My first ever exploration of synthesis begun in Secondary school with the use of the many synthesisers in Logic Pro X, using the ES1 and the ES2. This was the first time I had actually used hardware synths and although they did not form a part of my composition it opened up creative doorways on how I could use them in other contexts. I really enjoyed the the retro and dusty sounding samples that came from the volca sampler – adding a rustic breakbeat to a piano sample as well as manipulating the oscillators and pitch created a brilliant vintage and soulful sound that was incredibly intriguing. For my composition I used a lot of software samplers to create very ‘ghost’ like sounds. I wanted a variety of resonant sounds for atmosphere to recreate the phantom nature of the london underground.
Upon research it is clear that today – In the contemporary SoundArts picture there is a lack of discernable ‘big players’ in the SoundArts world today. One big question in terms of the creation of SoundArt is whether or not the accessibility to technology has made the scene more ‘diluted’ and less refined or has created a community of variety and innovation? with technology having more of an effect than individuals in todays sound world (and society at large), with AI, software instruments and computers giving rise to new sonic investigations and an easier, more simple process – its easy to see how finding something unique can be extremely difficult – however – in my opinion the creation of something great tends to push its way through the convoluted sea of sound. People such as Céleste Boursier-Mougenot – who in my opinion create installations that go beyond the average music composition creating technical brilliant creative installation using more than just sound. Celeste’s installation “here to ear” uses 70 zebra finches , cymbals holding birdseed nestle in the sand, a square box of birdhouses hangs on the wall and guitars connected to amplifiers that emits a pulse, screech, strum or wail that reverberates as the birds come into contact creating a natural resonance that pairs with sounds of everyday life.
How can we make reliable statements about who is important today? In my opinion the SoundArtists that stand out the most in todays climate are the ones using more than just a DAW and keyboard but the ones exploring different materials and artistic mediums to further enhance a more ambitious idea.
Joel Sterns perspective on the concept of eavesdropping is incredibly fascinating. Not only does it bring to light the societal effects of eavesdropping and how it is used by people in power to further an agenda or form of control – it further emphasises the importance of listening as a process outside of the norm, an almost hidden form of listening used by an elite to govern – as well as listening in terms of legal practise and the way in which law tries to regulate sound.
This political perspective to listening reminds me of the work of Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who explores the effects of audio on human rights and law and how sound directly correlates with identity and societal structures. I find fascinating the idea that the story of the history of eavesdropping may illuminate the past and present we find ourselves in as well as be a platform of activist resistance and ‘betterment’ of societies.
Athansium Kirchers illustration, in the book musurgia universalis, of a giant listening tube – spy ears that were installed within the very architecture of the state – mechanisms of listening imbedded architecturally as a form of governance – show how precisely the act of eavesdropping means in a societal setting. The contrast and juxtaposition of the working class at the bottom and the rich aristocrats listening is in itself incredibly striking, shocking and makes you ruminate on how eavesdropping is being used in a more modern context. The idea that the rich can use listening and weaponise it to dominate – the idea that listening – such an everyday action for the average person – can be used as a form of surveillance and exploitation is powerful.
The album Ferrum by Electric Indigo consists of multiple recordings of mineralic metals that play a huge part in the rich overtones and vibrant frequency range. Sussane talks about how the use of metal can range from very ‘fine and delicate’ to ‘super heavy and harsh’ and how the range of characteristics is fascinating. Indigo also talks about the idea of ‘restriction’ and how artistically helped her to make creative decisions using the metal as a very restrictive source material and a defined starting point as a way to increase productivity.
I really like the idea of using a non-typical object to create pieces, as well as this idea of artistic restriction – keeping within a certain boundaries you set for yourself in order to produce a unique outcome. Upon further research I found that the idea of artistic limitation was a widely used idea. At a 2013 Ted Conference artist Phil Hansen made several remarks concerning the value of limitations, among them that “We need to first be limited in order to become limitless,”.
It is also seen in the works of Igor Stravinsky who used creative limitation with time signatures, by restricting himself from using any in his composition ‘the rite of spring’. I feel as if by restricting herself Indigo created a brilliant wave of focus that allowed for the subject of her work to really shine through.
I find this incredibly inspiring especially under the current climate with covid-19 having restricted so many artists from being creatively free. The use of the metal also links to the stone experiment in which one uses a pebble and hits it around different objects to see how it interacts with ones surrounding in terms of sound. After a while one realises that the same materials have a lot in common in the way they sound, but their size and form also makes a large difference.
Response Piece:
In response to exploring Electric Indigo I experimented with the use of metallic recordings and paired them with synthesis to really just see what the outcome would be which I think is incredibly important when coming into contact with something that you are unfamiliar with – in this case the amalgamation of synthesis and a very enigmatic metallic “reverby” recording was very alien to me – i don’t think i have had to(or voluntarily) ever mixed these two types of sounds together. The metallic recording is off me using a contact microphone and attaching it to a metal corrugated surface and scraping my foot across it to create the reverberation. I paired this with a synth from Kontakt and played it over the recording aiming to create some sort of coercion.
Today I did some audio recording using a small zoom recorder, trying to get as many external and internal audio recordings as possible for my piece. Although there isn’t a solid idea of what I want to create, I try to be creative with the type of sounds I collected – trying to find ones that were unique, both to my environment and to what i want to make. I recorded sounds such as the fizzing of a fizzy drink in a can, the passing of an underground train, the scrubbing of a toilet brush in its holder as well as some more percussive sounds such as banging pots and cups. I hope these samples will allow me to form the basis of of my piece as I move on to synthesis.
” My lyric writing process is open and free, I write very freely – not in verse not in rhyme – with no structure in books and then at the point of coming to sing with a sort of semi-structured piece of music – or in many cases a singular riff – I will take the notebook and improvise the lyrics in real time…and then i’ll do a take – which is the take that goes on the album” – Lisa Busby, lecture.
What struck me about Lisa music at first was the truly free nature of it birth. Very abstract and so very liberating – her process of creation gave me a wonderful sense of juvenility and freedom, something I am always so entertained by in music and sound. The almost “child-like” nature of music composition by many an artist is what truly draws me to the exploration of sound and its uses in different ways. The spontaneous nature of her music in pieces such as ‘hollow blown egg’ and throughout her discography display a very juvenile sense of creation. There is an unusual sense of rhythm with usually a single riff to accompany everything else in the piece. The improv reminds of music by Derek Baily in the very sporadic yet tonal nature of the music.
The piece ‘2 Hollow Blown Egg’ is so incredibly intuitive – it feels like there is a certain direction, format and structure, with the piece changing at places that seem to be an introduction, verse etc yet at the same time, you never know how it will evolve, keeping you on your toes. I certainly did not expect the heavy buzz synth to come at 0:58 seconds. Paired with her voice it creates a wonderfully eerie, cryptic and surreal atmosphere. The piece continues to become louder and more violent as Busbys voice becomes more vocoded eventually ending abruptly. A piece that reinforces this idea of intensity and power also pushes feelings of delicacy, fragility and softness – presenting multiple layers of emotion.
Response Piece:
Lisas piece allowed me to gain a wider understanding of mixing two opposite sounding sonic tonalities to achieve an interesting result. I tried to musically keep a similar feel, texture and structure. i used a free to use vocal sample by Enlia along with a buzzy harsh synth to create a similar tonal effect. I also used automation, slowly increasing the volume as well as the distortion of the background synth. Playing the notes was also played a lot more freely – only using the first take and not having everything perfectly on time allowed for a more juvenile feel. Creating this was fun, which isn’t always the case when making something for a deadline, however this brought out a level of creativity and musicality i have not felt in a long time – the reason being he inspiration given to me by Lisa, and her freeing idea of improvisation and simplicity that i yearn to achieve when creating music and sound. And although i was not able to sing myself on it – possibly removing a lot of the quality compared to Lisa piece, I still felt as if I achieved an outcome where in which I successfully created something that portrayed simplicity and originality.
Haunting & mystifying – Jessica Ekomane personifies catharsis, purgation and a beautifully intrinsic sense of stupor throughout her works. Solid of Revolution – One I was particularly intrigued by – uses panning, tempo and synthesis to create a deep atmosphere of ‘trance’. As said on her website “she creates situations where the sound acts as a transformative element for the space and the audience”. When asked what she would like the audience to imagine from listening to one of her pieces, she mentions she would like to leave it up to interpretation, however consciously makes the decision to create a “trance-like environment.”
Her exploration of quadraphonic pieces such as Solid of Revolution further enhances the ‘ audience experience ‘ through a piece and surround sound installation that is required to listen to the music in the way it was originally intended. This also piques my interest in her use of psychoacoustics and how her pieces can be used to affect audiences in different ways to develop a certain physical and psychological response. I am interested in how people interpret certain sound – what makes a piece of music ‘cathartic’ to one person and not to another? Why do audiences interpret sounds in a certain way? Her music seems to continually ask questions about the relationship between individual perception and collective dynamics.
How much influence the artist truly have in the listener’s experience of their piece of work? Playing Solid of Revolution again it is clear it is a piece with multiple layers. Her perception of rhythmic structures is what seems to drive a physical experimentation element to her music wherein space, timing and texture are crucial to the piece’s development. This introduction to the concept of human perception in sound is fascinating – and one I have given thought to in the past though not to this scale. The manipulation of audio by the producer to create music that every individual listening to will perceive in a different way sonically is something I’m looking forward to exploring further.
I really find the Berlin electronic music scene something so unique and interesting. The trance like nature of electronic music found in Berlin is probably something Jessica was influenced by as she was based in Berlin. It just goes to show how much a persons environment influences their art as well as the way in which their artistic narrative takes its turns.
Response Piece:
A short experiment – I began by choosing a synth in alchemy – a very unusual basis instrument for me, having been so used to starting with the drums. I tried to keep the raw simplicity of Jessica’s piece which only uses the sole synth. I also tried to create the advancement of the texture of the pieces and feel. I took the semitones B additive Tune by 8 semitones creating a lighter undertone. I also added a small amount of reverb to create a similar echo sound that appears in solid of revolution. Creating this piece definitely allowed me to gain a wider understanding of synthesis and its use outside of something typically musical.
