Luis Torres

Contagio — Description 

Contagio is a work for two percussionists and electronics in which the instruments are gradually transformed through real-time processing. The piece explores the idea of contagion: musical gestures begin in the acoustic instrument and “spread” into the electronic domain, altering timbre, harmony, and spatial perception.

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Concept

The percussion is treated both as traditional instruments and as a sound source to be reimagined. The electronics do not function as accompaniment, but as an evolving extension of the acoustic sound—sometimes amplifying it, sometimes distorting it, and sometimes replacing it with a new sonic identity. As the piece progresses, the boundary between acoustic and electronic sound becomes increasingly blurred.

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Setup / Technology

The electronic part is performed through a live processing system built in Max/MSP 7, using various effects such as filtering, delay, spectral transformations, and resonance models. The system reacts to the percussion’s input and reshapes it in real time.

In some versions, the electronics may also be controlled through Isadora (Troikatronix) for timing and cue management.

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Performance Notes

The performers play  normally while a microphone captures the percussion and feeds the signal into the processing chain. The electronics create an evolving sound world that follows the musical material, expanding the percussion’s natural resonance into textures that feel unstable, fragile, and sometimes violent.

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The result is a piece in which the acoustic percussion becomes both instrument and ‘host,’ while the electronics act as the ‘infection’ that progressively transforms it