Leo's Acousmatic Walk

Here is a chronological transcript of my walk:

• scuff-riff-tear: low frequency, low amplitude, loosely period, reoccurring, but brief
• humanoid rumble: mixed frequency, low amplitude, droning, continuous duration
• low fuzz: mid-low frequency, low amplitude, droning, continuous duration
• oscillating abrupt tone: alternating high-mid frequency, low amplitude, filtered, brief
• high pitch jingle: high frequency, crescendo to med. amplitude decrescendo low, brief
• low rumble: low, very low frequency, low amplitude, filtered, drone, continuous duration
• clop-clop-clop: rhythmic low frequency, low amplitude, resonant
• mid pulsing fuzz: rhythmic, slowly oscillating frequency, medium amplitude, drone, continuous duration

Major change in acoustic density.

• ting-ting-ting: quick staccato pulse yet resonant, high frequency, low amplitude, very short duration
• thud and bang: quick though randomly reoccurring resonant, low frequency, medium amplitude varying duration
• internal pop: quick pop, low frequency, low amplitude, not resonant
• brief resonant tones: distinct, deliberate pitches, short, very resonant, varying frequency, medium amplitude, short duration
• cyclic hiss: low frequency, rhythmic amplitude, not resonant
• deep-to-high gurgle: low to med frequency pulse, med amplitude, couple minutes duration
• sharp clop: much more percussive than before
• delicate jingle: very delicate ting, high frequency, light amplitude, very brief
• soft clatter: percussive, organized, deliberate, filtered, changing frequency low amplitude, very brief
• high frequency fuzz: slightly pulsing, high frequency, medium amplitude, continuous duration
• muted tones: muted tones composing a deliberate melody, low amplitude, very brief
• stereophonic hum-varying frequency, high amplitude, drone, continuous duration
  

She trudges, schlepps, trains, drags..her load

1.

sudden heaving: the response of surface to weight. a complaint thrown towards the box, a blunder. some iron sparking, a collection pocketed in cotton - layering of fabric, flesh. singing split end and then loud mouthed hooves on this unsteady hallway.

2.

a rush of air disrupting the troublesome business of a grumble. some contamination meeting with a wall and one laugh - a signal without answer. guided by the rest, then falling; something caught and spit up: wads of tinsel, shredded. there is an impulse to stop, to make a revision: a hand moving through a flock of bubbles, shattering blood. a kind of gasp, release for awhile. nothing eerie about faded light, this prolonged drone.

3.

insects sucked through a wet tube, tongued. the suture of a threshing edge, unsettled snow dark with roars. let go and quick: bound back, snapping radiance against the air. everything must be a result. from the lips a wail not yet ready, embarrassing admissions poised and unwelcome. the beast withdrawing, layering it's unwholesome self against the road, a chugging of all at once: rubber and the belly. without pause, a piston.

"Stockhausen vs. the Technocrats" (plus Björk!)

Here are music videos and performance footage for works by Stockhausen, Aphex Twin, Plastikman, Scanner, and Björk, plus lectures, interviews, and documentary footage of the artists.



To jump to individual chapters of the video program, here's a direct link to the playlist.

Next, here is Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Advice to clever children," an article from The Wire, November 1995.

And here is Björk's interview with Stockhausen, "Compose Yourself," from "Dazed and Confused" (#23 1996).

Former Beatle John Lennon is Dead (he remains alive in my conciousness)

There is undoubtedly a strong connection between human speech and music. This podcast considers the implications of how new sound and recording technology has changed the way we hear voices, and connect with their singer, as listeners. In particular it focuses on John Lennon whose split from the Beatles in 1969 and murder in 1980 both stand as symbolic events which occurred at the crossroads of broader cultural change.

Creative Sampling

My podcast explores how the changing technology has pushed musical composition from classical techniques to the current sampling / mashup culture, and the impacts of this trend on our established ideas of individuality, creativity, and innovation. Sampling John Oswald, Cornelius, Girl Talk and RJD2 as well as authors Chris Cutler, Daphne Keller and Paul D. Miller, I explain how the recycling of old music is a natural response to recording and how this “plagiarism” can be seen as a truly novel creative work in two ways: first, the art of the collage, and secondly, close examination of a small segment of sound to find a new meaning, arriving at the conclusion that “the sum created from audio collage leaves its original elements far behind.”

Recyclation: A New Aural Collage

I chose to talk about recycling within music. It happens all the time, but some pieces are more specifically geared to or created out of that idea of recycling. This podcast looks at the idea of some music being either abstract or figurative. The aural collage created by the work of men like Pierre Schaeffer and John Oswald take the pre-existing and morph it into something new, arguing that their works are new pieces despite being created from what already existed. Dub artists like Prince Jammy and King Tubby reuse and recycle base tracks, showcasing the interest of vocal and instrumental art, for versioning is a common practice in the dub genre. The podcast also suggests that mash-ups of songs like that of Danger Mouse and the Legion of Doom are created not to create something different, but perhaps help listeners discover a new way of listening to what they've heard time and time again.

http://www.archive.org/details/PodcastRecyclation

Spatial Effects of Dub vs other Genres

My podcast describes how the use of different production techniques give Dub a spatial effect, specifically focuses on the techniques of reverberation and layering. I was really interested in how the reverb effects made the Dub songs sound as if they were drifting off into the distance or were being heard from a another room, or big concert hall. In order to demonstrate this, I take samples of Dub, and compare them to other songs of different genres where reverberation is used, but not in the same way that it is in Dub. I also briefly discuss how the use of vocals contributes to this spatial, or tangible difference.

Link: http://www.archive.org/details/SpatialEffectsOfDubVsOtherGenres