Al's XPUB2 proposal draft

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Questions

_What do you want to make? 
_How do you plan to make it?
_What is your timetable? [stages] [deadlines] 
_Why do you want to make it? 
_Who can help you and how? 
_Relation to previous practice 
_Relation to a larger context 
_References/bibliography 
_Who is the work for (part of why do you want to make it)

What do you want to make?

Why do you want to make it?

How do you plan to make it?

I would like to try out the following:
_1 - collect and map methods to collect sound; also ways to edit it and looking for the reasons behind both choices of method;
_2 - starting doing small experiments with different ways to create sound (computer-base and analog, by jams, by field recording) - I feel like I need to try some of them out first (explain what is electronic and what analog);
_3 - creating small experiments with a particular ask/question/intention behind - in search of the research topic maybe?
_4 - recording sound, mixing it due to some concept and then creating small zines to see how it's going to look like
_5 - idea to create an instrument (maybe facilitating sessions when others play with this instrument with an assignment to create something specific)
_6 - idea of using Room for sound - invite residents to participate - diffractive mixing of their contributions

What is your timetable?

october

ways to collect and edit sound + ways to facilitate jams

1_ reflect on the mixing we did - to unpack what we did // with Mitsa
2_ schedule jams and collecting sounds moments // with Mitsa ✔️
3_ filed recording experiments // 10-14 oct ❌
4_ public moment in leszaal // 17 oct ✔️ 
5_ learn to make pads and harmony // with Mitsa

outcomes:

_documentation and raw-raw draft of proposal ✔️
_field recordings ❌
_sounds created 
_experiments with edited sound
_pure data experiments ✔️
_facilitated jam(s) experiments ✔️

november

ways to collect and edit sound + ways to facilitate jams + proposal draft

1_ get inspiration // 2 nov Bon Iver live // 25 nov Arooj Aftab, Lucrecia Dalt live
2_ prototype of audiozine + print zine - test the combo - put all experiments together
3_ edit music and sound + document methods
4_ explore topics: what makes all the experiments so far come together?
5_ thesis outline - what form will it take (a report of the research and practice?)

outcomes:

_proposal ready // 18 nov 
_thesis outline (form) // 18 nov
_prototype of audiozine 
_topics drafting start

december

_finding focus - what would be the focus of the project?
_assessment
_assessment reflection and re-design the plan

outcomes:

_assessment and feedback // 12-13 dec

Who can help you and how?

[space] would like to try out different spaces and locations in rotterdam; also inviting different people and orchestrating jams with various publics [when that is possible]

• make a list with spaces that we are interested in making jams in;
• what are the characteristics of these places and how to use them in relation to our jam?

[publics] define different publics and test with them; who is also doing something similar in the area?

[xpub]

• check with tutors: places in Rotterdam where we can make jams + do we have budget to rent rooms & equipment; read & works recommendations on audiozines and sound publications
• Leslie - using her studio for jams (yes!) and checking some other spaces we can use

Relation to previous practice

My complicated relation to music and sound started in my early years of childhood when I was attracted to music but discouraged by my parents to pursue any musical training. However, listening to music was always a big part of my life and in 2012 I started my side-project "Lazy Indie Sundays" - monthly curated playlist with indie music. Then, I started performing in Sofia by DJ mixing this kind of music in conceptual events (listening to indie music in bars and clubs in Bulgaria is rather an underground and subcultural thing and not popular at all). After turning 30, I decided to try to learn playing a musical instrument and took acoustic guitar lessons in 2015. I was travelling for work too often, which made this process difficult and inconsistent. Thus, I started a music production 6-month course in 2018 which I couldn't finish because I had to travel. Just finally started to focus on my artistic practice development for the first time at that moment, I had to choose a focus between learning music or working more in illustration and visual translation. I decided to develop my visual practice.

In 2019 I designed an Erasmus+ project which aimed at researching how music can be made accessible for people without musical training and how it can be used in educational activities. Because of COVID-19 outbreak, the project couldn't take place earlier than September 2022. The Music Moves You[th] residency was completely liberating for me and made me realise that I can still pursue my passion in music and sound. What was a really strong backbone to this liberation, were the events part of my studies at XPUB in Spring 2022: Radio Implicancies publication, visiting Resister at WORM, taking part in a jam session organised by Tisa (XPUB alimni), and all the jams we did with my XPUBies during the first year at the master programme.

[wip] list of previous projects, related to this one - to draw from:

2022-09 - Music Moves You[th] residency about experimenting with tools to make music accessible in educational activities [what i did: project design; facilitation; contribution]; facilitated and participated in creating a sound publication on Nomadwaves

2022-06 - Diffractive live DJ mix at XPUB grad show (with Mitsa & Supi) - live dj set with the contributions created during the special issue 18: Radio Implicancies

2022-06-22 - participation in X-unPublic concert facilitated by Harrold Schellinx

2022-04/06 - a few mini projects for special issue 18: care-taking of release 5 Nested Narratives [facilitation; editing; contribution]; contributions for other releases - "voices of hierarchy"; prototyping exercise "[[Special Issue 18 Work#01. How Does Anxiety Sound Like / individual work [prototyping]|how does anxiety sound like]]" and "reversed words".

2018 - curated and coordinated a festival in France which was based on collective co-creation and co-facilitation: Créestival

2018 - took a 5-month course in music production. During the training i created and published 3 pieces: indulge, a heartbreak & autobahn.

2012+ - curated and published playlists with indie music on Mixcloud

Relation to a larger context

ideas to explore:
-accessibility - everyone is welcome and collective creation is possible
-pleasure and enjoyable activity while also doing work (deep listening, paying attention, group bonding and exploring various topics)
-sound in artistic research
-sound publications and audiozines importance?

References/bibliography

WIP - what informs the research

reads

Oliveros, P., 2005. Deep Listening. New York. Deep Listening Publications. [annotated pad]
adrienne maree brown, 2019. Pleasure Activism. The Politics of Feeling Good. Chico, Edinburgh. AK Press. [annotated pad]
Evens, A., 2005. Sound Ideas: Music, Machines & Experience. U of Minnesota Press [annotated pad]
Kreidler, J. 2013. loadbang. Programming Electronic Music in Pure Data. 2nd edition. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag.
Weiss, A., 2001. Experimental Sound & Radio. The MIT Press.
Groot, M. 2019. The Amateur's Armour. [online] Available at: <https://underbelly.nu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Amateurs-Armour.pdf> [Accessed 11 October 2022].

sound publications

Brown, A. R., 2022. Beneath Maiwar.[online] Available at: <https://www.explodingart.com/arb/2022/06/28/beneath-maiwar/> [Accessed 30 September 2022]. [annotated pad]
Nagy, A., 2018. Hackpact / Sonification Studies. [online] Available at: <https://stc.github.io/HackPact/> [Accessed 30 September 2022]. [annotated pad]

Who is the work for?

[methods to facilitate collective sound publication creation]

_educators: people who are facilitating various educational activities and are looking for ways to bring more mixed media in their activities;
artists: who are looking for new techniques for their practice and ways to experiment, boost their creative process; to find more ways to reflect over topics and contents;
_tba: who else? tba

[publish and perform audiozines]

artists: who are looking for new techniques for their practice and ways to experiment, boost their creative process; to find more ways to reflect over topics and contents;

topic-related interest: if the audiozines reflect on a particular topic, could be interesting for people who are triggered by the topic?
tba: who else? tba

Research places

wiki

▶ Al Nik's Hackpact
▶ Sound jams research

wip

▶ the first draft pad [created during the Graduate Seminar on 29-09-2022]
▶ jams ideas
▶ references - collective pad with Mitsa
▶ tagging and mapping research elements

research pads

▶ glossary
▶ audiozines
▶ pure data
▶ live coding