Signalsundertests

Richard (Ricky) Graham, Ph.D., is a musician, technologist, educator and business owner based in Alexandria, Virginia. Ricky is an Ableton Certified Trainer and he produces and performs music under the alias, Signals Under Tests. He also designs software. Graham’s academic research is centered around computer-assisted music composition and instrumental music performance. He developed the first iteration of his live performance system for multichannel guitar as an artist-in-residence at STEIM in 2010. He received his Ph.D. in music from Ulster University in 2012. His writing on performance systems design and electroacoustic theory has been published in the proceedings of the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), Electroacoustic Music Studies (EMS) Network, and the Irish Sound, Science, and Technology Association (ISSTA) conferences. Journal articles and artist statements by Graham have also been published in Leonardo Music Journal (MIT Press), the Computer Music Journal (MIT Press), Emille (Journal of the Korean Electro-Acoustic Music Society), and Divergence Press (University of Huddersfield). Compositions from his 2012 album, “Nascent,” were performed at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival (NYCEMF), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) and the national Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS) conference. Ricky was also an artist-in-residence at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in 2016 and 2017 and he has presented his research and performed his music compositions at a number of prestigious research institutions including Bauhaus-Universität, Nokia Bell Labs and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research on performance systems design, spatial audio for augmented reality and sonification featured at the Toronto International Electroacoustic Symposium (TIES), AES International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVAR) and the Korean Electro-Acoustic Music Society Annual Conference (KEAMSAC). In late 2017, Graham formed the audio technology company, Delta Sound Labs, with messrs, Edwin Park and John Harding. The company brought a series of products to market, completed an artist residency at the Technicolor Experience Center, secured vendors across the globe and participated in music festivals, conventions and conferences including Moogfest, Musikmesse, Superbooth and New Interfaces for Musical Expression. Delta Sound Labs also featured at Ableton’s Loop 2018, Moogfest 2019, CES 2020 and NAMM 2020. His recent music collaboration with Hellmut Neidhardt (N), “Disrupt/Construct,” was released by Denovali in 2019. A new Signals Under Tests music release is slated for 2022.