Kom[bp]o

Patrick Schmid, Kathrin Fuhrer, Johannes Schiel, Lukas Scheuerle, Sandra Kleß and Norbert Schnell

Kom[bp]o is an interactive sound installation in which up to twelve participants create a musical environment in constant change. The installation consists of twelve mobile devices with headphones and a large projection screen with speakers. Participants can use a mobile device to select sounds and create musical loop sequences through a simple graphical editor. Initially, the participants hear the loop on headphones only and can arbitrarily change and renew it before publishing it in the room with a throwing gesture. The overall mix of published loop sequences is heard through the speakers in the room and displayed visually on the wall projection. Shortly after being added to the overall mix, each loop begins to dissolve slowly – acoustically and visually – until vanishing to make room for new contributions. The loops in the individual headphones and on the loudspeakers are synchronized so that the participants can anticipate the resulting mix before publishing their contribution. The installation is a collaborative game that invites you to join in making music together and at the same time gives the participants their own space for individual experimentation.