Avatar Orchestra Metaverse's "Fragula" as captured by Evo Szuyuan

The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse (AOM) is a playful and highly interactive collaboration that can only take place in a virtual environment, wherein several people upload various sound samples and, against a score, activate them, thus becoming musical instruments themselves.

To facilitate the viewer's understanding of who is performing, each avatar wears a rounded object on its back, and as the sounds are triggered, that avatar spins on an axis. According to Gumnosophistai Nurmi (aka Leif Inge), the inspiration for that shape is Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase."


Nude Descending a Staircase from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Now Machinimator Evo Szuyuan has created "Fragula," the best video I've seen to date that documents this strange and cutting-edge phenomenon that is taking place in Second Life.



Fragula credits

Composer: Miulew Takahe
Instruments and animations: Bingo Onomatopoeia

Participating in the Orchestra are:
Bingo Onomatopoeia, aka Andreas Müller (Regensburg)
BlaiseDeLaFrance Voom, aka Biagio Francia (Agropoli)
Bluewave Ogee, aka Leslie Jarmon (Austin)
DeThomas Dibou, aka Detlef Thomas (Regensburg)
Evo Szuyuan, aka Brigit Lichtenegger (Rotterdam)
Free Noyes, aka Pauline Oliveros (Kingston)
Goodwind Seiling, aka Sachiko Hayashi (Stockholm)
Gumnosophistai Nurmi, aka Leif Inge (Oslo)
Hars Hefferman, aka Harold Schellinx (Paris)
Humming Pera, aka Tina M. Pearson (Victoria)
Ida Aabye, aka Nathalie Fougeras (Paris/Brussel)
Lizsolo Mathilde, aka Liz Solo (St. John's)
Loop Luo, aka Loopland (Regensburg)
Maximillian Nakamura, aka Shintaro Miyazaki (Berlin)
Maxxo Klaar, aka Max D. Well (Regensburg)
Miulew Takahe, aka Björn Eriksson (Sollefteå)
Nnoiz Papp, aka Tobias Becker (Haan)
Paco Mariani, aka Chris Wittkowsky (Regensburg)
Weave Noyes, aka Sarah Weaver (New York)
Wirxli Flimflam, aka Jeremy Owen Turner (Vancouver)