[These notes appear in the Banjaxed CD booklet.]
Five of the eight compositions on this CD belong to an original series of experimental music compositions that incorporate magic squares as compositional models [...]. A magic square consists of a series of numbers arranged so that the sum of each row, column, and diagonal is the same amount. Routes through the square are mapped onto a musical structure that uses the properties of the square as a compositional model. The unique position of each number within the square is paralleled in the musical score by a particular style, rhythm, density, timbre and orchestration. Of the enormous number of magic squares it is possible to form, seven have been associated with the seven planets of the Ptolemaic Universe (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, The Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon). The "Magic Square of the Sun" is displayed on the cover of this CD [see below]. The compositions in this series have been modeled after the "Ptolemaic Magic Squares" as they appeared in De Occulta Philosophia, a book on magic by the Renaissance polymath Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim published in 1531. These compositions reflect my interest in a music that combines the refined procedures of classical art with the raw power of popular culture.The "Magic Square of the Sun"...
6 32 3 34 35 1 7 11 27 28 8 30 19 14 16 15 23 24 18 20 22 21 17 13 25 29 10 9 26 12 36 5 33 4 2 31
Seven of the eight compositions on this recording [...] involve live performers with computer-generated tape using the original computer music software GACSS (Genetic Algorithms in Composition and Sound Synthesis). GACSS is an original software package written in C/C++ which serves as a sound generation and compositional tool for music composition. GACSS was developed by Illinois composer, artist, and multi-media specialist, Benjamin Grosser. GACSS utilizes a Genetic Algorithm (GA). A search procedure patterned after the workings of natural genetics (survival of the fittest), as a control structure for sound synthesis and compositional parameters.
Network Slammer for amplified flute and computer-generated tape was written during the spring of 1998 and is structured on the 7x7 "Magic Square of Venus." Seven routes through the square at a duration of 33 seconds each are framed by two additional routes used for an introduction and coda. The tape was produced using GACSS with the assistance of Mark Abott.