As explained in a previous post, touch triggers sound. The aim was to evoke a sense of surprise, presence, and alertness in the performer and the audience.
The first exploration was on the types of sound to use. Although surprise was one of the aims there should be logic to the sounds. In the early stages of the design, I experimented with sounds generated by objects on the table such as bowls.
The sounds were interesting but they required interaction that wasn’t in line with the make-up performance. There weren’t many bowls on the table and attaching these sounds to other objects didn’t make sense.
The most logical was to let the three beauty products (hair cream, setting spray and tissue) respond to touch. Touching them was a natural part of the performance. I decided to use the four starting notes of the song Damian would perform after the make-up performance: I put a spell on you, performed by Screaming Jay Hawkins. The notes are very characteristic and fit well with the purpose of the sounds.
With musician Hans de Zwart I explored different atmospheres using a Roland JV-1080 synthesizer with the “World” expansion card. The sounds varied between interesting, bland and bizarre.
We settled for a subtle but fascinating sound. It affirms the action and gives a sense of presence to the interaction.