about me


atom sitefeed

recent thought / activity

     

     


     

    See the full list at LibraryThing or here
     

    audio


          		 

     

    instruction scores

    For a long time now, I've been interested in conceptual artworks that take the form of a set of instructions on how to produce a finished artwork... see here for an older post on the topic.

    One subset of this idea is the notion of a conceptual score, for music: that is, a piece where the score exists not in the form of standard notation, but as a set of instructions. I'm trying to build up a little collection of these things (here , for instance, are the instructions for LaMonte Young's piece Thanks).

    Anyhow, I spent a little bit of time today digging around the website of sound adventurer Bill Thompson (who came to my attention because of an event earlier this year where he recorded the interior of a burning harpsichord), and I found this compact little score which I thought worthy of reposting here:

    Five (1999)

    Gather five objects, distinct from each other, found in nature;
    gather five objects, also distinct from each other, that are man-made.

    From these objects, draw forth sounds.

    Labels: , ,

     

    Tuesday, November 21, 2006
    11:38 AM
    0 comments

     

    system sounds [II]

    In response to my request for interesting sonic matter, D. Bauler sent me a customized set of system sounds, made using the all-purpose AudioMulch. Now my new computer groans and hums, which is much more to my liking.

    And the magnanimous force behind the new weblog Bhikku sent me a lovely snippet of Zairean guitar (from Papa Wemba), which I disgracefully ran through scouring filters until I was left with this (zipped file; 1.12 MB).

    Labels:

     

    Tuesday, February 26, 2002
    8:55 PM
    0 comments

     

    system sounds

    I don't really like any of the sounds that come with Windows XP. They affect a sort of clear placidity, and the very contrivance of it leaves me feeling vaguely unsettled. Which leaves me on the hunt for short bursts of interesting sonic matter. This is one of those "e-mail me" things. (Thanks, by the way, to people who wrote in with mail client suggestions.)

    Perhaps I should pick up this album Ringtones, on the experimental UK label TOUCH. 99 tracks from some of today's most interesting electronic musicians, each around the length of a cellular phone's ringtone.

    "They are in one way or another intended to be experienced as isolated, personal interventions: low-res loops, creature calls, in low-res environments... In whichever form you find them here, do sample remodel and employ these humble suggestions..."


    Sounds promising, but my budget is awfully tight right now, and I'm generally spending my CD money on albums that give me more than just "humble suggestions." The new Town and Country release is a particularly sweet, warm album...

    Labels: , ,

     

    Saturday, February 23, 2002
    1:32 PM
    0 comments

     

    archive >>