SI18
https://issue.xpub.nl/18/index.html
Documentology
Collective Text
The third issue, “Radio Implicancies”, is a series of eight weekly released sound publications. We have been shapeshifting each Tuesday of the week into our own audience and constantly shuffled positions in the overall work infrastructure. This modular approach enabled an interdependent publishing structure in which we all took turn in order to share responsibilities in a sustainable manner. Every other Tuesday of each week, somehow estranged from everyone’s work progress, all the members, except the care-takers (those responsible of the outcome of that week’s publication), would walk into a dedicated room unaware of the experience they would step into. The publications shifted from edited projects to live performances, presenting tools, interface or instruments for the public to thread all the pieces together themselves. The listener’s experience evolved from that of a brutal unintentional edit of disparate sound-works, to an intentional curated piece, interlaced by a common rhythm: that of different binding sounds.
Individual Text
In this Special Issue I participated as a listener, a contributor and a caretaker. It was a rich experience to unplug from the screen and listen every week to each new release. The discussion after each launch was rich. We tryed to unpack what we collectively listened to and raise questions. As a contributor I tried to discuss about the dynamics of a public space, while being on a public space, to jam outside with bottles, to create pop national anthems, to experiment with spoken word and the detuning of my voice and my guitar, to field record and edit, to try a diffractive reading of a text and a video, to jam at Paris, to reflect on the releases. I did all these alone or by being part of a duo or a trio. As a caretaker, I put together the first release with Chae and curated the 4th release with Miriam and Erica. Finally I curated and performed the diffractive dj set with Alex and Supi.
Release 01
mitsa and erica
title:
"no birds in field recordings"
duration:
5:16
description:
An audio track with parts of mitsa's and erica's conversations, one evening at nordplein. It is composed as two parallel monologues. On the left speaker is mostly erica's voice and on the right side mostly mitsa's. Talkin mostly about public space, field recording in public spaces, the position of the one that records and the one that is being recorded, the difference between soundscape and pure library sounds, how to choose what is urgent to be published, while the sounscape of nord plein is present
score:
start recording in a public space while we have a free conversation.
input [raw material]:
field recordings
tools [used but not seen/heard everything /from tools to software/ used to obtain the material and modify the material]:
zoom recorder, reaper for editing.
process log [steps, process, curation]:
1. meet at nord plein 2. record the soundscape while discussing 3. choice of the material and edit
output [public outcome]:
[1]
Release 02
kamo, supi, mitsa
title
Schooling Shoaling
duration
9:52
description
An exploration of pattern entrances and exits
score
Listen and adapt to the other players' rhythm
input
Audio file
tools
- Water bottles: 2 made of metal, 1 made of plastic
- Wooden branches
- Microphone
- Audacity
process log
1. Outside, at Spoorsingel. It's sunny and feels like summer
2. Read notes on the pad about uneven patterns
3. Discuss (keywords: inside-outside, entering-leaving patterns, constantly moving pattern(s), schooling and shoaling)
4. Drink water
5. Realize that everyone is drinking water
6. Realize that the water bottle is a common instrument
7. Gather branches
8. Hit record
9. Hit branches against water bottles
10. Sync energies and synergies
11. Swim with or against schools and shoals (and schoals)
12. Enter or leave as desired
output
schoolshoal.mp3
Release 04
Caretaking mitsa, erica and miriam
The jingle board Parliament
pad here: release four pad
Al & Mitsa
[title] Getting Political: Re-making Anthems & Money Talks
[duration] 6 short snippets with length between 0:14 and 0:38 min
[description] Re-enacting quotes from 3 bulgarian politicians and re-mixing the Sound of Happiness, Te Deum and the greek, the bulgarian and the duth national anthem
[score]
[input] Alex recorded the quotes with OS' Spoken Content option. Mitsa recorded guitar, voice and synth and processed one percussive sample
[tools] OS' Spoken Content, Audacity, Reaper, electric guitar, keybord synth
[process log] our process pad is here. We started by drafting ideas and what was most interesting for us at the moment, was focusing on some political contexts. Mitsa was experimenting with remixing national anthems already and Alex was having fun with exploring some iconic quotes of the Bulgarian statesmen over the past 35 years of Bulgaria's transition to democracy and market economy. Our common topic is "Getting Political" and then each of us focused on creating 3 snippets on our sub-topics - anthems & quotes. During the process, we were sharing the work on each step with each other and getting feedback.
▶Alex's process the first quote I selected was Zhivkov's one about money. Then, I was mainly looking for other quotes that are tackling the topic of money. When the politicians were saying those things, they were speaking in a vernacular manner, not using any high and official language.
Zhivkov and Borisov's quotes are also recorded on video. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha's quote is from a newspaper. I translated their quotes in English and then recorded them with my Mac's Spoken Content option using the voice of Daniel. Then, added some applause at the end. We were conserned about copyrights, that is why the pieces are re-created by us and not taken from the internet.
▶ Mitsa's process I was thinking of the current importance of nationalism for states and then had the idea of underlining that by messing around andremaking several anthems with a more pop sound. I remade the Eurovision anthem, the melody of Happiness and an anthem combining lyrics from the Greek, the Bulgarian and the Dutch. There are several ideas related to that gesture. First, by taking out the symphonic and classical sound of the anthems, they lose some of their glamor connected to the high and important musical past.Then by experimenting with contemporary conical elements, I underline how nationalism is present in today's systems and how power can be echoed through music. (tan tan tan, pretty big things). It was also really playful for me to mess around.
[output] Mitsa's Getting Political: Contemporary Anthems Anthem of Tolerrant Europe, First Robot Congressman, and National Anthem & Alex's Getting Political: Money Talks
▶ Todor Zhivkov: original quote vs. the recording
▶ "The Tsar" Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha: the recording
▶ Boyko Borisov: original quote vs. the recording
[who?] Alex & Mitsa
Caretakers: Grgr, Miri, Mitsa
Release 05
Miri & Mitsa
[title] MiMi
[duration] 4:34
[description] Two texts performed as spoken word with the same guitar loop as a basis and a different editing approach.
[input] audio recording of our voices; looped guitar ; beat edot
[tools] mobile phone recorder, mini microphone, Ableton, Reaper, ambient effects, pitch effect
[process log]
- Both of us wrote a text that later we would perform process pad
- We made a guitar loop with some effects, which became a basis for the music part
- I recorded my part and used the pitch effect for detuning both the voice and the guitar
- Miri....
- We merged the two tracks to 1
[who] Miriam + Mitsa
Release 06
Mitsa & Alex
[title] Diffracted Narrations
[description] This simple recipe for diffractive perception of information provided by two sources can be used on various types of pieces. However, one of the inputs should be a video and the other one - a written text. We create a new piece by muting the original narration of the video and adding a completely different one. This method allows us to experiment on conceptual level: what types of stories or thoughts we would like to play with? By experiencing one source through the other, creative and unexpected readings can emerge.
[input] Video and written text. In our experiment we used Denise Fereira Da Silva, Arjuna Neuman (2019), Four waters: deep implicancy as a video source and two poems by Parwana Amiri: Your Eyes Bother Us and How Hard
[tools] computer, mobile phone
[process log]
▶ process pad
- Pick two pieces:
-one video (ideally without subtitles and texts on it)
-a written text (article, poem, short story etc.)
- Video: if the video has audio, mute it
- Text:
-choose part of the written text that you would like to add as a new voice over of the video
- Perform the new piece by playing the video and narrating it live yourself
- Record the performance with video & audio
As a result, you will have a new piece with a diffracted narration.
[output] Our diffracted narration - one of the takes (not the final choice of poems).
[reads] Denise Fereira Da Silva, Arjuna Neuman (2019), Four waters: deep implicancy
Parwana Amiri (2019-2020), Your Eyes Bother Us and How Hard
Release 07
mitsa
[title] Conflicted Belonging, fountain, from my door, from Vroesenpark,συν κινηση
[description] 5 tracks from 5 different field recordings. The track fountain is the radical stretch of the sound of a fountain. The rest of the tracks have been given a small edit around balancing dynamics.
[input] 5 field recordings
[tools] Zoom recorder, Reaper
[process log]
I used a zoom recorder to record and then processed the material on Reaper. I was interested in public space, soundscape, moving, small sounds and also editing for changing the substance of a recording.
[output] fountain
from my door
from vroesenpark
συν κίνηση
conflicting belonging
map of the rejected
Release 08
caretakers everyone
co-publication, editing with miriam
[title] Intro/Outro
[description] This last publication was created during our residency in La General at Paris. The sound publication contains our group reflection for each one of our previous releases.
[input] voices, recorders, editing, instruments
[tools] Zoom recorder, mobile phone, audacity, ableton, reaper
[process log]
We spent a few days in the space of La generale and we collectively decided what would be our last publication. We created the publication on one day, recording and editing. The next day we launched to it at La generale.
[output] 1 track, the 8th release Intro/Outro
Unpublic #81 PARIS, 22 JUNE 2022
Un-public Wednesday early evening 'experimental un-publishing' session on June 22nd 2022, with Kam Seng Aung (violin), Alexandra Nikolova ([6:] dj mix, voice), Carmen Gray ([1:] drum, bottle, maracas, bell), Chaeyoung Kim ([5:] rattling egg, i-thing, handbell), Emma Prato ([10:] xylophone, harmonic voice), Erica Gargaglione ([2:] (little) drums, bells, flute), Francesco Luzzana ([4:] nanoloop, flute, hands, voice), Jian Haake ([11:] DIY breadboard synth, scratch box), Kimberley Cosmilla ([3:] flute, (little) drum, xylophone), Miriam Schöb ([7:] cracklebox, stylophone, bottle, voice, body), Mitsa Chaida ([0:] maracas, bells, drum, voice), Supisara Burapachaisri ([9:] Bastl Kastle Drum, Bastl Kastle v1.5), Gersande Schellinx ([8:] zither, voice) and Har$ (direction += time-keeping & dictaphones) in the auditorium of La Générale Nord-Est, Paris XIV, France.
Unpubic #81 is part of the Unpublic series curated by Har$.
Diffractive Dj Set
With Supi and Alex, mixing contributions of all the releases
we made this DJ set as a way of publishing our 08 audio releases, at the Graduation show of the XPUB 2 at WORM.
https://media.xpub.nl/2022/gradshow/WalkieTalkie-XPUB1.mp4?fbclid=IwAR18OjRoXJo5zrMCCWqu0XR_vFFO8dl0lCViy3-K1KWAAuat3ggLgZo_iNo
Listening to the diffractive DJ set of Special Issue 18
Voices, echoed with ominous pad ---- animacies, the plant talking climate anxiety --ominous drone is impactful --- i am not sure because looped ---> creates space
ominous, intensity, building rhythmic pattern -- voices meddling to each other
--- creating rhythm -------- corpus from voices
conceptual connection / ----->
emerging the european union (eurovision) song detuned ----- diffractive reading ----- something is going wrong here ----> conceptual
ominous sine wave again ---- mystery, stress -----> experiencing
> paired with rhythmic dance from vroesenpark i hear a space and an emotion over it ---> bringing a field recording from big hangout at a park combining it with the mix
> and something that is danceable -------- a voice over like a memory a voice that you cannnot understand----> it builds atmosphere
disrupted by lady gaga ----- all got disrupted ------> conceptual
rhythmic drum with annoying claps --> it is irony again ------> but the drums is continuing
loop create space and safety, are the foundation, you build on them ====> build on lady gaga, rythmic pattern from field recording and ironic clapping
the clapping is somehow related to the gaga and to the field recording
emma talks, not clearly ====== connected with the detuned trombetes that sing cooly
voices blurred ==== combined with epic detuned cool singing === many voices together
the drum voice machine ----- create the rhythmic patterns -------- the lone singing stays
the bottle rhythmic enter while the voice sings ------- they are becoming the next rhythmic foundation
again field recording of a park, we also hear cars, the wind, some discussions
combined now with the drum voice machine ' what is right right right not not not not not not not not
rhythmic discussion with the bottles and the voices give and take ----------> rhythmic, musically ---> rhythm is body movement
explo explo explo explore explore explo explore
investigate
play around with
investigate
what is right
right not to
,br>
(it is much more distant the using of an instrument than of a voice , body ----> it goes voice > body > instrument)
rhythmic pattern combined with Angela Davis voice ----> gesture of giving voice
really quick rhythms as intensifying
sequencer with sine waves --->
the very advertisement sound that then gets detuning ------> i see that voilently detuning for me it's a gesture of degrading, underlining saying pay attention here ----> because it is considered bad quality, or something has broken -------> when things get detuned -------> they escape from category----> tuning ---------> from strict frequency structure
it is like funny happy sound but it is so much related to advertisement
mixed with babe cries --- loops ----- lion ----- human utterances -----
animates ---- listening to the hierarchies ---- dissolving them
american american american merican merican
uneven patterns enter
how to dissolve sound ---> 1. disrupt
2. mix with something total different that disrupts it
metallic sound enters -----> i know it is from water but it sounds like a cutting machine
intense -- something is moving and cutting
ok stop / change of paradigm
total difference
> the detuned voice of mine with the detuned guitar
> the detuned voice loses their humanity --- becomes more like a machine/monster
---> cicadas enter in the pause of the guitar
> and then another voice talking about artist selling emotions
and then turns into a rap song and then the clap enters and people applause
Pad for diffractive instrument
after the tutorial with michael I created a pad that might help for next year's research
pad for diffractive instrument
From the book On Sonic Art by Trevor Wishart, chapter: Beyond the Pitch/Duration paradigm
lattice sound approach and continuum sound approach
the lattice notation that restricts the sound/music understanding
the idea of diffracting through different types of sounds.
what are the types of sounds?
how to go beyond the traditional taxonomies?
sound ordering
the primary and the secondary sound qualities
the gesture
animacies
the verbally definable through the analytical notation --> wishart's critique ----> this reminds me of opacity
"what defines a musical experience?"
the distinction between composition (notation) and interpretation (performance)
uni-directional experiential time =/ based on spatial reversibility time what is music? the time-based experience in sound? or an essentially abstract entity existing outside time, a Platonic conception of music?
In general he underlines the importance of the score and connects it with