As each performer reads from a separate video monitor, these archetype gestures become codified by the musicians, comparable to the process of interpreting musical notation, however in this case only pure physical nuance is presented, therefore sound is merely the byproduct of intricately choreographed movement. Physical posture, gesticulation, fingering arrangements and the placement of the hands in relation to a musical instrument become the syntax of the piece, divorced from conventional modes of musical creation.

The entire library of digital video clips is stored on a PowerBook running a custom software application, allowing on-the-fly decisions and simple re-configuring to accommodate multiple performances by different musicians. Scripted by Matt Biederman in MAX/Nato 0+55, the software utilizes several different algorithms in displaying video segments randomly selected from the pool of pre-recorded video clips, as well as abstracting and distorting the video images to create imprecise information for the players to decipher, drawing on each players’ personal relationship to color, repetition, and movement.

Furthermore, individual interpretation is reinforced and amplified by cameras trained on each of the performers’ hands providing live signals that are randomly captured, fed-back and processed into the overall image. Somatic Lapse provides a laboratory for traditional, acoustic and electronic instruments to interact within new circumstances while provoking new associations between the corporeal and digital.