“First they ignore you, then they fight you, then they laugh at you, then you win.”
Gandhi
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jll5baCAaQU]
the bird project: images
some images from the upcoming bird project concert
back in toronto
well, kolkata was more hectic than i had imagined. all my well meant intentions to keep up blog posts failed in the light of puja dhakis, pollution, sweets, and arguments about shah rukh khan. there are worse ways to spend a month i think.
lots of video footage, lots of audio has been collected and will be processed over the winter, perhaps into something new.
in the meantime, you can check out the promo video for “when the gods came down to earth”, below. its pretty impressive, if i do say so myself—i did not get the chance to see it personally as i was in banff at the time. the music for this video is one of the later pieces—in all there is about 35 minutes of sound. further info on the project is available on the website.
until next time…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEyQZ6rHAYM]
frankfurt flughafen
shockingly, frankfurt airport has free wi-fi. i was not expecting this.
it is 3:10AM toronto time. i will be brief.
watch this space for further developments and blog comments from kolkata, where i will be visiting family, collecting more field recordings, shooting video, taking lessons, and eating sweets. my wife jutta will be joining me for the festival of the goddess durga. for further information on this festival, please have a listen to my radio piece commissioned by the deep wireless festival of radio art and cbc radio.
a big thank you to everyone who tuned into the shruti re-broadcast i did a few days ago. more people than i expected tuned in, and the average listening time was over 35 minutes. i hope you enjoyed it.
shruti: live performance streaming online now
the radio performance i did at the banff centre is now streaming online:
Shruti uses field recordings and video collected in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India as a starting point for a audio performance that explores the urban landscape of this great metropolis, filtered through the eyes and ears of someone intimately connected to but ultimately outside of it. Part soundscape, part improvisation, Shruti uses a wide range of tools from the laptop to the harmonium to present an emotional and personal portrait of urban culture and personal experience.
paste this link into your mp3 player:
http://207.188.64.196:8100/listen.m3u
(update: the stream is now offline)
(in itunes, it is under the “advanced” tab. other players, well, you’re going to have to check online for info.)
many thanks go to naomi potter and pandora syperek, the curators of the radio exhibition, and susan kennard, the banff new media institute director.
the audio stream will go from 10pm tonight (wednesday, sept. 17) until friday morning. please tune in, and pass this on!
audio performance/music video
things in banff are going well. time to look ahead a little bit.
sept 20 you’ll find me @ dundas square as part of the new music marathon. i will be part of darren copeland’s audio art curation/installation 3 sided square. the marathon runs from 2pm-10pm, and just about anyone who is anyone in the new music community will be there either performing or generally rocking out. you’ll hear everything from stockhausen to cage, to glass to original music from the toronto new music scene. info here and here.
i have been asked by the berlin/bochum dj trio the homewreckers to make a music video for their upcoming CD release, which drops october 10. the video will be done before xmas and you will be able to find it on youtube and other locations. check out their online spaces for more information.
radio performance @ banff centre and online
i will be doing a live radio broadcast/performance next friday @ the banff centre. luckily, you can tune in online here: http://www.radio90.fm/
my performance begins at 6:15 alberta time (see here to help you calculate your local time for those of you tuning in via internet). i am as always very excited to perform this work, especially because i never know what it will be. expect to hear field recordings from kolkata, folk music, street sounds, a track or 2 from my CD quell, and perhaps some music i have been working on here. the banff centre has a long and illustrious association with radio art, and i am very pleased to be included on the list of great sound artists who have performed radio in the past.
tune in.
brr in banff
well, i’ve been here about a week and half now, at the banff new media institute. it’s pretty great, they are looking after me well, and i have 2 studios—one in the music building b/c its so quiet there right now. and a key to the percussion storage!
the project, which was initally supposed to be about the harmonium, has shifted in focus conceptually. i am concurrently creating a screening version and a performance version, and while it is a bit hairy trying to keep everything organized, i am feeling pretty good about both. working in this way is going to be very useful for the future. i am learning a lot about creating visuals and file management…..
i’m looking forward to presenting this project in the future. stay tuned.
gods on earth sept 3
perfect timing. while i am away @ the banff centre, the video installation when the gods came down to earth goes live sept 3. there is more information on the installation, created by filmmaker srinivas krishna, here.
it promises to be quite a startling and impressive installation. audio will play every 1/2 hour from around 8 am to 11pm.
specifically for the audio portion, thanks are in order to john gzowski, who will do the final soundcheck for me. also of course a big thank you to krishna for asking me to do it in the first place.
the installation is presented by the royal ontario museum’s institute for contemporary culture and the toronto international film festival’s future projections program.
please drop by and let me know how you liked it.
skin in vancouver
just received word that skin will be programmed at cineworks’ group exhibition who will give up their distinctions? in vancouver in september 2008. at the moment we are trying to figure out what form the work will take, but it looks likely that it will be a looping projection with the audio track on headphones, which is my ideal format.
update: the sound will be piped into the space. skin will be looped and presented with another video by clint enns, prepare to qualify. latest info is that this exhibition will be part of SWARM 2008, a festival of artist run centres in vancouver. the festival and screenings will be september 5 and/or 6.
the website and address is here. if you are in the neighborhood please drop by.