experimental

IMAGE RADIO 2008 - Eindhoven - New media in public space - Call for artists

2008-05-26T21:07:49+01:00

C a l l f o r A r t i s t s - Exploring Your Invisible Paradise! 30-10 till 02-11-2008

DEADLINE EXTENDED - Submit your work until 9th of June 2008

Take this opportunity to participate in the 2nd edition of Image Radio – a young festival for new ideas in digital culture, taking place in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The festival is also an experiment, critical reflection, and preview of how new media in public space impact our cultural, social and physical surroundings. The increase of display devices, data clouds, sensor networks, particularly in urban centers, provides a new medium. Public space becomes a playground in which dynamic and manipulative data influence our perception. Potential applications are shown in experimental installations. Theory, discussion and exchange on these topics are facilitated in the seminar program and symposium.

Image Radio is a production of MAD emergent art center mad.dse.nl
For more information, please go to http://www.imageradio.nl

Liquid Architecture 8

2008-05-26T20:07:37+01:00

Listen. Deeply.
from Liquid Architecture's About page

Liquid Architecture, Australia's premier sound-arts festival, celebrates its eighth consecutive year with concerts, artist talks, workshops, forums, live performances, exhibitions, installations, audio-visuals and recorded work. Featuring our most imaginative musicians, composers, film-sound designers and media artists in a sense-specific feast for the ears.

What is 'Sound Art'?

"For many, it refers to sound-based art work (or at least art work where the principal focus is on sound) across the broad gamut of performance, installation and broadcast contexts, which departs from both traditional musical instrumentation and notational methods and frequently employs electronic media. Others may see it as an intersecting space with roots in post-Cageian music practice, or indeed 'post-phonographic' music practice, and installation art."
-- Julian Knowles then Professor of Music and Head of the School of Music and Drama at the University of Wollongong, in an article entitled Sound Practice, Sound Thesis in RealTime No68, August / September 2005

What is Liquid Architecture?

Liquid Architecture is a sense specific festival, as opposed to art form specific. Occurring annually since 2000, Liquid Architecture celebrates the diverse methods of sound making and sound theory. It is our belief that listening is a vital activity, and one that is often overlooked within the dominance of visual media in our environment.

What will I hear?

A key objective is the promotion of artists practicing on the periphery of music and sound culture, particularly those with an experimental aesthetic and a critical approach to (media) cultures. The artistic content of the festival focuses upon and privileges sound practice in all its manifestations but, due to the cross disciplinary potential of sound, many other art practices are included in the festival. Liquid Architecture focuses on any and all art forms involving particular emphasis on the auditory, including an exciting mix of musical performance, AV presentations and installation work, along with a strong critical element involving panels, workshops and artist talks.

Who's it for?

Now coming into its eighth consecutive year, Liquid Architecture strives to combine the fragmented communities in which sound arts practices occurs, striving for cross disciplinary appreciation and critique. The practical objective of this strategy is to popularise and publicise sound culture through greater aggregate audience size and a higher profile, and to make sound culture more accessible to the community, particularly to youth and student audiences. Audiences currently include those engaged with contemporary creative practice, sound arts practitioners, music industry professionals, electronic music concert goers, academics, cultural theorists and students (post & undergraduate), youth audiences and enthusiasts of adventurous popular music.

Liquid Architecture aims to popularise sound culture, particularly with young/emerging content producers within Australia's active student culture, in order to build not only future audiences but also future artists. Our rationale reflects an intense engagement with specialist and broader cultures, and the desire to make a contribution to those cultures. Sound practice is often cross disciplinary and the festival should reflect that, not only in the work presented but in the broad range of audiences it attracts.

The opportunities to network with national and international artists are an important means of generating future initiatives and cross cultural collaborations. The community is being exposed to some of the most exciting explorations occurring within sound culture that also happen to intersect with the media and fine arts. The exposure generated by Liquid Architecture is crucial in developing new audiences for the many discreet sound and experimental music communities currently operating around the country, and internationally.

Who's responsible?

Liquid Architecture is curated by practicing sound artists. Directed by Nat Bates, who heads the ((tRansMIT)) sound collective, and co-directed with Ben Byrne and Shannon O'Neill from alias frequencies and Lawrence English from ROOM40. The Artefacts of Australian Experimental Music CD launch is presented by Shame File Music.

Ben and Shannon have fostered a Sydney home at the Performance Space, Lawrence works closely with the Brisbane Powerhouse, and in Melbourne the festival is once again supported by RMIT Union Arts and returns again to the Arts House at the North Melbourne Town Hall.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its principal arts funding and advisory body.
The Sydney season is supported by Arts NSW, Melbourne by Arts Victoria.
Pauline Oliveros and Ione's visit has been made possible through the Alt.Music Festival under The Audio Foundation New Zealand, and in co-operation with the Fulbright association.
Runzelstirn & Gurgelstock and Dave Philips' visit is supported by Pro Helvetia and dual plover.
Cellule d'Intervention Metamkine's visit is supported by the French Embassy and Alliance Francaise.

more information

visit the http://liquidarchitecture.org.au website for more details

http://liquidarchitecture.org.au/la8program.html has the program
http://www.myspace.com/liquidarchitecturefestival is the LS8 festival myspace page

JUSTICE YELDHAM : BIRTHDAYS LP Launch : 25th May : Toff In Town (Melbourne)

2008-05-14T21:07:58+01:00

Fresh from North American tour and LOAD records showcase at SXSW Lucas Abela is launching his new JUSTICE YELDHAM LP; BIRTHDAYS. The record consists of two live sets by the maverick amplified-glass player recorded during his & Keg's recent tour of Europe.

Side A was captured in Marseille on the eve of Justice's 35th birthday while side B was recorded on Kegs birthday in Porto, and to top off the birthday cheer Keg also drew the cover illustration as a gift for Justice's Birthday. The record has been collaboratively released in an edition of 600 copies across the world by Anarchymoon Recordings (North America), Turgid Animal (Europe) & All Thumbs Press (Australia). Of which only 25 or so are in the country as All Thumbs copies practically sold out during the aforementioned tour and will only be available at the show.

His sets have been described as "a trumpet player trapped in a two dimensional universe". By pressing his face and lips against the glass whist employing various vocal techniques ranging from throat singing to raspberries, he turns disguarded household windows into crude musical instruments. Resulting in a wide variety of cacophonous noises that are strangely controlled and oddly musical.

Justice Yeldham is the latest alter-ego of Australian sound performer Lucas Abela, whose past sonic experiments were conducted under monikers like A Kombi, Dj Smallcock & Peeled Hearts Paste. Initially classed as an experimental turntablist, although his early work rarely resembled anything in the field. Early feats, saw him stab vinyl with Kruger style stylus gloves, bound on electro acoustic trampolines, drag race the popemobile across Sydney Harbour Bridge, perform deaf defying duet duels with amplified samurai swords, hospitalised by high powered turntables constructed from sewing machine motors, record chance John Peel sessions with the Flaming Lips, & be Otomo Yoshihides' favourite entry into his Ground Zero remix competition; 'Consummation' even though instead of sampling the CD he destroyed it using amplified skewers!

He also founded and runs dualpLOVER (recording label, cd/dvd replicators, distributor and promoter of gigs and tours). Principally a live audio artist he's been performing professionally for the past 14 years, ever since Oren Ambarchi and Robbie Avenaim stumbled across his late night radio performances in 1994 and asked him to play their 2nd What is Music? Festival. Since he's toured the world extensively, performing in 35 coutries.

also appearing are MC PURPLE DUCK, Curse Ov Dialect with an all new show and the always entertaining Hi-God people + dj hate.

Uganda & Sira events for feb 2008

2008-02-22T17:37:16+00:00

so I don't forget ... here's the events coming up at Uganda & Sira. I went to Music House today and bought some more Israeli / Jerusalem based music. the guy in the store told me about Uganda and Sira, a couple of places in Jerusalem where you can see / hear live electronic & experimental music.
Uganda myspace page

---
Sira events :

Tending Networks: The 5th Aotearoa Digital Arts Symposium (NZ)

2008-02-22T09:42:46+00:00

Tending Networks: The 5th Aotearoa Digital Arts Symposium will address new developments, connections, and opportunities in digital, new media and electronic art practice in New Zealand and internationally.

The symposium will feature presentations by major international artists Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries of Korea, and Adam Hyde, a New Zealander based in Amsterdam. A wide range of artists and researchers from Christchurch and around New Zealand will present current projects, and panel discussions will focus on the creation of new work, including the role of community networks, the value of collaboration, and the challenges posed by exhibiting digital art.

ADA, the Aotearoa Digital Arts Trust, invites artists, researchers, curators, art enthusiasts and all those interested in creative community networks from Christchurch and around New Zealand to participate. More detail on presenters and associated events follows.

Tending Networks takes place February 23-24, 2008,
at the Design and Arts College of New Zealand,
116 Worcester St, Christchurch.
Cost: $50 (waged), $30 (unwaged and Physics Room members)

For registration and more information email:
symposium@aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz

Tending Networks is supported by The Physics Room Contemporary Art Project Space, Design and Arts College of New Zealand, Creative New Zealand, the Asia New Zealand Foundation, and the ADA Trust.

visit http://symposium08.aotearoadigitalarts.org.nz for more details

THURSDAY CLUBS @ Goldsmiths - experimental cinema + more (UK)

2008-02-20T22:23:47+00:00

** NEW THURSDAY CLUBS: CHANGES and UPDATES **

Supported by the Goldsmiths DIGITAL STUDIOS and the Goldsmiths GRADUATE
SCHOOL

6pm until 8pm, Seminar Rooms at Ben Pimlott Building (Ground Floor,
right), Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, SE14 6NW

FREE, ALL ARE WELCOME

** PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE FOR ELENA COLOGNI'S CLUB SESSION HAS BEEN
CHANGED FROM THE 28th of FEBRUARY TO THE 6th of MARCH **

*28 FEBRUARY with RAYMOND HARMON
:
Painting in Light: Experimental Film and the Advent of Improvisational
Cinema*

The traditional model for cinematic expression is as a controlled
environment moving forward in a linear direction. From its inception the
art of filmmaking has been dominated by a single form of chronological
development. Each film exists as a series of frames that are static at the
start of the film.

Improvisation, a language largely defined within the practice of music, is
something that has slowly grown from impractical experimentation to a
living form of performance art over the past century.

Tracing the historic aspects of this new creative model this presentation
will cover the many parallels between diverse genres of musical
improvisation and the art of improvised cinema in the 21 century. From
paint on celluloid, to live lights shows through to contemporary VJ
culture "Painted in Light" explores the vast arena of the future of this
new paradigm of creative expression.

RAYMOND HARMON is a Chicago-based cross-genre media artist, filmmaker,
sound artist, and record producer, with a CV extending from performance
based 16mm and 8mm film to video circuit-bending and analog feedback
installations as well as sound and visual conceptual installations and
guerrilla media actions. Utilizing new media, web based content and
interactive architecture in coordination with public performance, graffiti
style ad bombing, and web based social engineering Harmon's work has
carved out an over arching form of contemporary media insurgency.
raymondharmon.com
--

*6 MARCH with ELENA COLOGNI
:
The Film As Document In (Of) Real Time*

A meta-linguistic performative experiment.

Key questions:
1. In my video live installations I investigate the perception of time
(psychological time ), non simultaneous artist and audience interchange in
liveness, and the production of the video document. Live recording,
pre-recording and their transmission, as overlapping layers of
representation of time, unfold in duration.
2. I am now starting to contextualising the recent work, which I believe
challenges the early Bergsonian differentiation between memory and
perception based on the assumption that the former is linked to the past
(representation) and the latter to the present (action) (as in latest
Deleuzean scholar Guerlac ’s book).
3. I also contribute to the debate on performance documentation in
parallel to recent Auslander’s publication : embedding the document (eg.:
video recording) in the event allows audience to witness its very
production, thus emphasising the document’s ‘performativity’ aspect.

ELENA COLOGNI is an art practitioner. Currently Research Fellow at York St
John University, her PhD ‘The Artist’s Performative Practice Within The
Anti-Oculatcentric Discourse’ is from Central Saint Martins College of Art
and Design (CSM), London. After the post-doc AHRC and CSM awarded project
'Present Memory and Liveness in delivery and reception of video
documentation during performance art events', she was at Glasgow Centre
for Contemporary Arts for a Creative Lab residency focusing on questions
of migrations, remoteness and transmission of information over time and
space. She is active in the debate on practice as research methodologies,
as well as the relationship between performance and new media. Her artwork
has been presented internationally.

*13 MARCH with ANNA HOWITT
:
The Empty Space Gallery*

The Empty Space Gallery exists to foster creativity, and encourage debate
about what ‘art’ is and what ‘artists’ are. It’s a novel way of
encouraging people to engage with this thing we call ‘art’ and what it
might be. Ultimately it is an experiment in ‘art’, ‘artists’, those that
believe in them and those that think they are. The Empty Space Gallery can
also be considered an anonymous art fair, where more established and
well-known artists share the same space and audience as unknown doodlers.

How does The Empty Space Gallery work?

Individuals, whether ‘artists’ or not, are invited to submit anything they
deem to be ‘art’, in any medium whatsoever. The purpose of the experiment
is to gain some insight into, not so much how work is created, but how it
is received, consumed, and engaged with. The aim is to uncover some of the
processes we employ in order to decide whether something is ‘art’ or not.

Once the ‘works’ are received they are catalogued and sealed in plain
white A4 envelopes. Only these envelopes are placed on display; no details
of the ‘artist’ are available at this time. Visitors to the gallery are
invited to pick, at random, any envelope they choose and own whatever they
find inside.
In addition, visitors are also invited to create an ‘artwork’ there and
then, for inclusion in the gallery, which is then passed on again to
another visitor.

ANNA HOWITT is artistic director of The Forward Company, an
interdisciplinary arts company based in Berkshire. She also is an arts
and literary reviewer. She finished her MA in Contemporary Arts at the
Manchester Metropolitan University in 2001 and has since had a residency
at the South Street Arts Centre in Reading (2003-4).
--

** PLEASE NOTE: KATE PULLINGER & CHRIS JOSEPH (whose Club event had to be
postponed for personal reasons) WILL BE KICKING OFF THE SUMMER TERM OF
CLUB EVENTS ON 24 APRIL **
::

*24 APRIL with KATE PULLINGER & CHRIS JOSEPH
:
Flight Paths: a networked book*

"I have finished my weekly supermarket shop, stocking up on provisions for
my three kids, my husband, our dog and our cat. I push the loaded trolley
across the car park, battling to keep its wonky wheels on track. I pop
open the boot of my car and then for some reason, I have no idea why, I
look up, into the clear blue autumnal sky. And I see him. It takes me a
long moment to figure out what I am looking at. He is falling from the
sky. A dark mass, growing larger quickly. I let go of the trolley and am
dimly aware that it is getting away from me but I can’t move, I am stuck
there in the middle of the supermarket car park, watching, as he hurtles
toward the earth. I have no idea how long it takes – a few seconds, an
entire lifetime – but I stand there holding my breath as the city goes
about its business around me until…
He crashes into the roof of my car."

The car park of Sainsbury’s supermarket in Richmond, southwest London,
lies directly beneath one of the main flight paths into Heathrow Airport.
Over the last decade, on at least five separate occasions, the bodies of
young men have fallen from the sky and landed on or near this car park.
All these men were stowaways on flights from the Indian subcontinent who
had believed that they could find a way into the cargo hold of an airplane
by climbing up into the airplane wheel shaft. No one can survive this
journey. “Flight Paths” seeks to explore what happens when lives collide –
the airplane stowaway and the fictional suburban London housewife, quoted
above. This project will tell their stories; it will be a work of
digital fiction, a networked book, created on and through the internet.
The project will include a web iteration that opens up the research
process to the outside world, inviting discussion of the large array of
issues the project touches on.

Questions raised by this project include: what are the possibilities for
new narrative forms? How do we “write to be seen” or “write to be heard”
when creating multimedia narratives, and can we imagine writing to be
smelled, tasted, felt? What are the effects of collective authorship
across multiple forms?

KATE PULLINGER works both in print and new media. Her most recent novels
include A Little Stranger (2006) and Weird Sister (1999). Her current
digital fiction projects include her collaboration with Chris Joseph
(babel) on 'Inanimate Alice', a multimedia episodic digital fiction and
'Venus Redemption', a game for female casual gamers. Pullinger is Reader
in Creative Writing and New Media at De Montfort University.

CHRIS JOSEPH is a digital writer and artist who has created solo and
collaborative work as babel. His past projects include 'Inanimate Alice'
(with Kate Pullinger), an award-winning series of multimedia stories; 'The
Breathing Wall' (with Kate Pullinger and Stefan Schemat), a digital novel;
and 'Animalamina', a collection of interactive multimedia poetry for
children. He is editor of the post-dada magazine and network 391.org, and
a founding member of The 404, a network of artists. He is currently
Digital Writer in Residence at De Montfort University, Leicester.

THE THURSDAY CLUB is an open forum discussion group for anyone interested
in the theories and practices of cross-disciplinarity, interactivity,
technologies and philosophies of the state-of-the-art in today’s (and
tomorrow’s) cultural landscape(s).

For more information email Maria X at drp01mc@gold.ac.uk

To find Goldsmiths check http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/find-us/

Nam June Paik - Ryuichi Sakamoto video

2008-02-19T09:48:06+00:00

a video by Nam June Paik (RIP) - this would be fairly easy to do using isadora these days. though a different story if you consider how he made it!

Nam June Paik - Ryuichi Sakamoto; Replica, for keyboard Composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkjxG_k0VDo

http://www.spoems.com/tag_paik.html has a collection of his video works

Videodefunct

2008-02-19T09:04:39+00:00

Videodefunct is an experimental research project that focuses on inventing a hybrid vlog. A number of work-in-progress prototypes are being developed in the open source blog publishing system WordPress. A key objective is to design an interactive interface that explores the presentation of online video from a poetic perspective. Videodefunct is being developed by the collective of Keith Deverell, Seth Keen and David Wolf in the School of Applied Communication at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

info from the Videodefunct About page @ http://www.videodefunct.net/

Seth Keen from Videovortex explained the system on the videoblogging group mail list

Thanks Jay for the post on the videodefunct project.

The project certainly has been influenced by Adrian Miles work with vogs and his writing on softvideography http://vogmae.net.au/drupal/
thinking/softvideo03 and the VD collective are similarily interested in exploring video on the Internet moving beyond being single-channel and linear like a version of TV and Cinema on the web.

As you mention VD simply breaks down what would normally be a larger linear video into smaller granular clips, that are tagged and
categorised on posting into the vlog. The user then uses this metadata to reassemble these clips in a customised player attached to
the vlog as a page. In the end the vlog becomes a larger thematic video work made up of a bunch of smaller clips.

In Adrian's rhizomes http://vogmae.net.au/drupal/doing/rhizome I think a similar type of interactivity and granularity occurs where
Quicktime in this case is used as a container to bring in a number of varying content types in varying order. Rhizomes in a way are
configured in a variety of ways to display this content like the customized player page in VD. Both often explore video being displayed simultaneously in more than one frame. (multi-channel)

As you mention we are planning a release of VD as an application / platform after a bit more development and content testing. i.e We
will have it working cross-platform in IE soon. In the meantime we are very open to feedback and questions.

Some more links to follow up on the project:

PROTOTYPES – (Please note QuickTime 7.3.1, Firefox browser 2.0.0.9 or later required for viewing.)

http://www.videodefunct.net/banter/ The Banter prototype is an ongoing audiovisual report on the videodefunct project that provides critique and background details on the system. This example begins to show how interviews can be sliced up and re-assembled.

http://www.videodefunct.net/pedestrian/ Pedestrian (first prototype)
http://www.videodefunct.net/theInvertedPedestrian/ The Inverted Pedestrian
http://www.videodefunct.net/theDrunkenTruth/ The Drunken Truth

VD collective blogs:
Keith Deverell - http://greyspace.com.au/blog/
Seth Keen - http://www.sethkeen.net/blog/
David Wolf - http://dpwolf.net/blog/

David Wolf' s exegesis - Vidgets: The Development and Use of
Interactive, Network Based Video Works - http://dpwolf.net/blog/2007/12/ma-exegesis-now-online/

Blogged notes:

http://www.sethkeen.net/blog/2008/01/30/hammering-vlogs/ - on showinabox as part of the hammering vlog workshop in Amsterdam - differences to VD approach...

http://www.sethkeen.net/blog/2008/02/06/videodefunct-notes/ - videodefucnt notes - tagging

http://www.sethkeen.net/blog/2007/11/06/plain-vanilla/ plain vanilla post on pedestrian prototype
Presentation 1# post - http://www.sethkeen.net/blog/2007/06/01/videodefunct-presentation-1/

Audio Foundation and funding link

2008-02-19T08:58:41+00:00

I was checking out the NZ Audio Foundation website again today and came across a link from an email on the AF-l about funding from Damian from Frey. it's an interesting argument. I think Australia is similar to New Zealand in this way, but also at a glance I think New Zealanders have the creative support advantage over the Australians, or so it seemed to me at least, as they have MANY! support organisations helping the artists. will have to do some more research to see if my assumptions are founded.

The Brisbane Sound - Curated by David Pestorius

2008-02-19T08:41:02+00:00

The Brisbane Sound - Curated by David Pestorius

http://www.ima.org.au/pages/whats-on.php

The Brisbane Sound will map cross-pollination between the indie and experimental music scenes and the art scene in Brisbane during the post-punk years, 1978–1983.

This multi-layered project will incorporate an exhibition, concerts and a book. It will concentrate on the role of key individuals, including Ed Kuepper, Robert Forster and Eugene Carchesio, each of whom will curate a special concert for the project.

In addition to receiving international critical acclaim for their music, Kuepper (founder of The Saints) and Forster (founder of The Go-Betweens) have consistently maintained a working relationship with visual artists and the art world, while Carchesio, who is primarily known as a visual artist, is also a product of the same music/art milieu.

The Brisbane Sound builds on earlier IMA projects, in particular Ross Harley's groundbreaking 1986 exhibition 'Know Your Product', which surveyed crossovers between the art and indie music scenes in Brisbane between 1976 and 1986. It was the first time the convergence of local art and music worlds was made visible in an institutional context. Harley’s project assembled a breadth of material, arguing that the sorting would come later, and that certain aspects would assume greater significance in the future. The Brisbane Sound offers itself as the fulfillment of this idea.

In addition to Kuepper, Forster and Carchesio, The Brisbane Sound will showcase the multifarious activities of Gary Warner, including his graphic work, experimental sound works, Super 8 films and contributions to local indie groups including The Leftovers, Zero/Xero and Out Of Nowhere.

In addition, there will be a focus on the graphic work of Peter Loveday, Terry Murphy and John Willsteed, which paralleled and often served as a critique of Brisbane's dynamic alternative and experimental music/art scenes in the early 1980s.

The remarkable activities of John Nixon in Brisbane in 1980 and 1981 will also be the subject of close scrutiny. In these years Nixon’s exhibition program as director of the IMA, and his Anti-Music and Q Space projects challenged institutional orthodoxies and served to collapse the local experimental art and alternative music scenes into one another.

The Brisbane Sound will also include specially commissioned contributions from Jenny Watson, Judi Dransfield-Kuepper and Andrew Wilson, and will present a rarely seen 1979 television commercial for the Toowong Music Centre by The Go-Betweens featuring Robert Forster and the late Grant McLennan in acting roles, as well as the McLennan-scripted short film Heather's Gloves.

EXHIBITION: 9 February - 8 March

CONCERTS:
Friday 7 March at 8.30pm
Small World Experience / The Deadnotes / Ian
Wadley / Peter Charles Macpherson / Gary Warner (Super 8 films) Curated by Eugene Carchesio.

Saturday 8 March at 8.30pm
The Apartments / Adults Today / Robert Forster
and Adele Pickvance / Trevor Ludlow and The Hellraisers Curated by Robert Forster.

Sunday 9 March at 8.30pm
Ed Kuepper Presents The Ascension Academy.

Gig Tickets: Rocking Horse. Season $50. Individual nights $30.

venue :
Institute of Modern Art/Judith Wright Centre
420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley

info via The Brisbane Sound event page @ http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=20729050297

field recordings and sound walks

2008-02-16T14:56:29+00:00

a collection of audio recordings, field recordings and sound walks I've done over the years. most of these are on minidiscs or files not uploaded yet, so this is a work in progress as it's probably about time I sorted them out and uploaded some. not sure if they're of interest to anyone else, but they help recall memories for me.

20080215 ::: sound walk through the old city of jerusalem

2008-02-15T22:56:47+00:00

right click to download the audio mp3 file

a sound walk through the old city of jerusalem

today I went to the western wall and left a note in the wall with my friend's name (this is what the Jewish people do - it's their holiest place being the last remnant of the Temple which was destroyed a couple of times) and then went to the Church of Holy Sepulchre (built over the spot where Jesus died so a holy spot for Christians) and lit some candles for him. and I went to Dome of Rock, one of the holiest places for Islam but because it's friday only Moslems are allowed in so I took a photo at the door. (this is the closest I've been able to get to Dome of the Rock - it's always closed when I go). I recorded video whilst walking but the camera was by my leg so most of it is of my legs walking on the stones, so I've extracted the audio.

I always get a bit lost in the Old City. the market lanes and labyrinth starts looking the same and I often can't see above to get a sense of direction. so I tend to always go to the Wall first, then work my way in from there. today was the first time I found the quickest route to the Dome of the Rock - which is quite obvious in hindsight but I've always missed it and walked past. not knowing how to read Arabic has been part of the reason on other visits. the Christian quarter area is less marked too. some of the streets have recognisable names but I seem to miss the signs to the Church. today I was determined though and I had less offers from market stall owners to visit their shops. I went in the afternoon when most would be closing up soon. I was thinking of my friend the whole way, sometimes getting a bit teary.

the sound was recorded on a Nokia N95 8Gb phone - it was recorded along with video and I extracted the audio only later. I've left my mini-disc, microcassete recorder and microphone back home in Australia now so I carry less gadgets. I wondered how much disk space would be used up but it was less than 2Gb and I still have plenty left.

15/02/2008

Live Feeding 5 March

2008-02-14T03:52:53+00:00

LIVE FEEDING is a one-night occurrence of audio-visual performance and installation under the stars. The Old Melbourne Gaol exercise yard will become a site of convergence for local AV practitioners and merry makers.
To kick the evening off, we would like to invite you to play with our overhead projectors, get acquainted over drinks and enjoy a
BBQ until the sun sets, when the performance and installation programs will come to life!
Artists: Philip Samartzis + Marcia Jane; Rosalind Hall + Marco Cher-Gibard; Helmet Head (Anthony Magen + Rod Cooper); Xenosine AV;
Marden; Christina Tester; Melody Henderson; Idora Alhabshi, Lisa Shingles.
Proceedings begin: Wednesday 5 March 2008 at 7pm
Location: RMIT City Campus, Alumni and Belvedere Courtyards (behind
the Old Melbourne Gaol). Entry via LaTrobe St then Bowen St, then
between buildings 1 & 3, map: http://tinyurl.com/2dfqx3
Bring: things (overhead transparencies + objects) for freeform
participatory projected fun!
Live Feeding is brought to you by Stream, RMIT Orientation Committee
and RMIT Union Arts.
--
STREAM is a RMIT Union Arts collective who are passionate about live
audiovision.
If you're interested in becoming a member or finding out what's
happening, visit or write to us at http://www.streamcollective.org /
streamcollective@gmail.com

"Everything's Broken" new release from Undecisive God

2008-02-09T14:55:45+00:00

"Everything's Broken" is the new CD from Undecisive God. It contains new works from the last 3 years, featuring further exploration of turntable/broken record preparations, extended guitar techniques, field recordings and mixer feedback pieces.
To hear a sample track, go to http://www.myspace.com/undecisivegod
Since 1990, Undecisive God has been pushing the limits of the guitar as an instrument. "Everything's Broken" is the latest step in this strange journey.
Available from http://ShameFileMusic.com for AU$10ppd (US$8ppd), or for a trade of your own music.
Clinton
Shame File Music - specialising in Australian experimental
http://ShameFileMusic.com

BEN FROST + CHRIS CORSANO + LAWRENCE ENGLISH microMONO at the IMA, 19 January, 2008 (Brisbane)

2008-01-06T08:05:25+00:00

some words from the ROOM40 HQ...

19 January, 2008 (Saturday).
BEN FROST + CHRIS CORSANO + LAWRENCE ENGLISH microMONO at the IMA,
Brisbane.

That's right, Iceland resident and current heartthrob of the European
post-electronic sound BEN FROST is headed to Brisbane for his first
show in many years! His album Theory Of Machines has created quite a
stir and this, added to the recently repressed Steelwound (his ROOM40
debut) seems to be only further proof that Frost is really onto
something unique with his densely textured works.

Not only that, but we can also now confirm that percussionist CHRIS
CORSANO will be joining the bill. From rolling with the Free-folk
scene (Sunburned Hand of The Man/MV +EE, Tower Recordings), through
Free Jazz (Evan Parker/John Edwards + Paul Flaherty), Noise (Vampire
Belt/Jim O/Thurston Moore/Dream Aktion Unit +++) and onto the big
stages playing in Björk's live band, Corsano has lit sparks of
invention in every instance. His solo sets are jaw-dropping displays
of not only technical prowess but advanced musicality.

LAWRENCE ENGLISH joins these two monsters of sound to deliver a set
in celebration of the launch of his latest record on Sirr Records -
'IT'S UP TO US TO LIVE'. Following a 5 week stint in Europe in
November and December 2007, he'll deliver a slab of new sound and
debut some new pieces from future releases due mid 2008.

In all an evening not to be missed (!!!) at the IMA on Saturday
January 19th from 8pm - it's going to be dense, delicate, fierce and
loud! Something for everyone!

over and out....

PRE-SALE TICKETS CAN BE NABBED USING PAYPAL AT http://www.room40.org/events.shtml - more tickets on the door...

IF? Records new release schedule - 2007/2008

2007-10-08T09:48:08+01:00

artist / project name:
IF? Records Collective

bio:
electronic music label originally based in Melbourne, now located in Tokyo

group members:
Andrez Bergen, Mateusz Sikora, Brian Huber, Damian Stephens, Allan Klinbail, Briony Wright, Marcella Brassett and others

myspace page:
http://www.myspace.com/if_records

website:
http://if-records.tripod.com

city:
Tokyo, Melbourne

genre:
Electronic, techno, experimental, glitch, hip hop, house, IDM, disco

Australian artist / project?:
Yes

are you a currently active artist / project?:
yes

releases / projects:
Original Melbourne (Australia) electronic music label IF? Records was set up in this city in 1995, and relocated to Tokyo, Japan, in 2001 - see IF? Records @ Wikipedia
They have a swag of new releases by Australian and Japanese musicians, plus an upcoming remix compilation that will feature members of Subhead and Fila Brazillia, along with Si Begg, Tobias Schmidt, Captain Funk, etc.
This month (October) there are two new records:
'The Slack Plague EP', a split vinyl offering by Little Nobody and Slam-dunk Ninja in Tokyo.
Plus 'Sputnik A-Go-Go', a CD of remixes of tracks by Laika, Belka & Strelka, provided by Little Nobody, Devin Wine, Kid Calmdown, etc.
Set for 2008 will be the long-awaited Little Nobody remix compilation, 'Little Nobody Presents Slam-dunk Ninja: The Perspicacious Remix Selection', which bears with it innovative, gob-smacking mixes by Jason Leach (Subhead) and Steve Cobby (Fila Brazillia), Si Begg, Tobias Schmidt, Captain Funk, Toshiyuki Yasuda, Pat Stormont, DJ Slab, Little Nobody, Naotoxin, Atomic Autocrac vs. Admiral Anderision, Masaya Sasaki, and Cocoa Bergen.
For more info, hit IF? @ MySpace

bio - full:
Established in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995, and currently based in Tokyo, Japan, after relocating there in 2001, IF? Records was one of Melbourne's first independent local electronic music labels, as well as a prolific live gig and rave party organiser in this city in the '90s.
Started by friends Andrez Bergen, Brian Huber and Mateusz Sikora in January 1995, the label released a dozen CDs, tapes and vinyl EPs prior to the shift to Japan - all of which showcased local Melbourne producers, such as Little Nobody, Zen Paradox, Voiteck, Artificial, Honeysmack, Blimp, Son Of Zev, Soulenoid, Isnod, Guyver 3, TR-Storm, Q-Kontrol, Josh Abrahams, FSOM, David Thrussell, Mute Freak, Schlock Tactile, Beam Up, Brewster B, 8-Bit, Dee Dee, Digital Primate, and the LN Elektronische Ensemble.
The label's first two compilations, Zeitgeist (1995) and Zeitgeist 2 (1996), were distributed internationally through Belgian label Nova Zembla, a subsidiary of Kk.
IF? was a founding member of M.U.K. (Melbourne Underground Konsortium) and the Sunblock collective of Australian underground electronic music labels.
The label has also released debuts for Soulenoid (a.k.a. Adam Raisbeck from Sense), Guyver 3, Little Nobody, Artificial, Blimp (Pro-Jex), DJ Venom, Kid Calmdown, Schlock Tactile, Marcella Brassett, Son Of Zev, Isnod, Kandyman, TDM, Laika, Belka & Strelka, Slam-dunk Ninja, and the LN Elektronisch Ensemble, and sourced remixes from international producers like Si Begg, Jammin' Unit, Biochip C, Tobias Schmidt (Tresor), Tal (Sub-Rosa), Jason Leach (Subhead), Steve Cobby (Fila Brazillia), Thomas P. Heckmann, Voco Derman, Brixton (Holzplatten), and more recently Japanese musicians Captain Funk, Magnet Toy, Funkarmor, Masaya Sasaki, Toshiyuki Yasuda (formerly from Fantastic Plastic Machine, Naotoxin and Yamaoka.
The IF? Records remix EP Bare by Little Nobody, featuring Marcella Brassett on vocals, was adjudged Single of the Week in Beat magazine when it was released in August 2000.
The label's subsequent release, the Little Nobody album Action Hero, was one of the 4 final nominees for Best Album of the Year in the 2001 Australian Dance Music Awards, of which The Avalanches were the eventual winner.
The label continues to release vinyl and CDs in Japan, and will be releasing a Little Nobody remix compilation internationally in 2008.

e/i magazine

2007-08-10T18:49:18+01:00

e/i magazine was a print magazine from 2003 - 2006. from 2007 onwards, it has become an online magazine only. the publisher describes the magazine as "e/i was an attempt to establish on the newsstand what I hoped would be the most comprehensive, definitive, intelligently written and artfully designed magazine covering all manners of music electronic, experimental and otherwise. Our editorial mandate was to shatter genre margins while encompassing the past, the present and the future, extolling a broad swathe of artists who challenged the very notions of sound and vision." these days you can join their mail list and every 2 weeks or so you'll receive an email listing the latest reviews and news which are available on the site.

Electrofringe 2007 - programme is now online

2007-08-09T23:15:45+01:00

Electrofringe 2007 programme is now online. This is one of my favourite festivals, and it takes place annually in Newcastle, north of Sydney, Australia. During the festival Newcastle comes alive with creatives from all parts of Australia and overseas. The umbrella festival is called This is Not Art. Last year's festival was really hands on, which made it extra fun. This year looks set to keep your creative juices flowing also, with sessions such as Physical Computing : 1, Radio Locus Workshops such as Build your own Radio, Mulchwerk, a Dorkshop Sense & Control, a Homemade Instruments workshop Gestural Control & Feedback plus heaps more. The electrofringe website has the full program and a day by day listing of each workshop / panel session / project presentation / gig and happening. The other bonus to the festival is stopping to chat with friends and strangers about the festival and projects everyone has been working on over the year. Some documentation from previous years festivals is on this site, or check out the previous years festivals links on the electrofringe site.

Soundscapes @ Tower of David, Old City, Jerusalem

2007-07-24T21:18:48+01:00

Soundscapes Exhibition, in the courtyard of the Tower of David, Old City of Jerusalem, Israel, wednesday 25/07/2007. Outdoor instruments play compositons as people walk around the grounds. there's a light show also which highlights the instruments playing. it's a beautiful space and the sounds are very melodic.
www.towerofdavid.org.il/
"Numerous oversized instruments, including a harp, drums, tambourines, bells and contrabass, are automatically played by computer command producing an original composition. Mechanical arms play the instruments and each creates its very own sound."
"The instruments have been installed throughout the open-aired courtyard - in the water cistern, amongst the archaeological finds, under the arrow slits of the turrets and appear as an integral part of the citadel."
"The notes produced by the instruments are played at different times, inviting the guest to tour among the instruments and enjoy the special sounds of this outdoor concert."
"The installation is presented together with spectacular lighting effects that mirror the sounds and brilliantly illuminate the ancient citadel at night."
photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliak_com/tags/soundcapes/
view from the viewing tower:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1LzTtMRAQU
different instruments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzxoCTiBHUQ

Where have all the fish gone?

2007-03-23T04:46:37+00:00

Well, this is my new blog then...? I have never blogged before, but here goes. In the following weeks and months i hope you will join me on my journey from absolute sound design novice through to psytrance guru. You will hopefully join with me in my quest to host a Sound-Art-Technology installation by the end of Feb 2008!