Site
still pending but in the meantime, here's some basic information:
Shifting
Currents in the first of three concerts
premeiring May 30th, 2009 as part of Le
Weekend in Stirling (the other two being at the sound
festival in Aberdeen, and Huddersfield
Contemporary Music Festival, both in November).
Shifting
Currents was inspired by the story of an individual
who after receiving a cochlear implant was able to hear
various electrical fields as he moved about his daily
life. These electrical fields created delicate hums, roaring
thunder strikes, ticklish electronic trickles, and other
astonishing sounds depending on the specifics of each
situation. I thought it was remarkable that not only was
he able to hear the sounds of the world we often take
for granted, but was also able to hear an entirely different
sound world unavailable to the rest of us with 'normal'
hearing.
This
sound world consists of the electro-magnetic fields that
surround us everyday, and that live in our bodies, buildings,
and natural environment. It flows through the arteries
of wires that are built into almost every building we
walk through, every vehicle we sit in, every device we
communicate with, and even surrounds the Earth itself,
reacting to solar flares, lightning, and atmospheric conditions.
The
project involves using special microphones to collect
field recordings of electro-magnetic fields from Stirling,
Aberdeen, and Huddersfield that I created a multiple speaker
installation of delicate, and also harsh, shifting electronic
sounds. This constantly evolving installation forms a
shifting sonic web from within which Keith
Rowe, Rick
Reed, and myself will
improvise using live electronics, found objects, and field
recordings. Not
only will the sounds gathered from each location be combined
in infinite combinations, but they will also be combined
with the improvised reactions and interactions of the
musicians, each themselves using devices that often behave
in unique and unpredictable ways.
Pictures
and samples of the set will eventually make their way
to this space after each gig. Also, a
CDR release of just the installation (without performers)
is available now from my new label Burning
Harpsichord Media
here. For any inquiries, email here.
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