Another brilliant piece of software developed by Georg Hajdu and masterfully used in many of his compositions is DJster Autobus. DJster Autobus is based on Clarence Barlow’s legacy real-time pitch and rhythm generator AUTOBUSK, originally running on the Atari ST computer. The control section of the device is comprised of 12 parameters which effect various musical textures encompassing a wide variety of musical material, from tonal to atonal and from rhythmic to arrhythmic structures, with strong allusions to historical and ethnic styles. The device reads text files specifying the definitions of scales and meters, and can also open .scl files from the Scala library representing well over 4500 unique scales. The device “improvises” according to probability distributions – based on theoretical research conducted by Barlow during the 1970’s – and uses a sound font player and/or a sampler for microtonal playback. DJster comes in several flavors – as a stand-alone Max patch, nested within Quintet.net and as a Max4Live device.
In the second part of his piece “Just Her – Jester – Gesture” for BP tuned augmented kalimba and electronics (2010/2015), Georg Hajdu uses DJster to generate note sequences which are routed to a spectral synthesizer. The synthesizer uses resonance models of the kalimba resonances for synthesis. This algorithmic electronic part creates a duet with the fully written kalimba part.
During the last part, the performer uses the kalimba as a gestural controller and enters into an improvisatory dialog by reacting to the music generated by the machine. By tilting the kalimba in two dimensions, the performer influences both the outcome of the generative process and the timbre of the synthesizer.
What we are witnessing here is another example of artistic research at its finest, where several new technologies are brought together into a single artistic entity, each enhancing and enriching the others, and all being clearly in the service of artistic expression. The usage of custom-built augmented instrument (kalimba was enhanced with a modified Numchuk Wii controller), expertly controlled and fine-tuned algorithmic processes and the advanced synthesis techniques, coupled with the inspiringly written score and a clearly understandable narrative, make this a master-piece and an “experiment” which obviously validates the ideas the researcher/composer Georg Hajdu wanted to test.