NEWS
Day -3: Last stop before Melanesia: Australia.
A new world of sounds — Some of the stars I see in my home skies in Europe are also visible in the Southern Hemisphere, less and less as you head far out South you get. It goes nothing like this for sounds. When I was in Brazil, from the house I lived in in SP I could hear birds sing melodies as developed* in time as four or five bars, all in natural harmonic scales (like bells’ harmonics that sound so off-pitch to our lobotomized-to-equal-scale modern ears), and I wrote them down. Although I heard no such melodies in Australia, it was more like outbursts of sounds and noises – what struck me was that none of these I could relate to any I’ve ever heard before**.
I’ve also started getting myself under water, but I’ll have plenty of time to describe that in the following weeks. Stay tuned!!
(photo: Tea trees by the ocean, Noosa, Queensland.)
** Though I can’t tell which birds sing I hear the tones and noises they make. I’ve tried an improvisation performance with violin strings loops and noises in a wild creek home to different birds in Portugal during my residency at Obras in April. I still have to go through the material and filter and listen, but I think some birds tones gradually came to tune to my open strings – which I was using mostly as my left hand was busy handling effect pedals.
* I’ve found advanced music was not only the work of birds in Brazil, as I see Brazilian music cultures as some of the most complex in the world, both harmonic and rhythm-wise. Have you listened to the kaleidoscope music voyage I made for new year? It will take you to places
“A musician on board The Ocean Mapping Expedition” has officially begun!
Day -8: Thrilled to be on my way to Fleur de Passion already, and to start sharing this adventure with you!
First stop is Hong Kong that acts as my rear base to the ship and back.
I’m still kind of floating after last night’s premiere of Swedish composer Anders Hillborg’s new work, an environmental creation for Östersjöfestivalen. This year I’ve only worked a few days on the festival but next year I’m taking over the broadcast production of it, feels as great as obvious to work for music and environment united💪
Typhoon Hato hasn’t looked forward to meeting me in Hong Kong so I’ll be soon on my way down South. Made me think of a song I heard Seasick Steve sing in the “blue room” in Nashville a few years ago.
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Are you one of my kickstarter visionnaires?
💙 have you answered the survey? You’ve received it in an email from kickstarter a few days ago. DO IT! I need your shipping info *now* for the very first part of your reward – that is post! and expect the rest in a few months.
Are you new on board?
More info about the idea behind this project in the kickstarter campaign.
More info about the environmental (and more) expedition that this project is embarking on, their manifesto and acoustic research on board.
Or dive into the project with this short video:
Want some reads and listens?
I’ve posted quite a few links during the course of the kickstarter campaign, and now I’ve moved all campaign updates to this blog as previous posts – feel free to navigate and discover. There’s tons of great links about music, composers, expeditions, brains and stuff… enjoy!
CIKATRI$ Mostla tape (Souterraine)
17 Aug 17: the day La Souterraine released CIKATRI$’s MOSTLA tape!
It’s a powerful time capsule and an instant traveling device to such varied places as an old nuclear shelter, a freight train in Nashville or a Swedish mariachi landscape.
This compilation brings together studio work, demos and covers from different times over the adventures of the band from its early birth till today. Feel free to download!
A musician on board The Ocean Mapping Expedition upcoming campaign
JUST LAUNCHED!!
A 3-week campaign to develop this project as far as planned from the beginning
MUSICOMEXP: Teaser!!
Soon launching…
Welcome to my new project MUSICOMEXP
MUSICOMEXP : A Musician on board the Ocean Mapping Expedition.
Welcome!!
Next project: Composition residency on board a sailing expedition in the Pacific
Next project starts in September: composing music on a sailing boat that records sound under the sea in Oceania, The Ocean Mapping Expedition, then presenting that music in a 3D sound installation.
I’m several months into planning and still looking for extra support and collaboration, financial & logistic, if you have any suggestions of organisations working with art and environment / funding / places for the installation, please let me know or feel free to pass it on!
ALL DETAILS here
Report from OBRAS residency 2017
After a month at Obras Foundation I’ve gathered some thoughts, creations and discoveries I’ve come by along my residency.
My plan was to write and record new music for an upcoming record, and while doing that experimenting around my way of composing to change it. I’ve recorded some material, written more, but also played and performed in different situations, building a soundscape in and around a natural environment, improvising sound illustration to another artist’s poems with different arrangements, as well as painted and played chamber music.
Two thirds through my residency I had an artist talk where I described the composing ideas I was dealing with and trying to develop then.
I started with drawings and paintings I do in between recording takes, mentioning my interest for the organic process of growing, corked trunks being a motive I’ve used for many years and overly present here with Alentejos cork oaks, and linking it to my fascination for some examples of painting on wood existing in Lisbon being one of my anchor points to the city.
(old corked trunk, black ink on paper and marble)
(structure of plants (upper left corner) applied with marble stamp (bottom))
(different distance gives different perspective, ink on paper)
I then described the idea and the process behind my latest release in 2016 which shows different facets. I first went through the background and concept for the project “Cikatri$”, the latest release being a record with a cyclic artwork in several parts to solve in a dynamic puzzle, the music pressed on blended-colored vinyl. The musical content is on the A-side a recall of a band a few weeks into a tour in Southwest USA, and on the B-side an electronic version of it showing a direction I am taking. When the record was released it was first presented as a 3D-audio mix in a special listening session in Stockholm, then in a live performance later on the same day. More information about the project here.
I then talked about my background as a classically trained musician and Tonmeister, and how I deal with my hearing and sensibility in my creation. I’ve been looking at ways to deal with tones more freely despite my hearing since I have perfect pitch, still without handling music styles seriously since I have little interest in them. I described examples of sound recollections I’ve made in that purpose, then the discussion moved on to the well-known associations process in synesthesy.
I talked about musical collaborations I’ve had in Stockholm and suggested collaborations with performances or work in progress to other artists present at Obras at that time, which resulted in the sound illustration of a poem by Norwegian artist Matias Ringheim in two versions (electronic with analog synths, and acoustic with a piano), and a chamber music try with Beate Schnaithmann, a cellist from Switzerland.
The other great subject of this residency for me has been to explore my time, as to consider a routine both in composing as in organizing musical training and for example going through written material.
This is a relevant question in my case in regard to my next project from September, where I will be on board a sailing boat for several weeks to compose music using the sound recorded by the scientific team on board for environmental research, modular synths and tools, and various field recording material (more info about this project here)
A less technical, more conceptual reflexion also started then for me from my time at Obras in regard to this upcoming expedition, considering both art and nature in my creation: building a sound scape in a very green and very noisy place known in the region as the “hidden paradise”. For now just a few pictures below about this performance, which might develop into a video- and sound- work that might be presented in Stockholm soon. Stay tuned!
/Aurélie
//Artwork pics by Ludger van der Eerden, performance pics by Ludger and Carlos//
Thank you Carolien van der Laan and Ludger van der Eerden at Obras and everyone I’ve met, artists and friends under my residency, read Obras’ May newsletter here
Composition residency at OBRAS in April
I’m doing a month-long composition residency at OBRAS Foundation in Alentejo, Portugal. I’ve built a studio in the Mirador on the hill and I’m soon starting to record all kinds of sounds and songs and tones. Stay tuned, talk soon! /Aurélie
En musikmix – från retro-midi till improvisation – Kalejdoskop
En musikmix – från retro-midi till improvisation – Kalejdoskop
Aurélie’s new year mix live tonight on P2 from 10pm!
(or stream for 30 days here)