his very own hair himself. In real time, Dubowsky removes two years of natural hair growth. These movements simultaneously control a live performance of electronic music via motion capture and Max/MSP software programmed by Minneapolis electronic musician J. Anthony Allen. This collaborative experimental project was filmed with a three-camera setup at the McNally Smith College of Music on December 17, 2010.

Recalls Dubowsky:

Shortly after I started my Midwest teaching gig, fellow faculty J. Anthony Allen put out a call for ideas or collaborations with his Progressive Media Group. Well, I'm good with ideas. So, I suggested Haircut No. 1, an electronic piece performed and filmed with the help of students.

Haircut No. 1 examines new performance possibilities for electronic computer music. In Haircut No. 1, visible and poetic body movements control a musical performance, and the audience can see and hear the relationship between those movements and the music produced. This takes Max/MSP and computer music out of the laptop and into a balletic space of physical performance.

Haircut No. 1 has been specially remastered for its audio-only release: removing glitches, thumps, and low frequency artifacts. It's available in full 48kHz 24-bit quality on Bandcamp.