The programme creates an intensive collaborative environment between ten UK musicians and ten Swedish musicians. The first leg of this was in [...]]]> This time last week I was preparing for a concert at The Luleå Kulturen Hus in northern Sweden, as the culmination of my time on the PRSF New Music Incubator programme.

The programme creates an intensive collaborative environment between ten UK musicians and ten Swedish musicians. The first leg of this was in the UK and the second in Sweden, concluding in a number of performances or sound-art pieces.

Here is a recording of the piece I performed with Anna and Luke:

Link: www.mrunderwood.co.uk/audio/Slukanna_LOW.mp3

I love the subtlety of the playing in this. Sadly it is a little lost against the background noise of lunch at Kulturen Hus.

Note: I performed a further piece with Stellan Stefan and Anna but my part was mainly as a sound technician, so I will let them present this piece.

As someone who had collaborated intensively often before I was keen to see what being given this opportunity on a more professional basis would bring about. It turned out to be an amazing experience both in terms of exploring and developing my own practice, and meeting a group of wonderful people that I feel I can discuss and develop new works with. It also opened my eyes to international opportunities, which is something I had been rather blinkered about previously.

The key now is to stay in touch with the participants and make some projects happen. I am lucky to have been working already on a project called “One Water”, run by Jonas and Annika, for which I have designed and built a water instrument with my new partner in such things, David Morton. Here’s a sneak peak of what it sounds like.

I have made plans to work on some further string drone and electronics pieces with Luke (and hopefully Anna). This excites me greatly as Luke really seems to understand the subtlety of playing and dynamics required to get the most out of drone pieces, emphasising their scale.

I am also formulating plans with Patrik Jarlestam for ORE to play in a number of fascinating sounding acoustic spaces in Sweden. As this forms a major part of what we are interested in I very much look forward to exploring the possibilities of this.

This is a great start but in fact I’d love to eventually work with everyone involved. Yes that might be a bit pie-in-the-sky but I always have been an optimist.

Oh and on a personal note, I felt far less out of my depth this time, after a period devoted to developing my music etc. Most positive!

I would like to thank the PRS Foundation for making this happen. Thanks also to all of those who looked after us and made it work day-to-day. Huge thanks to the participants, who I count amongst my friends now. Special thanks to Capsule for putting me forward for this wonderful opportunity.

————————–

As an aside: I loved Sweden. I was lucky enough to spend some time in Stockholm, working on “One Water” and then I took the night train up to the north. Fantastic scenery! On the Wednesday I had a bit of time in Stockholm and I started my day in a café which had a book on street photography in it. This reawakened my love for such things and I spent the rest of the day snapping away. Here is a gallery of the results:

Due to a late return yesterday from Sonic Weekend I decided on a somewhat less elaborate approach this year, so as to get back to bed [...]]]> Following on from my first effort at the 4am Project last year, I decided again to mix audio and visuals in my submission.

Due to a late return yesterday from Sonic Weekend I decided on a somewhat less elaborate approach this year, so as to get back to bed for some much needed sleep.

I decided to head down to the nearby bank of the River Severn to take one image. The time of the exposure would dictate the time of a corresponding field recording. After a few tests I decided on an exposure time of around five minutes and took the photo and field recording simultaneously. The final time was just over 303 seconds.

I love the way the sounds in a setting can differ massively from the visual content and this was no exception. Despite the tranquil nature of the image the nearby M5 motorway as the dominant sound, with a hint of a babbling brook in the background. Towards the end a plane dominates the soundscape.

Here are the results:

Much fantastic music was made, as were many friendships. I can’t speak highly enough of Sonic Weekend. It’s always a beautifully creative and smiley time. [...]]]> I’m just back from Sonic Weekend 8, my sixth to date. Despite the obvious contradiction, this one was a week long and was held somewhere in rural France.

Much fantastic music was made, as were many friendships. I can’t speak highly enough of Sonic Weekend. It’s always a beautifully creative and smiley time. Keep an ear open for the sounds produced in the not too distant.

Personal highlights of mine (in no particular order):

• The opportunity to work with so many wonderfully creative musicians
• Trying out some ideas for tuba and Theremin with Gordon Charlton
• Playing in a small New Orleans style brass band
• Twatting around with Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath” for Moog, tuba and drums
• Natalie Sharp’s amazing face painting
• Chatting with Aurelia Jaubert about her great art works
• Deep, meaningful and funny conversations with some delightful friends, both old and new – in particular the journey down with the lovely Ben (SoundHog) and Tim (Mayor of Shaftesbury)

Due to all the other things that kept me busy I didn’t take many photographs to document stuff but here are a few images that I think encapsulate the mood and surroundings pretty well.

A wonderful time, as ever! If you are a keen musician with an open mind and you want to experience a fresh way of making music with some lovely people I can’t think of a better way than attending a Sonic Weekend. Thank you to Ann and Mark of White Label Music for making this happen, to Ben and Tim for the lifts, to Tim Dorney for his hospitality and production skills, to Steve for running Studio 2 and to everyone that attended for making it such a blast.

Next up, on Tuesday I head to Sweden for the second leg of my time on the PRS New Music Incubator programme. YES!

If you wish to receive these in your inbox in future, please pop your email address in the box on the right >>>

Their enthusiasm and courtesy was evident from the start, which made me keen to go and [...]]]> I recently headed up to Barrow-in-Furness to deliver a Noise Box workshop and chat about possible future sonic happenings with the guys at Octopus Collective – the people behind the marvellous Full of Noises Festival.

Their enthusiasm and courtesy was evident from the start, which made me keen to go and visit. Then they mentioned the park! Octopus Collective is based in a house (formerly used by the park keeper I believe) in the middle of Barrow Park. The park has a lake, a bandstand, a memorial, a skate park, a little railway and all sorts of other stuff – and artists are invited to explore this space.

Octopus Collective HQ

On the Friday we talked about Barrow, surrounding industries and areas, previous happening and thoughts for the future. Something very good is going to come of this! On the Saturday we brought another ten Noise Boxes into the world – YES! Oh, and at some point I was hastily handed a phone to chat with a lady on Radio Cumbria – have a listen, John from Octopus Collective up first (sorry for the clicks and pops – seem to be on the BBC stream!).

Here are some pictures of the space available. I will be back to explore these further!

Bandstand

Park

Ducks

Train

Lake

Memorial

Inside Octopus Collective HQ

Workshop

I was treated really well from the start. It seemed in their nature. This made me feel great, just like I did on my recent trip to Denmark. More of this please.

Oh, and many thanks to Nikki Pugh, who recommended me to Octopus Collective. You rock!

If you wish to receive these in your inbox in future, please pop your email address in the box on the right >>>

I am busy building instruments, developing the Sound of ORE and finishing [...]]]> Here is a link my first, and latest, email newsletter…sent in early December : Newsletter #1

If you wish to receive these in your inbox in future, please pop your email address in the box on the right >>>

I am busy building instruments, developing the Sound of ORE and finishing off building my recording studio. All exciting stuff but it doesn’t leave much time for blogging at present…

As my first blog post of the New Year I decided to pull my finger out and blog about something I attended in December 2011. I was asked by my friends at The Centrifuge to conduct an electronics workshop, building my Noise Boxes, in Helsingor, Denmark. This was the

As my first blog post of the New Year I decided to pull my finger out and blog about something I attended in December 2011. I was asked by my friends at The Centrifuge to conduct an electronics workshop, building my Noise Boxes, in Helsingor, Denmark. This was the venue (Photographs by Quintin Lake). How could I refuse?

The workshops I conduct provide an opportunity for me to share my skills, in the hope that others might be inspired (at the very least) to “hack things better”, rather than accept that all electronic devices are untouchable. They also provide a great opportunity for meeting interesting people and engaging in some deep and worthwhile discussions. To then get my expenses and my time paid, have amazing food, drinks and accommodation provided, and be treated with the utmost courtesy, made my time in Denmark really remarkable. It was quite clear how much value they attach to the arts, based not only on the venue we were at but the future plans and the general approach. It warmed my heart!

The workshop went really well. My mini lecture went well too. Much fun was had. Everyone was charming, relaxed and professional. The Centrifuge crew delivered.

I’d like UK arts organisations to take note. If you treat us well we will reciprocate. Expect us to deliver many hours of our time at a loss, with a load of stress-heads beating us up about the whole thing and you get what you deserve.

That is all.

BIG thanks to The Culture Yard and The Centrifuge for making this happen.

So, I thought I’d get him something a bit different for Crimbo. Off I went yesterday in search of some sort of weird toy [...]]]> In a couple of days I’ll be seeing my nephew, Roy. He’s only little. Everyone is very pleased to have him around as he nearly didn’t make it into this world.

So, I thought I’d get him something a bit different for Crimbo. Off I went yesterday in search of some sort of weird toy to bastardise. My plan was to make it really scary (LED eyes and stuff) but I think what I found is scary enough – a talking pig with a torch in his mouth!

BUT all the pig did was some silly grunting. Not anymore – see below!

AND I included the recorder inside so his parents can change the message as they wish. Such fun!

I can’t deny being rather tempted to record some filth on it and put it back on the shelf…bad Sam.

I was recently commissioned by VIVID and Capsule to produce and install eight pieces of Sonic Graffiti in Digbeth, Birmingham. These are sound objects, embedded in the built environment. The commission was split between four pieces that featured the “Crash EP” of [...]]]>

I was recently commissioned by VIVID and Capsule to produce and install eight pieces of Sonic Graffiti in Digbeth, Birmingham. These are sound objects, embedded in the built environment. The commission was split between four pieces that featured the “Crash EP” of music inspired by field recordings taken in the area and four others which were more “playable”.

I have created such sound objects in the past. I’ve always just left them in random places, often while away on holiday etc. For example, you might visit the toilet in a library and find a small voice recorder that encourages you innocently to “Leave a nice message for the next person”. They were always transient in nature, lasting only until the battery ran out, or until someone vandalised or stole them. I never really cared whether anyone ever found them.

This was different though. Firstly, there needed to be based on more than “it’s a laugh”. Secondly, they needed to be more engaging and interactive. Lastly, they needed to be more durable.

What follows is the story of how these came about, the successes, the failings, and the people I met along the way…

Initially, this idea was pitched to a different arts organisation locally. It was (only just) unsuccessful but ultimately this process was very helpful in me developing the idea from the throw-away level it was initially. In completing this pitch I decided that my ideas and standing alone might not cut the mustard so I contacted Nikki Pugh. Nikki had already expressed some interest in the idea and moreover she’s bloody brilliant! I took over a very rough outline and then we sat in her flat chatting for a couple of hours. She added more to the project in that short time than I had in hours of aimless pondering. Partly this was the power of discussing stuff but mainly it was the power of Nikki. The thing Nikki does well is adds ideas that are grounded on some reasoning, dare I say some artistic justification, which is not something I excel at. As the project didn’t go ahead through this initial pitch, and as Nikki was in New York for a while, we never got to work on it together…but my thanks go out to her for her influence on the project!

When VIVID were looking for artists for their exhibition Crash, it seemed immediately obvious to me that Sonic Graffiti could be a good fit. In fact that had already crossed their minds, so I developed the idea further to angle it towards Crash better and I was commissioned to complete the piece. Capsule played a huge part in securing this for me too. I have been really lucky to enjoy support from Capsule throughout my sabbatical. They made the initial link between myself and VIVID for this project and they also co-commissioned the piece, so that it included the four extra, more playful, pieces.

By this point, what we were looking at was four pieces featuring music inspired by and based around field recordings made in Digbeth, and four synths / noise boxes that could be triggered / played by individuals or groups of people. I only really had a hunch that much of what I had proposed could be achieved. I don’t know if this is how most people work but it sure keeps the excitement (stress) levels up!
 

Sonic Graffiti is GO!

So, the first requirement was some expert advice. I had some wacky idea of potentially getting some custom players built by Sonodrome. They are a clever bunch, so I gave them a call to discuss the project. Jim from Sonodrome was very helpful, as ever. He reminded me of the golden rule for hackers: don’t re-invent the wheel! He suggested I buy some cheap bits off Ebay and get inside them to see if they do what I want. This is exactly what I did and stuff built from there.

So, I was dabbling with cheap mp3 players, DIY headphone switching, circuit diagrams for touch switches etc. Things were going ok BUT there came a point where I again found myself in need of some assistance. I was starting to worry that my bodging might not result in the most reliable outcome. Enter David Morton!

I had met David through Twitter a short while ago and I proposed the idea of him helping me by teaching me more about electronics. This resulted in an epic and thoroughly enjoyable 2hr telephone call, through which I realised that David was not some young synth-head but in fact an aging electronics guru. An ex-BBC research engineer, you know, a proper geek. Someone with some real skills and luckily someone of a charitable nature who was willing to help out for the hell of it. Suddenly things got serious! David set about reworking a number of the bits I had bodged, including the switched headphone socket, which he feared could do damage to some very expensive headphones. David is also a damn good recording studio tech and he helped us with our ORE micing issues, but that’s another story.

After LOTS of twatting around (technical term), soldering and crucially water-proofing, I finally arrived at my final set of eight Sonic Graffiti pieces. Each one had a distinctive approach in terms of the installation, what was required to make it work, how sound was emitted etc.

Installation

The installation day was manic. I was well prepared but there were lots of unknowns. I was more confident of my electronics than I was of my ability to mortar stuff in place or scale massive hoardings.

I got off to a bad start by setting up my ladder right in front of a nearby police car. They clearly thought I was inept rather than a threat. Actually, I had cleared the project with the police as I wasn’t keen to be responsible for closing all of Digbeth due to my scaling of walls with a rucksack full of electronic devices.

Below are some pictures of the installed pieces.

Tours

As part of this project I gave a number of short walking tours, through which I highlighted two main pieces. In fact, we walked past 5 pieces in total but it was my aim to make people work for their sonic art ;)

These tours took place on the Crash exhibition launch night and as part of Supersonic Festival. After the tours some images immerged of people enjoying the optical synth in a wall and the touch-sensitive audio player in the hoarding. Thanks to Callie for these!

Response

Overall, I think my Sonic Graffiti project was well received. Aside from various positive comments, it gained favourable coverage on local arts blogs etc. I was also pleased that the BBC Culture Show chose to feature it as one of their things of note in Birmingham.

I’ve popped recordings of this and the full piece on Birmingham on the Sonic Graffiti micro-site. Thanks to David Morton, again, for capturing these.

Maintenance

This was new to me. For once I had to take care of my creations. Two of the eight pieces were “allowed to fail” but the other six had to be maintained. As it happens, even the one that had water run through it each time it rained managed to last for four weeks!

Due to a surprisingly robust design and build, maintenance was really just a case of going round each of the pieces and administering minimal roadside tweaks as appropriate. Some badges to indicate where the pieces were needed to be replaced and one vandalised piece needed a bit more attention but overall the burden of maintenance was smaller than predicted.
 

Uninstall

This too was easier than predicted. Yes, it involved some clambering over stuff and some hacking out with the wrong tools but it was over in a flash. The crucial thing now it so assess what’s left , what failed and what can be improved for next time.

What’s next?

So, that was my first formally commissioned Sonic Graffiti project. It went really well but I find myself genuinely torn as to where to take it next. Part of me wants to reclaim it as a bit of fun, transient in nature and low maintenance, whereas part of me wants to build on the success of this project and make some really impressive pieces on a bigger scale. The likelihood is that I will go back to popping small pieces of Sonic Graffiti in toilets countrywide, whilst also working on developing technologies for scaling this project up. Either way, I will be doing more of this!

Lastly

As part of checking the pieces each week to see whether they still worked I would see if anyone had recorded a message on the (very hard to find) “Play / Record” piece. Every time I was disappointed. That is until I came to remove it, when I found this message on it.

P.S. *whispers* I’ve left one piece of Sonic Graffiti in place to see how long it lasts. So far so good!