Charm was composed 1996 and was first performed at Fylkingen in Stockholm the same year.
The material used in the piece/pieces is computer generated by a Digital PDP 15/40 connected to the bank of soundgenerators which together formed the main ”Digital Studio” at EMS in Stockholm.
This studio is not anymore functioning but the programming languages one used at that time ranged from Csound-like syntax (based on Fortran) to more intuitive languages where you interconnected lists of data with each other and controlled the performance with joystick and digitizer (tablet).
The basematerial is produced with deterministic methods as well as derived from playing realtime. Different effects were afterwards applied to get a sense of irregularity.
This material is developed further in Charm by different methods in the computer music studio of my own. This studio is based around a ProTools III system with a Sample Cell card and an older SoundAccelerator system both running GRM Tools and HyperPrism and various PlugIn modules.
All composition takes place in the program ”Logic Audio” from where the SampleCell card also can be controlled.
The sounds in Charm differ from the other pieces in such way that they tend to be more irregular. I have tried to acheive sounds such as from flaming gas, both distant and near. In Charm the sounds are also somewhat dirtier than in the other pieces.
Spin is a visit in the world of soulless things. Charm is a visit in the world of their actions.
Performance
Charm is best performed in a good diffusionsystem based on stereo input and with preserved stereoimage. It is also possible to perform the piece with a more complex diffusionsystem but one should be aware that all effects based on phase differences tend to be less pregnant. The sounds in Charm are already placed in a stereoimage. If the listening position is perfect, some sounds appear to come from behind and move both up and down
Rolf Enström
Charm is the third piece in the cycle of six pieces which share the same material.
Directions composed in 1979, Spin composed in 1995, Charm composed in 1996 and Strange composed in 1997 are all 7’20” and can be played separately as well as simultaneously since they share the same structural properties as well as the same material.