See movie: http://machinatus.net/tec/tec_240.mov

In the adjoining text, I am tracing the development of aural art in the last century, focusing on the role of the artist working with increasingly mechanized composition methods. From serialism, through chance operations, to recursive grammars and neural networks, the composing subject is progressively removed from local decisions and begins designing processes and systems, developing form in the abstract, playing with intensities, with intuition. Combining ideas from Attali, DeLanda, and Deleuze, I am suggesting that recent non-symbolic approaches to AI are more appropriate in the making of art and perhaps also in the modeling of intelligence. I, furthermore, consider the spatiotemporal specificity of sound, examining the behavior of sound empirically, rather than in abstract theoretical terms, exploring some of the codetermining interplay between sound and architecture.

Software simulation: http://machinatus.net/tec/software_a.html
This simulation was originally developed in order to model the expected behavior of the Ecstasy of Communication physical installation. Although the perfect world of software lost the inherent variability of physical systems, the tool proved quite useful in designing the hardware and software used in the actual installation.

After the completion of the hardware installation, the modelling software became its own end, and a host of new features were introduced. Individual nodes can now move about, drawing functions can be limited, and the sound can be filtered. Both potential and actual network connections are shown, and signals along the connections are visible.

At what point will common sense prevail, 26 sound works to be presented for a 5 year period, was commissioned by the Lewis Glucksman Gallery and curated by René Zechlin. It marks the second phase of a series of projects exploring the formation of opinion; it deals with how cognition occurs in conversation, discussion or debate.

Phelan produced the text for each of the sound pieces by participating in a range of online forums, from physics to religion. Subjects such as Commitment to truth, Youth isn’t a defense or Change is our only Commonality were inspired by previous ideas associated with the first phase of the overall formation of opinion project. These online discussions were led by the artist and then edited into scripts. Thirteen scripts were translated into French, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese or Kirundi; the others remain in English. Phelan recorded the reading of the texts by 26 different native speakers in the basement of The Lewis Glucksman Gallery, located in Cork City, Ireland. They were then recorded a second time; they had to listen to their own recording and repeat exactly what they heard the moment they heard it, thereby creating 26 regurgitated monologues.

At what point will common sense prevail is a challenging audio project that raises questions about private outlooks and current modes of personal and media communication.

Kunstradio – Radiokunst is presenting a selection of At what point will common sense prevail as part of its Curated by series.

Valve / Membrance - Naoyuki Arashi (jp), Keisuke Oki (jp), Minoru Sato (jp) :: January 31, 2008; 9 pm :: House of World Cultures, Auditorium Nominee for the transmediale Award 2008 - Valve / Membrance is a series of electronic and non-electronic music pieces with traditional Japanese and Chinese valve instruments. The music bridges historical and regional differences of technological and musical forms. It focuses on cultural and technological elements from ancient Asia, the industrial revolution and the electronic age.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e30xL1yiqoI

hystere - Satoshi Shiraishi (jp), Alo Allik (ee), Yota Morimoto (jp), ibitsu (pp/ee) :: February 3, 2008; 8 pm :: House of World Cultures, Auditorium - hystere is an experiment in improvisation within premeditated boundaries in which the ‘e-Clambone’, a custom-made electronic wind instrument, provides the sole source for the ensuing multimodal environment. The visual aspect seeks moments of convergence and divergence with live video feed from the performance and is implemented as a library of OpenGL classes that listen to Open Sound Control messages over the ethernet.

10,000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming Acid - Evelina Domnitch (by), Dmitry Gelfand (us), Andrey Smirnov (ru) :: January 30, 2008; 10:00 pm :: Zeiss-Planetarium, Prenzlauer Allee 80 - The performance 10,000 Peacock Feathers in Foaming Acid visualises the fascinating surface structures of soap bubbles by using laser light. Dmitry Gelfand and his partner Evelina Domnitch create sensual immersive environments that bring together physics, chemistry and computer technology. The audio part of the performance is contributed by Andrey Smirnov, the director of the Theremin-Center in Moscow.

d.v.d. - Itoken (jp), Jimanica (jp), Takashi Yamaguchi (jp) :: January 29, 2008; 9:00 pm :: House of World Cultures, Cafe Global - The drums duo Itoken and Jimanica together with visual artist Yamaguchi Takashi are presenting their ‘interactive live installation’. With their drumsets the musicians are controlling game-like animations which are generating additional sounds. In turn their drum-play is dependent on the structure of the animation. The show at transmediale.08 is the kick-off event for d.v.d’s first europe tour.

DIGIT - Julien Maire (fr/de) :: January 31 and February 2, 2008; 1:00 pm :: House of World Cultures, Cafe Global - DIGIT is a living work of art – a writer sits at a table writing a text. The printed text appears through the mere gliding of his finger across a blank sheet of paper. Spectators can come very close to the writer and follow the emerging text. DIGIT is located between cinematographic process and the process of writing, while also making reference to the surrealist tradition of cutting and rearranging texts. His work DIGIT received an Honorary Mention in Ars Electronica 2007.

So long as the user writes on paper printed with a special pattern, the smartpen transforms what is written into interactive text. For example, the pen has a recording function, called paper replay, that can record sound and connect it to what the user writes while the sounds are being recorded. Later, the user can tap the pen over what she wrote and replay the associated sounds. “We’re starting to make the whole world of printable surfaces accessible and functional,” says Livescribe CEO Jim Marggraff.” Continue reading Computing on Paper - Livescribe’s smartpen turns a sheet of paper into a computer by Erica Naone, Technology Review.

Throughout the last decades artists have continued organising annual celebrations in the spirit of Filliou’s “Eternal Network” or “La Fête permanente”. In 2008 people all over the world will again be preparing numerous networked birthday parties for art, several of these under the motto “Forever Young”.

Kunstradio invites you to join their celebration by contributing presents to their party, which will take place on site at Common Ground, QDK, Museumsquartier Q21 in Vienna from 8 pm on January 17th 2008.

These presents they invite you to upload to their present pool online.

They will listen in on your presents and streams during their party on site in Vienna, and artists will re-mix and further distribute these online and via the live Kunstradio broadcast on the cultural channel on the Austrian National Radio Ö1 from 11 – 12 pm CET, as well as on the EBU satellite.

A selection of presents will also be presented in later on air editions of Kunstradio.

Should you have any questions or plan to organise a party yourself, please do not hesitate to contact us: kunstradio [at] kunstradio.at

Spread the word! This is a party you can bring as many people and presents to as you wish!

More about Art’s Birthday can be found here: http://www.artsbirthday.net

What do we want?
A present. Not for us, for Art.

Which present?
sound, images, text, love

How?
Streamed, e-mailed, snail-mailed or uploaded at:
http://www.kunstradio.at/PROJECTS/AB2008/presents-upload.php

Format?
mp3 files, live-streams, images, webcams, etc.

When?
Until January 17th, 2008 (from 20:00 CET until late, (19:00 GMT))

Where?
on air: 11 – 12 p.m. CET Ö1 (FM 92.0, MW 1476, SW)
on line: http://www.kunstradio.at/PROJECTS/AB2008
on site: Vienna, details to be announced

Why?
To celebrate.

What?
Art’s Birthday.

smSage receives SMS text messages, which are converted to audible speech, using a text-to-speech engine with a synthesized voice. It speaks these messages coherently at first, but which each repetition, starts to mix them with previous messages it has received, producing a concrete poem. The voice becomes quieter … A new message wakes it up again, for brief lucidity, before sense begins to dissolve again.

smSage can sense the ambient sound level and adapt its volume accordingly. When the project isn’t receiving any messages, it advertises its presence by quietly reciting its phone number.

The device is contained in a security camera housing, which contains a parabolic speaker to throw the sound at a nearby surface. The sound appears to come from a point on a wall where the speaker is directed.

The security camera acts as disguise for the source of the voice, making it more spectral and mysterious. It takes the function of a security camera and turns it around rather than capturing information from the environment, it projects onto it, voicing and remixing participants comments and observations in a transient, ephemeral way. At Conflux Festival 2007.

HALLUCINATION CELL are many shorts compositions with experimental air around. Kenji Siratori (japan) recorded some texts and Federico Barabino (argentina) used them to compose short pieces of music using electric guitar. The voice of Siratori is sound without knowledge of what words means…. the meanings of the words is the sound and Barabino played electric guitar on them.

Federico Barabino - Kenji Siratori (Agua II)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBUjlazsq1Y

Dense layers of low frequency oscillations, intersecting with synchronized abstract visualizations. Live interactions between electric guitar and laptop and a new work for multiple voices, winds, percussion and electronics by Ray Sweeten (synthesizer) and Bruce Tovsky (laptop) with text written and narrated by Vito Acconci.

Zach Layton is a New York based composer and artist interested in biofeedback techniques, psychoacoustics, perception and generative algorithms. His work investigates complex relationships created through the interaction of simple core elements like sinewaves or kinetic visual patterns. His interest in biofeedback led him into the research of music produced by human brainwaves, and he subsequently built a homemade Electroencephalagrah (EEG), which he sometimes uses in performance.

Zach’s work has been performed by the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and he has performed experimental electronic music and exhibited at the International Congress for Performance Art in Berlin, Neue Berliner Initiative, Bushwick Arts Project, St. Mark’s Ontological Hysterical Theater, Dumbo Arts Festival, New York Digital Salon, Monkeytown and many other venues in New York and Europe. He also is the curator of Brooklyn’s monthly experimental music series “darmstadt: classics of the avant garde” which features leading composers and improvisers from around New York City. Zach has received grants from the Netherlands America Foundation and the Jerome Foundation and is a student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

[English description] Le 18 juin, Avatar, association de création et de diffusion sonores et électroniques de Québec, s’envolera pour l’Allemagne afin d’y présenter, dans le cadre de la 8e édition du Festival de poésie de Berlin, quatre installations et une performance. Voir le site d’Avatar spécialement créé pour l’événement ici.

AVATAR.Digitale.Poesie, événement d’art médiatique sur le thème de la poésie numérique, se déroulera du 24 juin au 22 juillet au Centre Tesla, à l’invitation du Literaturwerkstatt Berlin, organisateur du Festival.

Avatar est fier de présenter à cette occasion:

- Wo Bist Du? (Où es-tu?) – installation audio de Sabica Senez.
- La première phrase et le dernier mot – installation audio/vidéo de Christof Migone.
- Leçon de piano – installation audio/vidéo d’Émile Morin et Jocelyn Robert.
- L’origine des espèces – installation audio/photo de Jocelyn Robert.
- Le don d’ambiguïté – performance sonore et visuelle de Pierre-André Arcand.