O –: An Epistemic DMI for a Cross-Cultural Reflection on Time and Music

This paper introduces a Digital Musical Instrument (DMI) that inscribes a linear and a circular conception of time, inspired by Western and Eastern time philosophies. The DMI employs two 3D-printed boards equipped with ESP32 chips for wireless communication and WS2812 LEDs providing visual representation feedback, and interactive boxes, each fitted with a light sensor and ESP32 Mini boards. Such interface is designed to be coupled with a software counterpart for sound generation. The project originates from a collaboration with two composers from diverse cultural backgrounds - one Chinese and one Italian. Through collaborative design and co-composing practice, the proposed DMI emerged as an epistemic tool, promoting cultural understanding and critically highlighting the socio-cultural role of technology. Through such process, the significance of rediscovering time in contemporary globalization and philosophy was explored, challenging the conception of time as a mere measurement parameter and striving to reveal the importance of understanding the role of time across different cultural contexts. This project wishes to expand the constitutive role of musical time, demonstrating its diversity and prompting a reflective layer of the perception of performative and musical time in NIME.