Travis West
Travis West is a multidisciplinary C++ programmer and digital luthier.
For the last 10 years, I have collaborated with musicians and dancers to achieve their technologically-enabled artistic visions. When I was younger, I studied jazz piano and electronic music composition, dreaming of being a professional musician. At some point along the way, I realized I was more enchanted by the instruments and technology of music making, and pivoted to learn how these tools are designed, developed, and fabricated. I have since become skilled in computer programming, C++, and electronics, and have made many digital musical instruments, working with sensors, actuators, microcontrollers, and sound synthesis algorithms.
Projects
Mubone
Since 2018
The mubone is a system of sensors, software, artists, and artistic practice, co-created by myself and Kalun Leung, that enables new forms of live performance with sound, video, and movement. By measuring the orientation of performers, musical instruments, and video projectors, we explore novel real-time entanglements of multiple media in time and space, such as painting the walls with sound and creating movement-sound couplings as part of the process of performance.
Sygaldry
2020 to 2025
In my recently completed doctoral research, I developed a C++20 library called Sygaldry that uses reflection and generic programming to drastically improve the portability and reusability of software components for digital musical instruments. Sygaldry suggests a methodological paradigm shift in the development of these instruments that streamlines architecture and maintenance, enables the development of durable and reusable digital musical instrument components, and permits generalization and reuse of research insights facing these components across different instruments.
Full literate source code on Github and on the Sygaldry documentation website
Making Mappings
2017 to 2020
A series of publications based on a study observing the mapping design process. The online appendix is located here, along with links to the open publications.
Body:Suit:Score
2016 to 2020
I worked with Professor Sandeep Bhagwati and the team at matralab at Concordia University to develop the body:suit:score, a full-body vibrotactile display used as a musical score for ambulatory performers. My overhaul of the hardware and firmware enabled precise clock synchronization across all the suit:scores in use, permitting accurately timed instructions, phase- and frequency-modulated synchronized metronomes, and the display of other novel vibrotactile icons and effects using over 60 vibrating motors distributed across the body. The body:suit:score is featured in the 2nd edition of Kate Hartman's "Make: Wearable Electronics"
Informational brochure by Alex Bachmayer
The matralab body:suit:score homepage