NIME 2024: Call For Music

NIME 2024 invites submission of proposals that showcase New Interfaces for Musical Expression in performance and composition. We look forward to receiving submissions that expand and reshape our understanding of NIME in the conceptualization, performance, and perception of music.

We ask you to submit performances with a length of 4-8 minutes when it is a staged theatre piece and 5 - 15 minutes if you apply for a club performance, however, proposals for shorter or longer performances will also be reviewed, in that case, requests for shorter versions are possible. Submissions can be for existing works as well as proposals for new ones. Due to the ongoing discussion within and outside NIME about environmental issues, submissions that focus on novel forms of online performance and hybrid variants will be given special consideration. We highly welcome submissions from authors from under-represented communities along the lines of race, sex, gender, gender identity, age, ability, socio-economic background or status in and outside of academia. In accordance with its theme, NIME2024 also welcomes submissions that focus on instruments that make a connection between the tactility of instruments in a hybridizing environment.

If a music submission is selected for performance at NIME, proposing artists are expected to be available to perform their work on any day of the conference. The NIME 2024 organization is unable to consider requests for musical performances to happen on specific days.

Please contact the general chairs with any questions regarding the suitability of a potential NIME performance submission with regard to the specific Utrecht venue situation.

Take note of the options available at the music presentation formats/venues. There are for example special opportunities for spatial performances.

Music Review Process:

Given the nature of music submissions, we understand that full anonymity may be difficult to achieve without compromising the supporting material. However, contributors should meet these basic criteria of anonymization:

• Avoid any trace of the performers’ names and affiliations in the written material.
• Avoid any trace of the performers’ names and affiliations in links and other references to outside material.
• Identity and affiliations of the performer(s) should not be mentioned in the title, description or opening/closing credits of the submitted media.

The review process is as follows:

All music submissions will be subjected to a rigorous double-blind peer review process by an international committee of experts. All of the submitted performances should be works showcasing new NIMEs, new NIME technology, new ways of performing with NIMEs etcetera. New insights/pieces with ‘older’ NIMEs are welcomed as well. Each submission will be evaluated according to the following criteria: novelty in performance/instrument, performance quality, appropriateness of topic, importance, ethical standards and presentation. There are no limitations or requirements concerning musical style. Authors should also familiarize themselves with the NIME statements on diversity and environmental issues.

1. Each submission will be assigned to, at least, 3 reviewers for independent evaluation.
2. The music chairs will make the final decision on acceptance, also taking feasibility into account, and will inform the authors of their decision along with the reviewers’ comments.

Please note this review process is double-blind, meaning reviewers remain anonymous to the authors and vice-versa. It is expected that authors respect the NIME Ethical guidelines for NIME publications.

If you’d like to register as a NIME reviewer (or are unsure if you’re already a reviewer), please register as a reviewer using this form.

Submission Guide:

NIME uses the CHI template for submissions. You can edit it using LaTeX, or as a Word document. Templates for both LaTeX and Word can be found here.
We recommend using a service like Overleaf to edit and complete your submission.

To submit

1. Export and download your Latex document or Word document as a PDF. Note that your submission must be anonymised!
2. If you don’t already have an account for NIME’s conference management system, create one.
3. Create a submission for NIME 2024 in CMT3.
4. Include your title, abstract and co-authors, choose the categorisation for your submission, and comply with the NIME ethics requirements. Add your final, anonymised PDF.
5. Upload an anonymized (if possible) performance of your work as well.

Note: The deadline to create a submission is January 31, 2024. Neither a PDF nor the performance are required at that time.

You will then have until February 14, 2024 to upload your performance submission as a PDF, and complete your submission.

Clarification of what is expected in each section of the music and installation submission template: Program notes: This is the text you want to appear in the concert and installation program, to be read by the audience, if your submission is accepted. Maximum 200 words.

Project description: Here you explain the background and context of the submitted work, and describe the underlying concepts and technologies, and whatever other information you want reviewers to know. This is also an opportunity to explain why this is relevant to the NIME community, and how it connects to the field. It will be read by reviewers, but if the submission is accepted, it will also be part of documentation for the future, in the form of music proceedings. It is not required to be an academic text.

Performance notes: This is equivalent to a tech rider. Here you describe the technical and practical requirements for the performance or installation, including needs in terms of space, props, furniture, sound amplification, and other things reviewers, music chairs, and organizers need to know to evaluate the feasibility of the work and plan for a potential performance. Please mention if the submission is particularly suitable for a particular venue (of those listed in the call). Also, please be clear about what you yourself is able to bring, e.g., in terms of technology, and what you expect us to provide. The total page count for the submission PDF is expected to be in the range of 2-6 pages.

Requirements for presentation and inclusion in the NIME proceedings

Music

If your submission is accepted, these are the requirements for being included in the proceedings:

• NIME registration. All presenting authors/performers, whether presenting and attending NIME 2024 in person or online, must register and pay the appropriate fee. DEADLINE: May 7, 2024
• A camera-ready submission. This is a final PDF version of documentation relating to your work that is correctly formatted and ready for inclusion in the proceedings. Camera-ready performance documentation should be added in CMT3. (check the available upload options for video and audio)
  DEADLINE: May 7, 2024
• A video submission. We will use this video to present performances from authors/performers attending online. For authors/performers attending in person there is a preference for live performance however we also recognise that the video may be more appropriate for some works and contexts. Even for live performances, a video submission is required for documentation, backup/failsafe purposes and online participants in other time zones.
  DEADLINE: May 31, 2024
• A thumbnail. For presentation and archiving purposes we require a thumbnail representing your subject.
  DEADLINE: May 31, 2024

Your camera-ready submission and your video will be made publicly available.

Video / Thumbnail submission guidelines

The video upload for the proceeding submission should NOT be anonymized but be a close representation of the performance delivered at NIME.

• Minimum resolution: 1080p
• Encoding: H.264 (often in video software exports as a YouTube preset), mp4
• Upload: You will receive a link with an upload location.
• Thumbnail: 4x3 aspect ratio. JPG, PNG and SVG. This thumbnail will be used on the WEBsite for recognisability. Think of a picture of your instrument, a video still of a performance, an image evoking something related to the piece, etcetera. Resolution is at your discretion. Avoid transparency as we don’t know our thumbnail page background color yet.

Music presentation format/venues:

The presentation format will depend on the author’s location and their ability to travel to Utrecht. In principal music submissions are performed in Utrecht. However, dependent on the submissions the organization will provide opportunities to present work online, either live, recorded or in a hybrid format, the latter is of special interest to the organization. NIME2024 will provide a number of different location opportunities for work to be presented in its optimal environment which includes spatialization options. These are as follows:

• The main performance venue is Tivoli Vredenburg. Works can be submitted that will be presented in a performance space that seats 800 and has state of the art utilities for an optimal professional presentation.
• The secondary venues that we’ll utilize are a few local Utrecht stages, venues that cater to performances that benefit from a club atmosphere. Imagine performances that are intermingled with socializing activities.
• A special feature of NIME2024 is a performance dinner at ‘the Nijverheid’ in Utrecht. This location is part of a larger artist collective and has an atmosphere that people generally associate with artist free states like Cristiania or Burning man but also more low-key communes in any other part of the world. We seek performances and interactive installations that thrive in a vibrant interactive but also intimate environment. There is a stage for performances but anything can happen from small ‘acts at the table’ to interactive installations that thrive in a ‘country fair’ like environment.
• HKU offers two opportunities for the performance of spatially inspired interactive works.
• The Wave Field Synthesis array of the Game of Life Foundation.
  Check the special software page to work with this system. The WFS system gets upgraded this and next year to improve accessibility.
• The virtual acoustics system designed by Tijs Muijs and Antal van Nie. This unique system creates an artificial room experience using an array of special plate speakers, dedicated reverberation software and psychoacoustic manipulation.
• Due to the specifics of these technologies, they are applied in smaller spaces, we will work with a rotation system to organize these concerts. Be prepared to perform your submission more than once.
• Due to the change in dates there are a few new opportunities that are currently explored. Please check back here for possible other opportunities.

Please make sure in your submission to indicate which is your preferred format/venue for performance and why. We especially need a good motivation for the special spatial oriented works.

Besides presenting your work at the conference, we want you to submit your work as a representative video submission as well that can be used for archival purposes and viewers online when a live stream is not possible.

NIME 2024 Partners