Sound jams research

about

This page is about the collective research on sound publications, audiozines and sound jams by mits🤖 & ☾ Ål Nik ☾.

sound research process map // status on 11-10-2022

Our research has started with facilitation of sound jams and it explores various directions simultaneously. We have brainstormed about:

# ways to create a collective sound publication [sound jams] // october-november 2022
-we will make series of facilitated jams in order to explore various ways to create sound publications and audiozines in group
-we understand jams as collective moments of listening and responding - we create improvised sound pieces together no matter if we have musical training or not
-we will explore various topics through introducing reads and different ways to conduct a jam session
-we will try out collectively several aspects of our individual research
-we will ask for consent for recording the sessions and for editing them later

# ways to collect sound // tba
-we are interested in exploring soundscapes
-field recordings will also happen during facilitated jams - some jams will take place outside and will explore soundscapes
-create instruments and sounds (also with pure data, interfaces for generating recordings)

# ways to edit sound pieces and create audiozines [mixing and editing] // tba
-we would like to explore ways to mix and edit sound
-we are interested in finding out why we edit in a particular way
-we are going to research the theoretical background of mixing and editing, too

sound jams

_01 M&Ms @ PZI

the score of the jam session - following the structure of the clock

// 10-10-2022

context

The jam was the first of the series in our research. As an opening one, we focused on a topic: Deep Listening (a concept brought to life by artist Pauline Oliveros). The participants were invited to read some extracts from her book with the same title and to jam while trying to apply listening and paying attention techniques to their performance in the group. The jam was following the structure of a clock while progressing.

participants

mitsa, jian, kamo, miriam, alex, emma, manetta, gersande, chae, joseph [in order of the clock]

Mitsa reading the text by Pauline Oliveros

feedback & reflections

-overall: it was nice; a well-facilitated jam
-the clock structure - helps to listen to the others and move around organically; frustrating when you want to play with someone or some instrument specifically
-instruments shape the experience - some instruments (and/or for some participants) require more focus and it makes it difficult to focus on listening & responding
-improvised instructions in the middle are confusing when the sign language is not introduced ahead / to be given really clearly
-everyone playing at the same time is confusing - climbing up is better (create a slow progression)
-different instruments - different volume and space-taking - great for learning to listen and pay attention
-maybe try giving instruments to people that they never used before - to put everyone at a similar "start"
-visual score will help people without musical training or who are more visual
-warming up can include a moment to explore the instruments
-it will be better if the 5th person starts before the 1st stops
-keep doing the jams with having some of the same participants over and over again - for being able to experiment more and try different things
-don't be afraid to ask people to come to jams when you want to try out new things

the jam was based on the research path marked in green

learnings

What worked:
-the text in relation to the jam. Deep listening a nice starting point
-the facilitation through the clock score can be noticed when you listen to the recording
-the plethora of sounds that are produced. Strings, processed recordings, paper, voices clean and dissolved, synths, a glass of beer, a harmonica. it is a diverse improvised soundscape.
-I can hear a lot of moments of listening and responding.

What could be improved:
-take into concideration the amplitude dynamics and the complexity of each instrument. Worke more on the idea of how can the different voices take as much space as they desire while not creating an unwanted unbalance with the rest.
-reflect on how to disrupt the idea of the lone improviser.
-take into concideration the dynamics of a group with different experiences around sound and improvisation, while facilitating. How this affects each different session depending on the theme.
-if we improvise instructions or change the rules during the jam - make sure everyone understands clearly the change
-progression works well for the clock structure - we can create a score that progresses with each round
-always have two recorders working

recordings & mix

⟿ diffractive mixing - edit 1.0

zine

⟿ download the pdf zine here
⟿ download the A4 pdf for printing & folding here

wip

▶ working pad - preparation of the session

_02 What do books say? @ Leeszaal

// 17-10-2022

context

Making a collective audiozine, by listening and responding to what books say. Ingredients: listen, choose, respond

method

tba

contributors

tba

reflections

tba

audiozine

tba

_03 R m for Sooound Elective @ WDKA

// 16/20-01-2023

context

This elective is a 2-week sound workshop, organised and facilitated by Naomi Jansen and me. With this class, we wanted to create space for students to experiment with sound for their research and artistic practice. We planned and developed the workshop together, where Naomi worked on creating the workshops and activities of experimentation during the first week and i developed the process of collective creation of sound publication during the second week.

During the elective R  m for Sooound, we will collectively explore sound as a concept and a research and publishing medium. Through various group and individual exercises, we will give room to ways in which sound can be produced, experienced and transformed. The elective will take place at the Academy, in which we will have our own space to work in and with.

The focus will not lie on the technical aspects of sound production, but on the conceptual and poetic questions that can be asked when using sound in any art practice. For example: How could we translate an image to a sound and vice versa? How does our experience of sound differ per person? And what is the sound of     ?

Next to giving room to sound, the focus of this elective will also lie on collectivity. In the first week this means that through various exercises and workshops, we will continuously interpret, repeat and transform sounds that we will produce. In the second week, the collection of sounds of week one will form the basis of working towards a collective sound publication.

The elective is based on the WDKA project Room for Sound. An artist in residency for students and staff, in which in exchange for the Room, residents have to record and upload a sound a day. This can range from an in depth talk about their work to a short observational soundscape. 

[about] Sound is something that we share, either when communicating with each other or as an omnipresent element in our daily life. However, we often take it for granted. Sound can be experienced in many different ways and can take various forms on itself or in relation to different media. Therefore, when you give room to it, sound can become an extension or essential part of any art practice. In this elective we will work towards producing a collective sound publication (which can take any form, for example an installation, performance or album). This publication will be a combination of individual experiments and collective works, made during the two weeks.

programme

_programme in detail here

week 1 - experiments

The first week is exploration week. The students are invited to play with sound in various exercises and discover they way they approach sound; and what part does it take in their research and artistic practice. Each day has a theme and invitation - to listen, to collect, to translate, to play, to resonate.

week 2 - sound publication making

After reflecting on all of their experiments during the first week, the students were brainstorming on what are the themes that bring them together. Then, the week followed the collective sound publication making process, described below:

method

a collective sound publication making

The process of making the sound publication is taking place in the second week of the workshop. The students are invited to create concept of their collective piece (editorial setup), divide into smaller groups to create contributions (day 1 and 2) and then to split into care-takers groups to finalise the different elements of the sound publication among themselves (day 3 and 4). Finally, on day 5 the whole group experiences the final outcome.

contributors

tba

reflections

tba

audiozine

tba