With the intention of incorporating a destructive element-inspired by my new personal interest in traditional and modern folk be it music, lore and literature, I intend to look at the demise of a traditional way of life for a modern one. The same way industrialisation swept across the Pre 1900’s Britain, I would like to combine elements of natural field recordings, place specific rituals, songs, chants etc with the harsh ensnaring growl of the approaching modern world. Do we create a new world by destroying the old?
From looking deeply into the 90s rave flyer book ‘DANCE91 by KFAX8’ I have struck upon an idea where I draw inspiration from the absurd, technicolour flyers and posters of 1991. Each flyer has its own distinct concept and design offering a multitude of ways to interpret and construct sonics from. I would explore this by interviewing family and friends who lived through these years, with the intention of incorporating these as samples throughout the piece.– Look into software’s such as SoundGrain and Cecila which interpret images into sound.–
Glass To a Wall-if we look at comic panels in a literal sense, panels are windows, we either look in or out as a reader. As a concept it would be interesting to restrict the visual aspect of looking into a panel but replaced by an auditory one instead. Intended as an installation and experiment in abstract storytelling the audience will be invited to listen through a panel, in our case a wall, separating the real from fantasy.
BIO: Sam Auinger (*1956) is a sonic thinker, composer and sound-artist. He is collaborating with cityplaners and architects, giving lectures and is a frequent participant of international symposiums on the topic of urban planning, architecture, media, and the senses. He was a visiting professor at the University of the Arts in Berlin, running the Experimental Sound Design department at the Sound Studies Master Program from 2008 till 2012. Currently he is an associate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Since 1989 he works together with the composer Bruce Odland as O+A, exploring the central theme of hearing perspective. Their work is known for large scale, public space sound installations that transform city noise into harmony in real-time. He is also a founding member of stadtmusik, a collaboration between the Berlin-based composers Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl with the media artist and urbanist Dietmar Offenhuber. When he was younger he interpreted sound as information.
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When Sam was younger he interpreted sound as information. Considerably older than most of the students, Sam discuss his past and how listening to the enviroment has changed; to him it was a daily practice. For example before surveillance cameras, he alludes to how nature acted as more aural traditional form. A farmhouse near his home were almost patrolled by Geese, they would make a noise when intruders got closer to the farmhouse.
Architecture has a psychotropic quality, meaning that experiences within a given space can elevate a specific feeling. In a modern sense, architecture considers the economy and functionality whereas traditional buildings designed with a sense of place and the environment. Medieval and renaissance churches are a good example of this traditional architecture.
Sam alludes to his parents reaction to the music of the 60s such as Rock and Roll, Krautrock etc and how they hated it, believing it to be just noise. It wasn’t until his Father passed in 2000 that his mother claimed to enjoy one of these songs during a car journey. He claims that his mum can finally decode the music after 60 years of sonic evolution.
Psychoacoustics and how we perceive sound comes from our culture and personal history. Example, because of Sam’s Catholic background he hears ‘Bell’s’ as a purely religious and architects of time. They remind him of his past. This has been discussed at length in ‘The Recording Angel.
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BLUE MOON O+A (Public Space Sound Installation)- When Sam began doing public installation’s there was no such thing a Sound Art, he was in a completely un-explored field. The only places to discuss these specific ideas about sound where at Media Festivals around the world. Media Philosophers like Vilem Flusser, Paul Virilio, Jean Baudrillard were often speaking at these festivals.
Sam and his team were pushed to create Blue Moon because of his belief that people in modern cities forget about certain sounds of nature. Yes, people may see the classic picture of a beach on the underground as a holiday advert however ‘people forgot the sound of the tide’.
He wanted to help reconnect people to the forgotten sonics of nature.
What do you really hear when you listen to your city? (O+A Sonic Vista)
MY PEBBLE (2020)
(FROM PDF) My Pebble is a sound piece in three parts. In the form of a short story, the work gives suggestions and ins- tructions for exploring the personal sound space. It was composed at the beginning of May 2020 for qua- rantine situations in hard lockdown. It is a series of small exercises with an experimental character, which, when practiced, can make a room or an entire apartment speak / sound. Slowly the living room becomes a sound space, and ‚thinking with the ears‘ develops in the player.
For this piece, we need some time, personal attention, and an instrument. This instrument should be as hard as stone, small and light, and shaped to hold it like a chalk piece to play little impulses/beats on different objects. I use a river pebble.
My Pebble
a) Pebble meets object b) Pebble meets object in changing situations c) Pebble falls to the ground
Imagine a friend (our Pebble) visits us for the first time, and we show him our room/apartment in detail. He is interested in everything and wants to get to know every detail, try everything, and contact everything.
This experiment is to create a memory of sound, almost a sonic logbook we can tap into when observing things.
Cai’s experience: He needs more time to practice for he was trying to force a sound from the object. He already had a note in his head before tapping the object.
Michael experience: He was trying to control the performance but noticed that with every slight change in tap the sound was very different.
Sam Auigner response: is to try and not think too much. A large window or doorway has many voices due to its geometrical design, tension and frame. Sam urges us to look beyond the simplifying process when we perceiving things, but with sonic thinking we can direct everyday objects and spaces that may seem one dimensional.
Mono-Is an audio system in which the signals are mixed and then worked trough a single audio channel.
Stereo-Is a recording onto two separate audio channels, Left ad Right.
The Pan Law-is a recording and mixing principle that states that any signal of equal amplitude and phase that is played in both channels of a stereo system will increase in loudness up to 6.02 dBSPL, provided there is perfect response in the loudspeaker system and perfect acoustics in the room.
Ambisonics-A method of recording, mixing and playing back three dimensional, 360 degree audio.
In the opening lesson we began to discuss the different types of speaker layout in relation to a Quadraphonic and 5.1. Ultimately deciding that we can contend the traditional idea of a ‘sweet-spot’ usually considered in the middle of the installation space.
I have fallen into this trap myself when setting up speakers for gigs and parties, most often I will stand in-front of the speakers, dead centre, in order to judge the quality of sound. However this is limiting and neglects the participatory aspect of an installation or party. It is very rare unless instructed to do so that the audience will stand still, therefore the entire performance/listening space becomes an evolving vessel for the audience to explore. For example pockets of space may sound completely different to the other side of the room.
‘We no longer need to restrict ourselves to the Quadraphonic setup or LCRS Format for every setup can heed different results.’
Multi-Channel Scores:
In this initial workshop Ingrid Plum introduced us to ‘Scoring for Multi-Channel Works’. Very similar to the abstract Graphic Scores I learnt about in first year, multi channel scores enable the creator to clearly map out the ambisonic’s of the piece. As abstract or detailed as you like, the scores are designed to be interpreted for a quadrophonic or more speaker setup.
It was very interesting to see the many takes my classmates had on this task for the results seemed endless. Each score was completely unique and original. My own score took inspiration (strangely) from Dante’s ‘Inferno’, I’m not sure why but I began to map out my sounds in decreasing layers, each ring/layer expressed a section of the piece. For example my score consisted of four rings, intended for to be read as running time; 1minute, 2minutes, 3minutes and 4minutes.
Initial name of Sound Piece so I don’t forget; ABRACADABRA
This idea primary focus is on the practice of traditional and modern magic, in relation to artistic expression and how the true meaning of magic has been lost and contorted. (Inspired by the comic writers Alan Moore and Grant Morrison)
Essentially,
Over time, pushed by the 19th and 20th Centuries renewed fascination with the fantastical, the idea of being a magician or producing magic has undergone a radical metamorphosis. Locked within the world of pop culture, cheap entertainment and video games, the true meaning of Magic or ‘The Art’ has been lost.
Magic is a science of language
The earliest forms of magic is often referred to as ‘The Art’, I personally believe this to be literal.
MAGIC IS ART AND ART IS MAGIC
The science of manipulating words or symbols to achieve changes within the human consciousness.
A Grimmoir, A book of spells is pretty much a book on grammar. To ‘cast a spell’ is simply to spell a word.
MOORE SAYS;
The idea of culture or a culture began with cults, overseen by the Shaman (artist, learned man) who could generate pools of interest or thought through his/hers art, most likely writing and songs. They could offer advice or help others understanding things, elevated by a heightened sense of lateral thinking.
This form of beneficial shamanism has now been reduced to cheap entertainment, manipulation, shock and algorithms. Over the last two hundred years artists and writers have formed the collected belief that art and writing are merely forms of entertainment, they are not scene as a transformative experience.
It is the job of the artist to give the audience what they need. Otherwise the audience would be the artists.
Reflecting upon my classes Creative Sound performance:
Due to my absence from the previous lesson I was unfortunately not involved in the actual sonic part of the performance. However witnessing and helping out with the setup of a live performance was very eye opening. I am very interested in hardware and equipment especially in relation to live performance, this is something I wish to explore further. My technical knowledge is still rather minimal but hands on activities like this clear things in my head, they also show the endless possibilities of performance.
Sonically and visually the performance was very harrowing and intense. The performers bar Jose were sporting black pillowcases over there heads. To a student strolling through LCC this may have appeared to be an industrial emo-Guantanamo Bay ritual. I wasn’t too sure what the pillowcases really meant but it looked cool. Over the course of 40 mins the samples and layers spiralled and danced around the 5.1 system, the cacophony of noise bounced off the high walls, reverberating down the hallway, one manager even complained.
Photos from my day of recording back at home.If you can call it that… All sounds were recorded using a shotgun mic and H4N recorder. Originally I setup to record outside but the feedback from the wind forced me inside. This was a much better move for the sounds of my nearby road cannot be heard.
Note: Not all of the sounds I recorded made it into my piece. Only a handful of them had a distinct sound/texture I felt would work. Reflecting on this exercise, I can confirm destroying objects like this is very cathartic. Similar to boxing around a punch bag, the repeated motion of hitting something relives stress and tension.
Following the feedback from my previous assignment, I didn’t want the piece to begin so intensely. Basing the structure of my piece around the three Bardo’s from the Tibetan Book of the Dead;
Bardo 1: Entry, Peaceful
Bardo 2: Mayhem, Things become intense
Bardo 3: Re-entry
I wanted to ease the listener in with a soft introduction that builds to the percussion of Bardo 2. Considering the themes, I feel my decision to sample my parents Wedding VHS to be relevant. As talked about in earlier blog posts, a wedding in the western world is both sacred and secular. Sacred being the religious ceremony commonly held in a church, the latter a party usually in a hall away from the eyes of god. By sampling my parents wedding song, not only does it link my personal heritage to the piece but it shows a clear divide between the sacred and secular in my piece. The peacefulness of Bardo 1 is used to intensify the following percussion, really stressing the mayhem of Bardo 2.
Although my intentions for the majority of the percussion were to be created through the act of destruction, this has shifted. I found trying to assemble tribal/ritual like percussion in this manner to be particularly challenging. Also considering my intentions in terms of ‘music for dance floors’, I felt that a bongo rhythm and metal pan would be sufficient in juxtaposing the gnarly destructive sounds.
To capture the percussion I simply recorded my friend who is a drummer, play to standard 4/4 beat at 140bpm. I decided for a much faster beat because I liked the intensity of the bongos and pan. In order to get across the hypnotic aspect speed and technical prowess is key in rituals. An interesting section of Eisenberg’s book describes the detail in some ritual music;
‘Repetition is essential to ritual, and exact repetition is what it has always striven to attain. According to Hindu scripture, the inaccurate singing of a scared raga could be fatal to the singer…In Polynesia the careless performer might be executed…”old men used to stand by with bows and arrows and shoot at every dancer who made a mistake”.’
In a way this can be translated to the art of being a Disc Jokey. In most cases a DJ is required to keep the constant beat going, flowing between song after song effortlessly. If a DJ mixes completely out of beat and key and continuous to do so, the result could be disastrous, messing the natural rhythm of the party.
Below are photos of Charlie the drummer and the album I played him, he used the album as inspiration for his part.
Above: Here I have layered four records on top of each other. Ranging in time periods and genre I’m interested in letting the records play themselves. Because of the varying height, this will causes the needed to jump, loop and pretty much have a mind of its own. The records are as follows; The King and I-Russ Case & Orch, Concerto for Lute-Vivaldi, The Early Symphonies -Mozart. I aimed my crate digging eye specifically for Classical, just to spite Eisenberg. Sorry.
