PAGES Exhibition in London - Day Two...

Wirxli Flimflam - "SLippery SLope" (2007) [Video/Audio Excerpt]

"SLippery SLope" (2007) composed for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse by Wirxli Flimflam. DeThomas Dibou was the architect for this site-specific composition. This is a salvaged excerpt from the in-world premiere which combines the video archive from DannyDarko Raymaker with the audio recording from Miulew Takahe. This video is not in sync with the audio and is not an accurate portrayal of what avatars witnessed live. If you cannot see this embedded video excerpt, please click here.

***UPDATE FROM THE NEAR FUTURE - SPINSTER VOOM HAS BLOGGED THIS EVENT...AND HAS ALSO PROVIDED ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THIS EVENT***

**ANOTHER UPDATE FROM THE NEAR FUTURE - MIULEW TAKAHE FROM THE AVATAR ORCHESTRA METAVERSE HAS ALSO BLOGGED THIS EVENT***

Hey there performance art and new muzak fans,

Finally, I have posted some salvaged archives from Saturday's performance event that was part of Spinster's PAGES (PgUp) exhibition in London.

Anyways, it took me forever to post the above video with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. Saturday was really stressful in that I was scrambling to find someone to video-document my premiere of "SLippery SLope". Fortunately, DannyDarko Raymaker was able to record the video component and then I just need to find someone with audio. Miulew Takahe had a very live and raw recording from his avatar's perspective (yes, the composition is very subjective and spatial) so I mixed in his audio archive with Danny's video excerpt and what we have as a result is a very confusing and non-synced video...but hey, it is better than nothing and I am extremely grateful to Miulew and Danny for helping me to document my transient composition. I was going to re-perform it just for a machinima muzak video but I found that DeThomas Dibou had already de-installed the SLopes from Virtual Haidplatz on Odyssey Island...sigh! Oh well..I can always compose a new piece and ensure that it can be re-performed over and over...

Ok, some of you are wondering what the whole concept is behind my composition.
Well, I already summarized in an earlier posting so if you just click on this link here and scroll about half-way down, you will see my official PR paragraph about this composition.

However, I think it is about time I displayed for you in fine print exactly what my official notecard score for the composition looked like...

This might not make much sense to you as a reader but thankfully, it made sense to the members of the Orchestra...phew! The text you are about to read below was actually not as daunting as it first appears. For starters, I guided them through the spatial aspects of the composition a couple of times throughout our scheduled rehearsal times. In addition, I ensured that the score was seperated into a "HUDer" score and a "Classicist" score so the performer only needed to focus on their unique role within this very spatial and SLope-specific composition...

Ok...here is my full conductor's score:

"SLippery SLope". Full Conductor's Score by Wirxli Flimflam, 2007

There are 3 different coloured SLopes designed by the Architect, DeThomas Dibou: Blue, pink and purple.

There are two unique roles in this composition that an orchestra player can choose:

CLASSICISTS wear and play a scripted pitched instrument (eg. cello or flute)

HUDers wear 2 HUDs made by Bingo (performance HUD and Info-Receiver HUD)

If you fall off any SLope:

CLASSICISTS = Play c-b-bflat over and over in loop while returning to the 1st blue SLope (or after 5 minutes of performing, returning to the SLope you fell off of).

HUDers = Everytime you recognize one of the 3 colours on the clothes or hair of an audience avatar, play a button that corresponds to that colour (blue, purple, pink) while returning to ascend the Blue SLope. (or after 5 minutes of performing, returning to the SLope you fell off of).

Note: Wirxli will play both the role of the HUDer and the CLASSICIST and will do some improv soloing while climbing the SLopes.

Blue SLope (top buttons in HUD)

CLASSICISTS = Play b-flat drone on scripted instrument (ex. cello)

HUDers = play from the blue buttons on the HUD if you see these Regensburg landmarks while on the SLope:

a) Wolf Lesen und Lernen
b) wittl musik
c) any avatar in the audience that is wearing blue...

Pink SLope (middle buttons in HUD):


CLASSICISTS = Play b drone on scripted instrument

HUDers = play from the pink buttons on the HUD if you see these Regensburg landmarks while on the SLope:

a) Wolf Lesen and Lernen
b) Reise Studi/Haifplatz
c) Rossini cafe bar and restaurant
d) Any avatar in the audience wearing pink

Purple SLope (bottom buttons in HUD):

CLASSICISTS = Play c drone on scripted instrument.

HUDers = play from the purple buttons on the HUD if you see these Regensburg landmarks while on the SLope:

a) Avastar Vending machine
b) Lepanto
c) Peppers
d) Any avatar in the audience wearing purple.

The piece is complete once every CLASSICIST and HUDer have successfully climbed across all 3 SLopes without falling.

Ok, there you go....that was the score...not too difficult to follow, right? ;-)

Well, here was the one pic I took of the premiere...

Yes, it is true...this is my only photo from my composition's premiere. I was too busy performing and conducting the performers of the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse...sigh! You can see that I am acting as both a "HUDer" and a "Classcist" for my role as I have Bingo's HUD interface and the Hypercello's keyboard interface on my screen which was designed by Robbie Dingo. If you have any other photos of my compositional premiere, please email them to me at ideatron@gmail.com


The second in-world premiere to be featured on saturday was "Fragula" by Miulew Takahe. It is quite a fun and dynamic piece as you can probably tell by my theatrical and gymnastical backflips. I consider Fragula to be the most frenzied composed for the orchestra so far. I have since nicknamed it "Count Fragula". I was seriously fragged that morning so I was pleased to let all my aesthetic frustrations out. Here is the official audio recording from our performance of Takahe's Fragula.


Here was what happened earlier on in the day...

Earlier in the day, I collaborated with my adopted daughter Fwwixli Swindlehurst for our very first public performance together called "Ageplay Performance Residue #1". You can read all about it on our collaborative blog and on the curator Spinster Voom's blog.

PAGES Exhibition in London - Day One...

"Rue Blanche" by Miulew Takahe. Video recorded by Evo Szuyuan. If you cannot see this embedded video, click here.


"Fadheit" by Maximillian Nakamura. Video recorded by Evo Szuyuan. If you cannot see this embedded video, click here.


"WNK" by Bingo Onomatopoeia. Video recorded by Evo Szuyuan. If you cannot see this embedded video, click here.


"Vicky's Remix" based on "Vicky's Mosquitos" by Hars Hefferman. Video recorded by Evo Szuyuan. If you cannot see this embedded video, click here.

Here I am buried in the crowd that is eager to watch myself and my colleagues peform in the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse.

Hey there peformance art and new muzak fans,

Yesterday was the first day of the PAGES Exhibition Festival called "PgUp" that was being broadcast live in RL at the Notice Gallery in London. Spinster Voom was (well, still is) the curator.

***NEWS FLASH FROM THE NEAR FUTURE: Spinster Voom has blogged a posting from this event.

For the first part of the day, my new muzak group, the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse played the classics from yestermonth. These included: Rue Blanche by Miulew Takahe, FADHEIT by Maximillian Nakamura, Vicky's Remix (based on an early improvisation called "Vicky's Mosquitos" by Hars Hefferman) and WNK by Bingo Onomatopoeia.

***NEWS UPDATE FROM THE NEAR FUTURE - To listen to performance of "Rue Blanche" from this event on the 28th, click here.

After those classics were re-played, I suddenly became an audience member and really enjoyed myself while checking out the next performance of the day...

FAU FERDINAND AND GAZIRA BABELI - All nOObs are Sailors (performance, 2007)


If you cannot see this embedded video, click here. This video was recorded by Evo Szuyuan. Please watch the whole video to see what happened to me at the very end of the performance...

The performance begins with Fau asking for a nOOb in the audience to volunteer as a participant in her performance. The obviously naive nOOb named Hopi Jun is called to the stage for the sacrficial offering...

At first, Hopi does not mind being in a Hot Pot Cauldron full of scolding water (what a nOOb, his nervous system has not even activated yet!)...but then when he finds he is trapped in this cannibalistic concoction, he screams for a teleport from the frying pot into what hopefully is not a fire...

Somehow, Hopi managed to get TP'd out of harm's way. I guess he was only needed for a few minutes - enough to add some flavour to the Cream of nOOb soup! It was at this point that I gave Fau a bottle of Absynthe in order to ensure that the soup was truly tasty...I guess at one point, Fau herself had a sip of the fairy sauce as she was getting quite tipsy...no wonder she reached for her...machine gun!

I was one of the few people sitting down and to my surprise, Fau gunned me down in front of the fountain...I guess that Abysinthe made her a little wOOt lOOpy! Well, I was alive enough to ensure the audience (curators, critics and collectors etc etc) that my recent death should enhance the value of my work for future generations. ;-)

Here is a better angle of Fau where you can see her DOOM-esque machine gun. Gazira was a collaborator in this performance but I guess she decided to stay on the sidelines for as much as possible...probably to avoid Fau's friendly fire...lol!

After her performance finished, we watched an in-world machinima video that was edited by Gazira and Fau...It was very tribal and trance-y, I must say... I felt I was having some sort of shamanistic near-death experience with all this minimalist drumming that was ensnaring my fragile psyche. Well, it must have only been a near-death experience because I was soon back on my feet and thanking the Lindens-on-High for my Second Salvation!

Stay tuned, for my next 2 performances happening on June 30th early in the morning in SL... I will be premiering my new composition "SLippery SLope" with the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse and will also be performing with my adopted SL daughter, Fwwixli Swindlehurst.

SLippery SLope Dress Rehearsal

Here I am performing with both my hypercello and my purple HUD backpack alongside the HUD designer, Bingo Onomatopoeia. Quite the action shot, eh? Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Hey performance art and muzak fans,

Yaaay! The attendence was superb for the dress rehearsal of my brand new composition "SLippery SLope" for the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse. We will be playing the premiere as part of the Pages Exhibition in London on June 30th. Spinster Voom will be curating this event.

Anyways, the orchestra performers were very resilient and rarely slipped on the 3 SLippery SLopes that DeThomas Dibou made for my composition. I think we can perform this within the 30 minute time frame offered by the curator. I am also very pleased that the AOM is starting to be more "orchestral" in scale...I think I had a full string section (well, a string quartet of cellos anyway) and at least 2 flutes!

Here is the quick bit of PR about SLippery SLope that I wrote on the fly to meet Spinster's looming press deadlines...

"Wirxli Flimflam's SLippery SLope is a performative composition that enables each orchestra performer (avatar) to navigate through the SLopes designed for him/her (Wirxli is gender neutral) by DeThomas Dibou in Virtual Haidplatz.
Wirxli has divided the roles of each orchestral performer into 2 groups: Classicist and HUDer. The Classicist plays "conventional" classical instruments such as cello and flute. The HUDer wears a HUD (Heads Up Display) whose interface was designed by Bingo Onomatopoiea. The goal of each performer is to climb up 3 SLippery SLopes without falling. Aleatoric instructions are given to each orchestral performer in order for them to determine how to musically interpret these 3 SLippery SLopes."

I want to thank Evo Szuyuan for taking such great action shots of yesterday's rehearsal. If you want to see more of here photos from this event, click here.

Well, here are a few more from Evo's Picasa website.

Here is an aerial view of Virtual Haidplatz. This gives you a general sense of what the entire performance space looks like with all 3 SLopes visible. Photo by Evo Szuyuan.


This pic was taken near the beginning of what I think is our 1st dress rehearsal. We are on the 1st blue SLippery SLope which I think is the most difficult one to ascend without falling off. In skiing, the "Blue Square" is the intermediate level, but this felt more like we were skiing uphill on a "Black Diamond" ski run...yikes! Photo by Evo Szuyuan.


It looks like Bingo and Jannne Janus have successfully reached the crest of the blue SLope...yaaay! Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Bluewave Ogee also made a concerted effort to finish ascending the blue SLope. Maybe she just liked the colour blue because it matched her name? Maybe she was fixated on the colour or something? LOL! ;-) One tip I have for the performers is to take a run straight up the blue SLope without looking back - be brave and the blue SLope will be bypassed. Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Here is proof that I actually eventually made it to the concluding purple SLope...phew! Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Here is Jannne Janus triumphantly playing his hypercello on the edge of the pink SLope...what a cliffhanger....er...SLopehanger! ;-) Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

This a lovely pic of my good friend Chi5 Shenzhou who decided to perform as a HUDer for my composition...yaaaay! Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

My composition was not the only one we workshopped for June 30th. In fact, the orchestra also previewed Miulew Takahe's brand new composition, Fragula. Here is a pic of the two of us performing it...the way this photo was taken, you would think it was a duet or something. ;-)



....anyways, I look forward to performing premieres of both my composition SLippery SLope and Miulew's piece Fragula on June 30th :-)

Thursday's SLippery SLope rehearsal...

Posing in front of the blue starting SLope - Left-right: Wirxli (me), Miulew Takahe, Junivers Stockholm (hyper-flute), Bingo Onomatopoeia and Way Sands (hyper-cello). Miulew and Bingo are going to be "HUDers" while Junivers and Way will be among the mini-legion of "Classicists". Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Hey performance art and new muzak fans,

My first official rehearsal dedicated to my new music composition, SLippery SLope was a success! Many thanks to DeThomas Dibou for creating my 3 SLopes. I encourage you to attend the in-world premiere on the 30th of June as it already sounds radically different than our 1st HUD-only rehearsal in late April.

I will not tell you much about the composition within this post as I would rather save that for a future blog posting where I can reflect on SLippery SLope's in-world premiere at Spinster Voom's Pages exhibition in London (RL) and Haidplatz (SL).

I will only say for now that I am mixing classical performers and HUD navigators into my composition...It will be a tribute to both the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries :-)

In the meantime, check out a couple more photos from thursday's AOM rehearsal of my composition "SLippery SLope"...

Aerial view of Haidplatz. This view shows the blue, purple SLopes and part of the pink SLope. Photo by Evo Szuyuan.

Here is a pic that I took where I show some of the performers' nametags for your convenient benefit. You can see a colourbar to my left. That is part of the performance HUD designed by Bingo.

I almost forgot to mention that my AOM composition will be premiering on the same day as my collaborative performance with my adopted SL daughter, Fwwixli Swindlehurst.