Sounds only

Woche 49 - 02 / 3.12.07 - 13.01.08

Australian Focus Nr. 1
Conservatorium of Music, Sydney / Composition class: Ivan Zavada
zusammengestellt von dem Komponisten und Vorstandsmitglied der DEGEM, Johannes S. Sistermanns

01. Ivan Zavada: Relation Diplomatik / 1999 / 07:56
02. Adrian Leung: Industry / 12:58
03. Ivan Zavada: Schwermut / 1999 / 09:25
04. Benedict Carey: Excitation / 06:46
05. Henrique Dib: Fragmemories / 2007 / 09:38
06. Benedict Carey: Paranormal Paradise
07. Henrique Dib: TimeFrames / 08:10
08. Ivan Zavada: Eclipse / 1999 / 15:40
09. Leigh Perrett: MissUniverse2 / 03:00
10. Ivan Zavada: Paradoxa / 2000 / 11:20


Zu den Werken:

Ivan Zavada: Relation Diplomatik
In quest of a hybridation of diverse sonic images, which represent the state of mind of the initiator, this impromptu voyage invites you to transcend the junction of the acoustic and the electronic, via mixtures of traditional, techno and electroacoustic music.

Adrian Leung: Industry
More and more, as time goes on, we will be faced with the sounds of machines and the rhythmic nature they bring with them. Industry brings together these machine sounds with other percussive noises to experiment with the nature of the engines that drive these mechanical instruments. The initial concept was to compose this electroacoustic work focusing on the harsh, penetrating sounds to create a sound world complete with perseverance to overwhelm the listener with the sheer energy. I liken that energy found in the attitudes of heavy metal and punk music, which can rarely be found in other styles. Industry also focuses on each sound and the journeys they take depending on the sounds and environment surrounding them. The environment involved a wide spectrum of high and low frequencies sometimes a sound being accompanied by a low, near-inaudible rumble. The original sound sources can be divided into two categories; firstly, the machines found in a coffee shop and secondly, junk and traditional percussive instruments. Machine sounds include a coffee machine, drink blender, coffee grinder, coffee hose and the distortion of guitar amplifier.
The inspiration for Industry has come from the music of noise music, industrial music, heavy metal, punk, Robert Normandeau, Bernard Parmegiani, Ivan Zavada and the sounds of machines. This composition was realised in the studios of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Ivan Zavada: Schwermut
Inspired by my German course at university, I manipulated the content of a wandering German voice in cyberspace... Maybe this composition represents the transformations which a set of information undergoes during its voyage on a computer network. Concatination, segmentation, re-transmission, encoding, decoding etc... In this composition I used solely a 3 second sample "Der Schwermut der rauchenden Stadt" line from the poem Vorholle, a text by Georg Trakl (1887-1914), which translates to - the melancholy of the smoky city... The focus was mainly the exploration of the variability of an audio loop as generation of sonic material and texture. I developed a module in the Cecilia interface which allowed me to manipulate the main parameters for repeating a sample in various ways. Achtung! Warning! The obsessive character of this looping module may create dependance.

Benedict Carey: Excitation
In a moment of time much can be expressed. Upon hearing de Natura Sonorum by the prolific French composer of the 1970's Bernard Parmeggiani, it became evident to me that the nature of sound is such that it can be observed at any level of magnification in confirming the basic very presumption that there in fact exists a tendency in this universe of chaos to become ordered and vice versa. In fact when composing in the studio, this level of magnification can be altered and reset, and therefore traversed as a continuum within which to express ideas of form and design. Drastic, consistent and almost instantaneous alterations to form, without any repose focus our ears upon a grander scale far beyond the complexity of the micro-universe within each sound object. Static moods are craved and the music complies, sometimes. I have based the forms that are heard in this piece on the exponential curves drawn through implementation of the Fibonacci sequence and strings of completely random numbers. With sound as such a fantastic measuring stick for time, and time the master of change in our universe a composer can choose to look wherever he or she pleases in search of development but cannot escape its inevitability. Change gives way to order, order gives way to new forms, new forms give way to chaos and so continues the function of our universe from the level of the macro to the very micro. I must admit this idea scares me ever so slightly...

Henrique Dib: Fragmemories
deals with two concepts in mathematics and physics:
vectors (characterized by a magnitude and a direction, generally thought of as an arrow in the Euclidean space) and scalars (a simple magnitude that does not depend on direction). The main principle behind the work consists of three steps as follow: firstly, associate ordinary and recognisable sounds of our daily reality to major vectors; secondly, break them into progressively smaller fragments until they become single non-directional points in space and time (scalars); and thirdly, re-arrange the resulting fragments (minor vectors and scalars) in a way that the temporal continuity is destroyed. Through this process, the structure of the piece itself was broken justifying the relative degree of randomness applied to the manner and order in which events occur, just like how our memory system works. Another aspect to consider is how these two concepts were aurally superimposed. For instance, there is a recurrent presence of scalars in the background until they become the main material heard. This shifting of the importance between vectors and scalars gives the work not only a sonic balance in the overall structure, but also enhances the tension of its ending. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the relation between durations of consecutive fragments is proportional to that found in a bouncing-ball system, explicitly heard three times in the piece. Fragmemories was realized in 2007 at the studios of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Benedict Carey: Paranormal Paradise
Interview von Johannes S. Sistermanns mit Benedict Carey
Benedict Carey is a sound artist and musician who's unique approach to audio has featured on award winning underground films, stages around Sydney and more recently on his debut album Paranormal Paradise, now available through itunes. I caught up with Ben through Facebook to talk about his sound, perspectives on life and in and around the exclusion zone at the decommissioned Chornobyl nuclear reactor among other things...

So how would you define your style?
My style is defined by a series of divergent and deceptive techniques developed to deliberately distort both time and space into a single conceptual entity.
What do you mean by that, what can people hoping to listen to your music expect to experience?
Expect what you would normally expect when you hear the word "music" and that is my starting point.
Do some of your listeners find this approach a little confusing? Isn't having a deliberately confusing approach a little strange, how do they know what to expect? Won't that turn people off from what you are doing?
I do this for two reasons; firstly in order to represent and to communicate with the static idealized thoughts within any single human mind. Secondly, I see music as a way of expressing the thoughts of one's own Unconscious/Subconscious - whatever you want to call it. That is to say the functions of our mind that we, among other things, use to create dreams while we are asleep. I seek to access and stimulate a state of partially unconscious and mostly non-lingual thought within the listener, just as I have stimulated such a state in myself in order to communicate myself as audio.
It sounds as though you are more interested in sound art than music. Saying that I mean that sound art is a more accurate way of describing your style... but it is certainly something outside of just sound art though, post-techno beats, bleeps and bloops, and some film soundtrack type stuff too... Are you are influenced by music when you create? You've studied at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney for a few years.
I am still there.
Really?
Yep. Just trying my best to float above all of the theory and get something tangible out there right now.
So that would be Paranormal Paradise?
Indeed.
When I first listened to it I was a little bit surprised by the sparseness of the whole thing.
Yes. The emptiness of vast landscapes has a habit of filling the minds ears with its thoughts.
Is this one of your deliberately distorting, deceptive techniques?
Yes. I think that what you are talking about are the environments of what I call the Paranormal Paradise
and what is the Paranormal Paradise?
You're sort of asking me to explain what it was like when I went to the Chornobyl exclusion zone, which I feel I have done pretty well throughout that CD, I mean, while the Paranormal Paradise isn't only Chornobyl the physical place, God I'd hate to think that people were thinking that, It's a period of my life and on that album are environments from within my mind, to me they represent alot of very specific feelings/ideas that are part of some common human experience. You have the album on your ipod though so just give it a listen.
I have listened to the whole album a couple of times now and I really like it, I just don't think it answers questions as much as it poses them. You use a mixture of sounds which seem pretty unconventional for the most part and the entire thing is a seamless mix which left me contemplating your influences. Aphex Twins selected ambient works for example. You went to Chornobyl? Why?
I can't give you a straight answer about that, I was intending to go there because of the historical significance of what happened there. So many people died as a result of that accident though, that is really the most striking feature of the place when you are there so it's hard to identify exactly what I went looking for beyond the fence.
You mentioned environments before. Is each track a different environment? Why the selection of environments instead of songs like on a regular album or movements in a classical sense? Why the choice of those particular environments?
I want people to ask themselves a question. "Where am I now?"
Can you explain a little better what you mean?
It is my opinion that the majority of people are unaware of the massive impact that they personally have on the world. The question of sustainability - weather patterns changing - the war in iraq - my own cousin has just finished a tour of Duty in Afghanistan and is off to Iraq next, and I'm worried by that - the antarctic ice sheet is starting to melt. The oceans are rising but we are still sitting here going about our daily business as if it is not happening. There is a general attitude of negligence that exists in our increasingly post-christian society here in Australia and everywhere else in the western world and I feel as though I am simply seeing the obvious. Paranormal Paradise is a rebirth of impressionism - revolution lurks in the minds of the masses but we are asleep eternally. Brainwashed and caressed into sedation. You see, while most people might not realise how seriously say driving the car down to the shops to get some milk or having a long shower in the middle of a serious drought can effect the welfare of people in this country now or say the people 10 years from now, these issues consume my every thought. I am trying to depict that lurking sensation as underscore to the day to day, the hum-drum. Very few of us give a second thought to these issues. There are people out in the countryside who are gripped by massive drought and we here in the city just carry on like kings and queens in our Empire of Australia.
And how does any of this relate to music?
Well my music is a representation of my own internal environments which are fed and influenced by my observations about the environment around us in the physical, social, and cultural senses of the word. I am trying to listen to the collective concerns of my own mind and the minds of people past, present and in particular those who are yet to be born. I want them to be born into paradise, because the paranormal paradise that can be extrapolated from our own present day is a dream, and the paranormal present is unsustainable.

Henrique Dib: TimeFrames
is an electro-acoustic work that explores our perception of time in ist abstract and relative aspects. All the pre-recorded sounds and digital processes have a symbolic representation and are somehow directly related to time manipulation. The piece begins with a short melodic motive that is often recurred and altered in many ways. Layers of different groups of sounds are first vertically and then gradually horizontally treated giving a significant contrast in texture between the beginning and end of the piece. Bell sounds mark the end of each of the main sections and again have a strong metaphorical meaning. The work is inspired by the "strinbg theory", a unifying physics theory that reconciles the differences between "quantum" and "relativity theories" to explain the nature of all known forces and matter.

Ivan Zavada: Eclipse
Eclipse was designed as an electroacoustic composition. More specifically, an intriguing sonic voyage inviting the listener to detach himself from the reality of urban life. This piece was composed in the studios of the University of Montreal, during a period of three months where the originator spent most of his days inside during daylight but unfortunately not seeing any summer radiance. Hence the title Eclipse, which depicts the experience of the compositional gesture and the confrontation with one self in the creative process. Incidently, on August 11, 1999 was the last solar eclipse of the millenium in the northern hemisphere.

Leigh Perrett: MissUniverse2
is a Musique Concrete work which explores the transformation of one artistic medium to another. It is an interpretation and translation into sound of the sculpture Miss Universe Goes Sailing by Australian Artist David Ball. When creating Miss Universe I sampled objects and manipulated sampled material which I felt closely resembled the sounds I heard when looking at the shape and textures of Miss Universe Goes Sailing. From the base of the sculpture to the top, I interpreted the sculpture as a score. Sampled materials include; Buddhist singing bowl, Pentium II CPU + Heat sink, Rusted steal piping, Magnets with tape decks and temperamental inch inputs complete with badly soldered cables. When the work was created, it was mixed for stereo. The original plan of a 12 channel surround mix, further developing the shape of the sculpture through directional sound has yet to be realised.

Ivan Zavada: Paradoxa
Contradiction which may lead to abstract reasoning. This composition emerged by itself, and triggered an evolutive process which made me discover the rich possibilities one has, to sculpt sonic material and generate emotions in parallel. Positive, negative or no emotions at all. This paradox tries to validate a sound processing prototype with which I am always in confrontation. Mainly, I programmed a module in Csound to vary an audio loop in real time. This variation of a repetitive cell constantly regenerates new sound material. I used some excerpts from my own instrumental compositions to recreate a paradox with respect to the original composed music. This abstraction finds its meaning in the final coda which neutralises the previous paradoxae.


Zu den Künstlern:

Benedict Carey
is a sound artist and composer from Sydney, Australia who has an interest in modernist and post-modernist approaches to composition partly grounded in the tradition of 21st century western art music. His style is influenced by Composer Dimitri Shostakovich, the late Hungarian composer Gyoergy Ligeti, French Electro-acoustic pioneer Bernard Parmeggiani, UK duo Autechre and Scottish duo Boards of Canada to name a few. He draws inspiration from his contemporaries and teachers at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where is currently studying a Bachelor of music specialising in Composition under Michael Smetanin. At the young age of 22, Benedict has already had chamber and solo instrumental works performed at the Sydney Conservatorium by top performers, performed his own electronic beat driven works to dancing crowds at the self organised Ecclectic:bit concert series at Bar Broadway, seen the result of a collaborative work between himself and brilliant emerging video artist William Mansfield screened as part of the 2005 Electrofringe festival and 2007 Sydney Underground Film Festival (where defaced won the prize for best experimental film), won in the best junior entry for his involvement as composer in the Newcastle Shoot Out festival and is involved in the Verge arts festival at Sydney University. He is currently most engaged by multiple studio production projects as well as live works created using the Max/MSP software environment and various performers.

Henrique Dib
started to have piano lessons at the age of five. After 14 years of intensive classical training and recitals, he decided to change a bit and started to study Jazz with one of the most important Cuban musicians, Nestor Lombidia. Meanwhile, Henrique finished a degree in Civil Engineering at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and performed extensively as a pianist and keyboarder in gigs/shows as well as in big bands and choirs. He's been teaching harmony, jazz and Bossa Nova since 1999 both privately and in music schools. In his home studio, Henrique has been writing and recording his own works as well as commercial music and released an experimental album called "The Beginning" in 2000. He is currently in his fourth year of a Bachelor of Music Composition (honours) at the Sidney Conservatorium of Music and has received many awards since his arrival in Australia in 2004, including several scholarships in composition as well as the International Merit Scholarship for four consecutive years. His latest orchestral work "DIB Variatios" won second prize for the David Tribe Symphonic Award 2007 receiving an outstabnding high recommendation from the committee. His electroacoustic works have been premiered in Australia and Brazil. Henrique is also a mmber of the Golden Key International Honour Society.

Adrian Leung
was born into a family with no musical background. It was one of those cases where his mum never had the opportunity when she was young, so when Adrian had enough strength to press down a piano key, she quickly sent him into music tuition. Adrian began piano lessons at the age of 5, and also violin and music theory at the age of 6. Having completed his Bachelor of Music in 2007 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Adrian's music endeavours are varied. With a classical set up, Adrian's works have focused on the sound scapes of world music, creating ensembles of different cultures and creating a real sense of unity. Adrian has also a deep interest in all the possibilities in electroacoustic music; finding an honest relationship between different sounds, discovering new sounds and exploring sounds sources and their potential. Some teachers that have guided him are Mary Finsterer, Michael Smetanin and Ivan Zavada.

Leigh Perrett
began his career in sound at the age of 5 when he began learning piano from his mother. At age 10 he began learning guitar and at 16 moved onto classical guitar. At the same time he began exploring sound in the digital domain through field recordings, digital sound manipulation and music concrete. He is currently completing a Bachelor of Creative Arts: Sound at the University of Wollongong and taking his elective subjects at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, completing the Electronic Music program. He has been involved in various music, performance art and sound art projects including recently THRESHOLD and Kaboom! at the Shopfront Theatre.

Ivan Zavada
is a composer, multimedia programmer and designer who lectures in computer music composition and electroacoustic theory at the Conservatorium of Music. His research focus is on the interactive relationship between image and sound within the realm of electroacoustic music. He is currently developing a computer application to represent and generate melodic motifs in three dimensions based on its geometric properties. Zavada creates innovative multi-sensorial events that incorporate sophisticated audiovisual techniques to express artistic individuality in the digital era. The work entitled InEx, which was premiered in Beijing at the Musicacoustica Festival 2006, is an example of the vast creative potential available through new mediums of artistic expression. This real-time performance for voice, computer and visual interpretation is based on a blending approach of traditional and urban connotations. In general, Zavada's work questions the conceptual nature of music by examining the relationship between concrete sounds on fixed recorded medium and visual elements of abstraction rendered in computer graphics. The combination of sound and image in multiple layers challenges the medium's representational paradigm with the use of modern technology, and electroacoustic composition and multimedia applications particularly interesting and significant today. Zavada studied electroacoustic composition at the University of Montreal. He has also composed a number of soundtracks for documentaries and feature films. He is also an accomplished violinist who has performed and recorded with various music ensembles in Canada and the United States.
Contact: i.zavada@usyd.edu.au

Hier werden Produktionen aus Archiven der Elektroakustischen Musik, wie z.B. dem Archiv der DEGEM oder dem IDEAMA- und dem DEGEM-Archiv des ZKM, dem Archiv des elektronischen Studios der TU Berlin sowie anderen internationalen Archiven und Dokumentationen elektroakustischer Kunst unter verschiedenen Aspekten präsentiert.