Category: Sound Studies and Aural Cultures

I started out with the idea of doing experimental music. I thought it would be easier to introduce experimental music as it is a recent genre that has only been around for about 60-70 years. But after doing some research, I realized that it would be difficult to introduce experimental music in 10 minutes. The most difficult part for me is the classification of experimental music, such as experimental electronic music, experimental rock, etc. …. If I were to find all the examples, I would not be able to cover the history in 10 minutes. So I started to think about whether I could introduce only one of the many categories of experimental music. (My last blog about this project had a list of the music I wanted to choose.)
When I was looking for types of experimental music on the internet, I saw that some people put noise music and experimental music together. So I subconsciously thought that noise music was a kind of experimental music, so I looked up noise music. But the more extreme it got, the more it didn’t seem to fit with the definition of experimental music. It wasn’t until I came across this book ‘The art of noises’ Luigiolo that noise music is not experimental music. He was around much earlier than experimental music, and although Pierre Schaeffer’s series of musical studies brought the art of music to the point where Russolo conceived of it as a way to better open the sense of hearing to conceptualize sounds… that doesn’t mean that experimental music is a continuation of the art of noise. So I focused on the human voice and learned that there is a name for experimental music that is the experiment with the human voice. Perhaps due to the form of expression, the history and works of this category of experimental music are relatively small. And the music I chose fit well.

Experimental vocals:

originated in the 1960s. Yoko Ono, Japanese artist and musician who was an influential practitioner of conceptual and performance art. In 1968 the two began collaborating on experimental films and recordings—the cover of their musique-concrète-based album Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (1968) controversially featured a photograph of them naked—and they wed the following year.

Encyclopedia Britannica. n.d. Yoko Ono | Biography, Art, & Facts. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yoko-Ono> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

JFDR made Instant Patience. On my first listen, I fell in love with the lead singer’s voice due to its ethereal quality. The live version is more enjoyable than the recorded version. Live vocals reverberate better. I like that feeling. And the li Live version sounds better than the recorded version.

In this project, I will introduce the concept of experimental vocals, their origins, and recent easy-to-write works. And some of my own reflections.

12.7

I received some suggestions for changes following the presentation of my project.

In order to give my sound a little more thickness, I added these two effects.

I kept some of the breath sounds and those when the mouth was closed. The reason I keep it is that a lot of experimental vocals incorporate some of these sounds. This seemed more natural and brought the listener closer.

I also learned a lot of new things in the process of making it. I think the most enjoyable part of the project was deciding on the theme. There is a lot to experimental music that I cannot cover in ten minutes. I was really anxious at that point and wanted to change the theme. Then it occurred to me that I had heard of the concept of experimental vocals before. So I looked it up and found out that there really was such a category. I also found out that it was a niche of experimental music that could be introduced in 10 minutes and still have time to talk about my feelings. It was a very special moment!

That’s probably the point of the project, to tell what I’ve learned in my own way. I’ve learned a lot of what during the research process. It was really good for my thinking skills.

Lucia H. Chung is a London-based Taiwanese artist. She graduated from Winchester School of Art with a Master’s degree in sculpture and Goldsmiths University of London with a Ph.D. in Sonic Arts. As a mediator performer in the self-regulated system within Kering, her sound creations are influenced by her fascination with noise generated by feedback on digital and analog equipment as well as her role as a performer in the relationship between the Sonic events. She performs unreleased music under the alias ‘en creux’. She has also worked as a broadcaster and an independent curator, curating and organizing residency programs and music events at occurred. Three months in the United Kingdom and Europe.

The Somerset House Studios hosted a residency for Taiwanese experimental music, as well as a music hack-space in 2018. In 2020, the Tier One and Eclectic Sound Festivals will share a virtual residence in London. In addition, there will be a panel discussion on video game music as part of grinding practice at Somerset House Studios in 2021. in regards to video game music.

https://hardreturn.bandcamp.com/album/the-water

Because one of the questions in the Q&A session was about these album. It seems to be asking about How do you think of using the two extended pieces for the no-input mixer to illustrate how stillness is paradoxically a place for continuous energy clashes?

I thought it was an interesting question, but Chuang’s answer seemed to be that he wanted to try something new. But anyway, after the lecture I went to listen to the music. With two extended drone compositions for no-input mixer, (Lucia H Chung) digs into the “persistent” side of the Hard Return remit, exemplifying how so-called stillness is nonetheless a location of constant energetic struggle. The two sides portray insufficiency and surplus, with the first a semi-solid hum flickering on the verge of becoming and the second a hard buzz pressing into excess till it warps. Drones, so often associated with balance and stillness, are false — only implied in the negation of these deviations from equilibrium, manifesting as a non-state within a momentary pause between precisely maneuvered tilts.

This piece gave me a totally different experience. It didn’t have the sound of water that I hear every day but I could feel that it was water. I find it amazing that if a sound is similar to a sound we perceive as moving in a similar direction the brain will automatically classify it as the same (?) I’m not sure it’s just me. I may have brought in subjective thoughts about the track because of seeing the title of the album. But in any case, I really like this music.

1. Luciahchung.com. n.d. About. [online] Available at: <https://luciahchung.com/about/> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

2. Hard Return. 2021. The Water, by en creux. [online] Available at: <https://hardreturn.bandcamp.com/album/the-water> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

Richard Phoenix is a multidisciplinary artist who works with painting, music, writing, and collaboration. His current research focuses on access, learning, and organization, as well as how art and music may be used to break down boundaries and establish new forms of normalcy. As an associate artist in learning disability arts organizations, he wanted to find subtle and powerful ways to analyze and explain his contribution in various collaborations. Working with school groups within an art institution as a musician in DIY punk bands. As a non-institutional arts education student. The conditions studio program I was a part of in Croydon was recently completed.

A learning disability arts group, Heart and Soul, also employs him as an associate artist. He has been an artist-in-residence with state schools and the Teachers Department, formed the non-profit organization Continuous Flux, and published the book DIY as Privilege. Rough Trade Books published the book Manifesto in 2020.

https://heartnsoul.bandcamp.com/track/jumpy

I always learn about new forms of art in the lectures every Thursday. This video contains some of the creative process. I felt that they were really good when I watched it and that they really loved creating. I completely lost sight of who they were while watching the video, the only thing I could feel was their love for their art.

Electric Fire – Jumpy This is the song below the video. I thought it was a great song when I was listening to it.

How can we recognize the artwork of people with disabilities without making the work about those disabilities?

“I believe that asking is a great way to go about it. What people want to do and then assisting them in achieving their goals. I remember particularly when I first started asking the people we worked with to reflect on disability. I think you have to make work about that and not disparage those who make work specifically about it……”

I took a little note of what he said and it made sense to me.

Richardphoenix.com. n.d. LCC — Richard Phoenix. [online] Available at: <https://richardphoenix.com/LCC> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

Asa Stjerna (born in 1970 in Stockholm) is a Swedish artist who explores sound and listening via her art. She investigates sound’s potential through site-specific installations, making the embedded circumstances and underlying narratives associated with a situation visible, generating links between past and present, local and global, as well as human and more-than-human. She hopes to redefine hearing in this way, producing a sense of locations as intricate ecologies. She has been examining the present circumstances of sonic located practice and its power to be transformational, i.e. what it means to “make a difference” in the period of Antrophocene and advanced capitalism, as well as working as an artist-researcher. She proposes an understanding of site-specificity as an aesthetic–ethical practice and engagement between specific and diverse “bodies” with agencies—human and non-human, spanning and connecting the material, social, discursive, artistic, and technical realms at the same time in a given situation, guided by feminism, ecosophy, and posthumanism methodologies.

“HOW CAN SOUND,  AS ARTISTIC  MEDIUM, MEDIATE QUESTIONS OF GLOBAL RELEVANCE?”

I was very interested in this project when I was listening to the presentation and I was really surprised that sound could be associated with the environment. The idea is very bold and new, and I also saw a lot of technology in this project and so on. Projects that combine technology and art always attract a lot of attention. There are also a lot of social issues in this project such as the melting of glaciers due to global warming. I think this is a good thing, because sometimes people don’t pay much attention to professional documentation. But when the artist presents the issue visually through art, it might make people pay more attention to it.

Nast, C., 2021. Venice Biennale invites artist Shilpa Gupta to showcase two installations. [online] Architectural Digest India. Available at: <https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/venice-biennale-shilpa-gupta-installations/> [Accessed 19 November 2021].

Nicole Raymond (NikNak), an Oram Award-winning and history-making storyteller, is dedicated to furthering her distinctive profession as a DJ & Turntablist, sound artist/composer, producer, instructor, sound engineer, and radio presenter. She is also an outspoken supporter of varied representation in the music business, particularly in the domains of DJ/Turntablism culture and music creation, as well as artist well-being and mental health. Nicole is based in the United Kingdom, where she can be found searching for vinyl or comic books, performing, experimenting, and sharing her musical interests with a wide range of audiences, teaching students how to DJ, and organizing/curating events such as “Dub Sirens” and “Melanin.” Nicole has also performed at festivals such as Live Art Bistro’s Wilderness Festival, Handmade Festival, Chin Up Festival, We Out Here Festival, Leeds International Festival, World Island Festival, Algorave Festival, House of Verse’s Brighton Fringe Festival, Leeds Digital Festival, Bradford Literature Festival, Marsden Jazz Festival, and Tor Fest. NikNak is also a part of TC and the Groove Family, as well as The Belgrave House Band. Demon FM, Sable Radio, Worldwide FM, Balamii Radio, BBC Radio Leeds, and KMAH Radio are among the radio stations where she has made appearances.

Because of the lecture I learned more from NikNak and view her project on her own website. I really like this one which is named Sound Generator. Artists could use Sound generators to create the project. NikNak used a few months to create the experimental electronic music. I think the experimental electronic music is very cool and is one type of experiment music. Maybe I can do some research of this.

Nast, C., 2021. Venice Biennale invites artist Shilpa Gupta to showcase two installations. [online] Architectural Digest India. Available at: <https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/venice-biennale-shilpa-gupta-installations/> [Accessed 19 November 2021].

Since 1989, Cedrik Fermont has worked in the fields of electro-acoustic noise, electronic, experimental, and improvised music as a composer, musician, mastering engineer, author, independent researcher, concert organizer, and curator. He was born in Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo, but spent most of his childhood in Belgium. And he is currently residing in Germany. Cedric, publishes and promotes electronic experimental and noisy music from Asia and Africa, and to a lesser extent Latin America, through his label and platform in Berlin. His publications are primarily about Asian and African music. Power through networking, redefining the underground electronic experimental music scenes in East and Southeast Asia, and an introduction to electro-acoustic noise and experimental music in Asia and Africa. A book written and edited together with to be true. Della file, which won the Golden Nica Prize in the art, electronic and digital music, and sand art category.

He did a lot of electro-acoustic music or acousmatic music. For my SS&SA assignment, I also wanted to do something related to experimental music. So I listened to a lot of the music he made and my favorite was this one, which has everyday sounds and electronic music in it. It sounds very harmonious.

After listening to the lecture, I think he is a person who likes to challenge new things. And not someone who would bring a label to himself. He would try a lot of genres of music. I think it’s good to learn more and understand more types of music. It’s a fun process to explore and to develop your own style of performance along the way.

Syrphe.com. n.d. Syrphe :: electronic & experimental music | sound installations | soundtracks | mastering. [online] Available at: <http://syrphe.com/c-drik.html> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

Sam Auinger is a composer, sound artist, and sonic thinker. He collaborates with city planners and architects, gives lectures, and attends international symposiums on urban planning, architecture, media, and the senses on a regular basis. From 2008 to 2012, he was a visiting professor at the University of the Arts in Berlin, where he directed the Experimental Sound Design department of the Sound Studies Master Program. He is currently a Harvard Graduate School of Design associate. He’s been collaborating with composer Bruce Odland as O+A since 1989, investigating the fundamental issue of hearing perspective. Their sound installations in public spaces are famed for transforming city noise into harmony in real-time. He’s also a founding member of stadtmusik, a collaboration involving Berlin-based composers Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl and Dietmar Offenhuber, a media artist and urbanist.

This is one of the projects he mentioned in the lecture. I was very interested in this project. I sometimes really feel that art is another way of expressing science. O+A is a collaboration between Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger. The soundscape of New York Harbor was re-tuned into a harmonic series by this temporary installation, which was combined by the moon and tides. It reintroduced visitors to the natural world, including tide and moon cycles, as well as the rhythms and might of modern city transportation. With music, light, and street furniture, Harvard Design School’s 5 cube loudspeakers changed the social interaction on the plaza for O+A.

I thought it was really interesting to combine art and technology. He also explained some of the principles of the device in the lecture. I didn’t fully understand it at first, but then I went back and listened to it again and thought it was incredible. It really takes a lot of knowledge and a certain amount of inspiration to make it.

Q&A

What draws you to work with urban spaces?

Cities have kind of a vivid narrative that they have vivid communication and discussion. And to make myself somehow competent for this discourse, I think you need to have experience (of City).

Auinger, S., Schulze, H., Schulze, H., Schulze, H., Schulze, H., Schwesinger, S., Schulze, H., Schulze, H. and Schulze, H., n.d. Sam Auinger, Author at. [online] Soundstudieslab.org. Available at: <http://www.soundstudieslab.org/author/sam-auinger/> [Accessed 6 December 2021].

BLUE MOON 2004, O+A, Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger. 2021. .