The deleuze-ian/guattarian performance: Performancing at N-1 dimensions

Abstract

This paper considers music performance in light of the possibly most radical move away from the Cartesian idea of the body as informed by the higher order rationality of the mind: this is a performance informed by Deleuze's and Guattari's body without organs. The paper examines the particular performance activities of 'hardware hacker' Nic Collins, of 'live converter' Kaffe Matthews as well as 'infra-instrumentalist' Phil Archer's sonic interventions. These performances greatly reflect what I term a 'Deleuze-ian/Guattarian performance as they sculpture sounds that deterritorialise rhythm and make sonic bifurcations possible; they blur the point and free the line; and while pushing towards multiplicities, they rejoice in the schizophrenic transfinite! The paper examines the role of technology in what I call "performancing", which is performance conceptualized as a rhizomatic activity, and questions whether technology aids in working towards the creation of multiplicities and towards making sonic bifurcations in performance possible.