[The User]

[The User]
symphony for dot matrix printers
The Symphony for dot matrix printers is a work which transforms obsolete office technology into an instrument for
musical performance. Specifically, the dot-matrix printer is chosen to illustrate one tangible by-product of
technology that we unerringly fail to notice. Concentrating the listener’s attention on the physical nature of this
nearly forgotten technology, . the Symphony is based on the noise made by twelve obsolete desktop printers.
Leaving the constituent elements untouched, the process imposes a new order upon them, reorganizing the
sounds of the printers along a musical structure. Dot matrix printers are thus turned into musical ‘instruments’,
while a computer network system, typical of a contemporary office, is employed as the ‘orchestra’ used to play
them. The orchestra is ‘conducted’ by a network server which reads from a composed ‘score’. Each of the printers
plays from a different ‘part’ comprised of notes and rhythms made up of letters of the alphabet, p u n c t u a t i o n
marks and other characters. [The User] uses these simple ASCII textfiles to compose, orchestrate, and
synchronize thirty minutes of densely textured, rhythmically-driven music, which is then amplified and broadcast
over a sound system.
Technology is a continual process of becoming: the usefulness (and consequently the worth) of an object is
determined by its proximity to the state-of-the-art. Is it new? If not, how close does its behaviour come to the
newest? Progress is so deeply entrenched in our society that it has come to define the world’s economy.
Independently of our desires, the technological project continues to precipitate vast societal and environmental
change. How do we challenge society’s unquestioning acceptance of ‘newer is better’ and re-establish a
relationship with technology based on choice, not necessity? The Symphony for Dot Matrix Printers addresses
this question in an examination of contemporary attitudes towards technology.
[The User]
symphony for dot matrix printers
“le cri primal des imprimantes... Pour célébrer la révolution numérique, quoi de mieux que ce pied de nez à la course au
progrès technologique?” — Libération, Paris 1999.09.24
“Symphony for dot matrix printers... raises questions about many things, from the nature of technology to the limits of what
we deem performance.” — Hour, Montréal 1998.10.15
“Pendant près de trente minutes, les imprimantes vont sonner et swinguer comme de la «vraie» musique instrumentale,
avec rythmes, graves, consonances aquatiques, respirations et envolées lyriques. Incroyable d’entendre comment une
technologie dépassée, l’imprimante matricielle, détournée de sa fonction première, génère cette techno industrielle,
lancinante et mélodieuse.” — Libération, Paris 1999.05.28
“The piece hints at the commercial, inbuilt obsolescence principles which drive so much technological innovation and
development. At the same time, it highlighted the ‘junkyard’ ethos which drives so much technological music, which
advances as much by the reappropriation and misuse of decrepit machinery as by the application of new tools. In turn, the
machinery is reborn when it is put to service performing new and previously unimagined functions.”
— The Wire, London 1999.10
“Une œuvre intrigante... qui pose des questions fondamentales.” — Le Devoir, Montréal 1998.10.24
“A roaring chorus of carefully constructed mechanical chatter and grind.” — Mirror, Montréal 1998.11.05
Press
[The User]
The Symphony for dot matrix printers won an honourable mention in
the Digital Musics category of the Prix Ars Electronica in 1999 and the
Telefilm Prize for Best Canadian New Media Work at Festival
International Nouveau Cinéma Nouveaux Médias de Montréal in 1998.
symphony for dot matrix printers
inhabitants of the trailing-edge of technology
Formed one morning over breakfast, [The User] inhabits the trailing
edge of technology. This vantage point affords an excellent view of
technology from behind. Exploring the more prosaic side of the
human condition, [The User] has chosen ambient noise, the byproduct of existence, as the subject of its current work. Sifting a few pertinent grains from the beach of
noise is [The User]’s self-imposed and inexplicable task.
[The User] takes its name from a term employed by our technocratic society, especially in design-related
fields such as engineering, architecture and software development. The term ‘user’ objectifies and
reduces individuality to an abstract and generic ideal. This reduction is employed wherever abstract
rational methodology is applied to situations involving real people. Once this reduction is made, it
becomes much easier to treat the faceless, formless ‘user’ in an inhuman fashion. In our society we
employ the impersonal term ‘user’ to justify the infliction of neon lighting, plastic cutlery and Muzak on the
huge majority of our population.
[The User] is: architect Thomas McIntosh and composer Emmanuel Madan.
The Symphony for dot matrix printers won an honourable mention in the Digital Musics category of the
Prix Ars Electronica in 1999 and theTelefilm Prize for Best Canadian New Media Work at Festival
International Nouveau Cinéma Nouveaux Médias de Montréal in 1998.
[The User]
symphony for dot matrix printers
1998-2000
tour information
montréal, canada
FCMM
october 20 1998
paris, france
théâtre l’échangeur
may 26-30 1999
barcelona, spain
SONAR festival
june 19 1999
linz, austria
ars electronica
september 9 1999
karlsruhe, germany
ZKM, net_condition
september 22 1999
paris, france
batofar
september 24 1999
london, england
ICA
october 5-7 1999
hull, england
HTBA
october 22-24 1999
brussels, belgium
beursschouwburg
october 29 1999
lisbon, portugal
festival atlantico 99
november 6 1999
montréal, canada
earth day québec
june 21 2000
brussels, belgium *
bruxelles 2000
november 2000
* unconfirmed
[The User]
symphony for dot matrix printers
Symphony #2 for dot matrix printers was co-commissioned by the
Fondation Daniel Langlois and Hull Time Based Arts, with the support of
the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Department of Foreign
Affairs and International Trade, and le Conseil des arts et des lettres du
Québec.
without whom it would not have been possible:
thaddeus thomas & dave ozsvari
le centre PRIM, Montréal
régis hebette et le théâtre l’échangeur
société des arts technologiques, Montréal
ACREQ, FCMM, OBE
[The User]
symphony for dot matrix printers
programming: Thaddeus Thomas @ ReDada Software
hardware: Dave Ozsvari
h t t p : / / w w w. s a t . q c . c a / t h e _ u s e r /
mailt to: [email protected]
la fondation Daniel Langlois
pour l’art le science et la technologie