Dioicus, pt. 1

2023 — Lili Maya and James Rouvelle collaboration.

Music composition and performance / James Rouvelle
Video / Lili Maya

Dioicus derives from a Greek term meaning “of two houses”. Musically, the individual pieces are Polytonal – i.e, based on relationships between different scales derived from different fundamental tones that occur simultaneously. James’ entry point to scale development was Erv Wilson.

The synth patches have varied degrees of generative capability – meaning they can make some decisions on their own based on input (pitch, expressive gestures, etc.). James’ intention was to develop a responsive system for improvisation. We’re currently expanding the system to incorporate visuals, so that I will be able to similarly improvise with my visual language via a responsive agent.