Click on the image above to download the notes that I produced for the walk at CTM in Berlin. The walk was ment to find connections between listening and the topic of the CTM festival New Geographies. The walk took place on the 30th of january 2016 in Kottbusser Tor and was presented to the participants of the SOCCOS RESIDENCY PROGRAM.
DOWNLOAD THE KEYNOTES AND MAP PRODUCED FOR THE WALK
A microphone is physically exposed to the consequences of breaking the distance limit that conventionally separates it from the subject of the recording. The video is a metaphor about the search for interaction and confrontation.
Passages under bridges have always been interesting places for acoustic tests. In this video, the resonance of a concrete tunnel is triggered by the explosion of a series of firecrackers.
1) The performer is outside with a microphone in his hand.
2) The audience is inside and is listening to the performer from a loudspeaker that is connected to the microphone outside.
3) The performer tries to throw the microphone through the window and reach the inside where the audience is listening.
4) When the microphone enters the inside, the high gain volume (excitement) and the reduced distance (encounter) between microphone and loudspeaker produce an acoustic feedback.
5) In this way, the performer, who is metaphorically embodied in the microphone, finally meets his audience.
The workshop is open to anybody who is concerned with the possibilities of interaction between sound, space, and listening.
The main aim of the workshop is to offer, through direct practice, a wide range of listening experiences in order to lead participants to recognize sound as a concrete presence that puts the listener in relation with other bodies, materials and space.
Practicing different exercises based on sound diffusion and simple movements/gestures, the participants are invited to experience sound effects such as reflection, absorption, filter, threshold… as well as to explore the acoustic interaction between sound, architecture and the body.
White noise is the main material that is used in the workshop. The constant dynamic and frequency spectrum of white noise facilitate an immediate understanding of specific sound effects and provide a stable reference for the articulation of the listener’s position in space.
Watch a video extract from a past workshop here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52_f4094wD4.
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The workshop is structured in 4 different sessions. Each session is 3 hours long.
Participants are free to follow as many sessions as they want.
Session 1: 27 may 2015 from 10:00 to 13:00
Session 2: 27 may 2015 from 15:00 to 18:00
Session 3: 28 may 2015 from 10:00 to 13:00
Session 4: 28 may 2015 from 15:00 to 18:00
Address: Errant Bodies /// Kollwitzstrasse 97, 10435 Berlin
Max number of participants: 5
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What happens when we stop thinking that the primary function of a microphone is to capture sound and translate air pressure into electronic signal? What happens when we violate the basic rules and principles of audio engineering and recording technology? Mike the Drums is a performance where, rather than a pair of drumsticks, I play drums with a pair of microphones. The project explores the physical properties and affordances of the microphone and presents a more intuitive and analog way to approach audio technology. The performance is at DE LA CHARGE, Rue Théodore Verhaegen 152, SAINT-GILLES, BRUXELLES. 7pm, 12 december 2014. READ THE FULL PRESENTATION HERE.
I’m part of the compilation Music Made With Balloon and/or Needle with a new sound piece called A Balloon for My Spine. The piece is a continuation of the project A Balloon For…. This time, rather than exploring the acoustics of specific architectural sites, the sound piece investigates the physical response of the body to the popping of the balloon. You can read the ARTISTIC STATEMENT of the piece here. To ORDER the compilation see informations on the Balloon&Needle website.
WE PROVOKE THE CITY AND LISTEN TO ITS RESPONSE
EACH EXPLOSION LEADS TO A CONFLICT
EACH EXPLOSION LEADS TO AN ENCOUNTER
EACH EXPLOSION LEADS TO A DIALOGUE
SET THE FUSE ON FIRE AND GET READY FOR CONFRONTATION
1) The group walks in the city at night-time looking for places where to burst firecrackers.
2) The group moves silently, like in a sabotage action.
3) Once the firecracker is set off, the group concentrates on the impact of the bang.
A body moves in space modulating the acoustic feedback that occours between microphone and loudspeaker. According to the position occupied, the body can block or activate the feedback.
Starting from the exploration of the physical nature of sound waves (frequency and wave lenght), the performance reveals the capacity of the body to filter and alter the propagation of sound in space.
Video 1 – Rehearsals: https://vimeo.com/118521780 (password is “ciao”)
Video 2 – Live Performance: https://vimeo.com/119800367 (password is “ciao”)
I give a 1 day seminar about listening and the city. In the first part of the seminar I give an account on the relations between active listening and field research. In the afternoon I take the group out in the city and introduce a number of listening activities in choosen sites. The seminar is part of EXPOSED, a research about the urban transformation of the city of Milan in light of the imminent International World Fair EXPO2015. The seminar is on the 8th of March 2014 and takes place at CAREOF, Milan. Registration is open to selected artists. More info can be found here.
