WORKSHOP 27-30 MAY 2010
RAFAEL TORAL SPACE PROGRAM WORKSHOP: Rethinking Electronic Music

Rafael Toral calls his playing style “post-free jazz electronic music”, once described as “a brand of electronic music far more visceral and emotive than that of his cerebral peers”. Toral’s Space Program delivers music that is full of clarity, articulating silence and sound in a thoughtful, yet physical way. A long time collaborator of Sei Miguel, he has performed throughout Europe, Canada, USA, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, released 13 albums and produced the first Anthology of Portuguese Electronic Music. He is a member of MIMEO orchestra.

http://rafaeltoral.net

Electronic Music development has historically been mostly oriented to the sound source (technology) and the object (finished work). Unlike in jazz, the individual is rarely the focal point. More concerned with the musician than with the instrument, the Space Program is Rafael Toral’s long-term research into human performance possibilities in Electronic Music, a fundamental reevaluation of its conception, performance and experience.

The Space Program Workshop shares some concepts, focusing on how we make performance decisions. Aimed at musicians using hacked, bent, or custom electronic instruments, it raises fundamental questions about what can we do with them. The Workshop provides participants with conceptual tools for structuring musical discourse, with emphasis on phrasing from Space Program’s viewpoint.

The workshop has the duration of 4 days and covers topics like:

1. Matter: Instrumental choices and interface optimization.

2. Discourse: elaborating a syntax and articulating silence.

3. Composition: listening modes and macro-form decisions.

4. Performance: the body on stage and functions in a group.

Participants are enabled to perform collectively in the end.

What is required :

– The Space Program Workshop has to do with electronic instrument control. Your instrument absolutely needs to be able to instantly start and stop making sound.

– It is aimed at non-conventional electronic instruments that require a physical interaction. No keyboards. No classic instruments. No computers (except with gestural controllers).

– Previous hacking workshops and basic electronics knowledge are preferred.

– It’s about simplicity. Be prepared to focus and simplify your sound.

– A small mixer if you have several sources (your output should be one channel).

– Headphones (and your own monitor circuit, mixer, etc., if necessary)

What is offered :

– Focus on your instrument technique and choice of sounds to perform.

– Structure your sounds, establishing a personal lexicon.

– Exercise an articulated way of listening and dealing with silence and “space”.

– In short, to develop a physical, organic, elemental approach to electronic music.

Schedule for Workshop: May 2010

27: 15:00 – 19:30 (with coffee break)

28: 10:00 – 13:00 // lunch break // 14:30 – 18:00

29: 10:00 – 13:00 // lunch break // 14:30 – 18:00

30: 10:00 – 13:00 // lunch break // 14:30 – approx: 17:00 //

// move to ausland – sound check /performance at ausland LychenerStr. 60 10437 Berlin

Doors open at 9pm Performance begins at 10pm

Workshop Location: @ NK Elsenstr. 52 2HH 2Etage 12059 Berlin

Participation is limited to 6 participants.

Registration: Pre-registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de

Fee: 160€

http://www.nkprojekt.de
 

The SEAMUS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of the Frost School of Music of the University of Miami as the site for the 2011 SEAMUS National Conference to be held January 20-22. Colby Leider and Kristine Burns will co-host.

Given January temperatures ranging from 60-70ºF this will indeed be a Springtime conference. Colby and Kristine have plans for some exciting peripheral events that may include a pre-conference outdoor excursion/concert and special banquet. The 260-acre University of Miami campus is located in Coral Gables, Florida, with easy access from Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL).

Electronic Submissions and Call for Works With the 2011 conference SEAMUS is making a permanent move to complete online submissions. Details of the process for submitting works online will be provided in an upcoming Call for Works.

The change to online submissions puts SEAMUS in line with other media-intensive conferences and will have the benefit of streamlining the adjudication process, which given a substantial increase in the number of submissions over recent years has become a critical need.

For the 2011 conference the online submissions will have the added benefit of allowing us to maintain an October submissions deadline in spite of the need for earlier acceptance/confirmation notifications ahead of a January conference.

Christopher Hopkins, Director of Conferences, will host the submissions server with a technical team located at Iowa State University. For answers to questions about submissions formats and procedures not covered in the Call for Works please contact Chris at director_conferences@seamusonline.org. Submissions will be open from August 16through October 15. The Call for Works will be out shortly.
 

Greetings!

The Australasian Computer Music Conference will be held
at the Australian National University in Canberra this year between 24-26 June. (If follows shortly after NIME).

Details:
http://conference.acma.asn.au/ACMC_10.html

The Keynote speaker is Roger Dannenberg. Here is an overview:

Title: Interaction In the World of Beats

Abstract: Most art music eschews simple, visceral rhythms. A rock beat in electro-acoustic concert music is unheard of except as social commentary or irony. Research in our field has largely accepted this aesthetic direction. Computer accompaniment, conducting, improvising, and other interactive systems assume that tempo (if any) is meant to be manipulated expressively. As a consequence, computer music technology comes up lacking in the world of beats, characterized by a steady tempo, where rhythm and structure are tightly coupled. My vision is to create new interactive systems that accept the premise of beats and exploit that structure to the fullest. I will discuss how beats alter the very nature of musical interaction. I hope to engage student, amateur, and professional musicians at all levels in new conceptualizations of electro-acoustic music production and control. There is a tremendous potential for creative new directions and performance practices to emerge.

Central to performance activities this year will be live-coding with performances by Andrew Sorensen and others and an
Impromptu/iPhone collaborative diffusion organized by Ben Swift.

The submission deadline has been extended by two weeks from the 30th April for papers and performances.
The submission link is on the home page at the end under “Call for Works”.

Apologies for the late announcement if you haven’t seen this before.

Also, if you have any enquires please contact me.

Cheers,

Alistair

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Dr. Alistair Riddell | Lecturer in Sound Art and Physical Computing
The Australian National University | Department of Photography and Media Arts | School of Art
College of Arts and Social Sciences
Room 2.22. Peter Karmel Building #121
Childers St
Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
CRICOS Provider #00120C

Visiting Research Fellow
College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS)

T: 02 6125 5642 | F: 02 6125 8262
W: www.anu.edu.au/newmedia | www.alistairriddell.com