⌘ Colour By Numbers ⌘ is an interactive man-machine double bass concert for improvising double bass, virtual orchestra, interactive live electronics and video mapping.

Colour By Numbers was originally created as an idea to musically describe the genesis of a painting and to witness its gradual development. Over time, this basic idea has taken on a life of its own: even though the movement titles have remained the same, the piece can now be heard in a completely different way.

The audio signal of the double bass is spectrally analyzed in real time, the data obtained is modelled on the computer and then fed to virtual instruments for sound generation. The machine reacts to the soloist and at the same time acts as a kind of black box and source of ideas, because it continues the incoming, improvised material autonomously with the help of algorithms and probabilities.
It continues, varies and modifies the incoming improvised material autonomously with the help of algorithms and probabilities and thus provides the player with new impulses for the improvisation, who in turn reacts to the changes. This feedback loop is ultimately essential for the piece, it lives from this interaction.

In Georg Janker, Gunnar Geisse has found a partner who can not only shape the improvisational freedom offered by the composition, but who will also exert a strong influence on the structural development of the piece through interaction with the computer.

Manuela Hartel, who is known for her immersive digital video art and spatial audiovisual performances, focuses in this work on transformative processes and a synergetic concept of the auditory and the visual. Hartel explores the tendencies of demarcation and aesthetic similarities between the natural and the artificial; her video and spatial installations create spaces for reflection and association.

Program:
Gunnar Geisse: ⌘ Colour By Numbers ⌘ (2021-22/2024-25)

Introduction: White Canvas
I Grounding
II Dots & Blobs
III Line, Shape, Structure
Interlude: the world outside
IV The Whole Picture

Georg Janker (double bass)
Gunnar Geisse (composition, interactive live electronics)
Manuela Hartel (video mapping)