“You’ve Got A Friend in Me!”: The Fellowship of the ‘Others’

Charulatha Mani and Taana Rose Part of CW18

This paper describes a creative work in progress. Two women vocal performers from diverse traditions come together with technology to create a textured soundscape. Using artistic practice as process, the methodological framework adopts artistic experimentation as the key method. Adopting the overarching philosophy that Otherness comprises of the marginalised, the vulnerable and the machine, we draw on Donna Haraway’s notion of ‘becoming-with’ technology. We draw on lullaby from the South Indian tradition of music as the primary content. Drawing on key syllabic elements from the lullaby tradition, we compose and improvise using technology as the facilitator and partner, on a technologically created textured substrate. The outcomes showcased here include sound files of failed and successful attempts, as well as spectrograms depicting the key moments in the composed-improvisations.