Specific Sound

With the aid of electronic computers, the composer becomes a sort of pilot: pressing buttons, introducing coordinates and supervising the controls of a cosmic vessel sailing in the space of sound, across sonic constellations and galaxies that could formerly be glimpsed only in a distant dream. (Iannis Xenakis, Formalised Music, 1971)

For Helium#2 I have chosen to introduce the work of the artists and composers — or constructors, as I prefer to call them — Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Thomas Knak / Opiate, Mainpal Inv. and Carsten Nicolai. Their positions and activities in relation to sound, music and art differ, yet they do share common affinities and all present a distinct attitude towards the acoustic practise of experimental sound in relation to composing as well as production, distribution and communication of the material. Hence their various positions perspectivate both the institutional and artistic practises of working with sound and sound based material.

Most electronic musicians and composers today see the computer and programming software such as Cubase and Logic as their main tool, even if basic electronic composing equipment like the oscillator, sequencer and sampler still hold their positions due to their specific character and qualities. The above stated quotation from composer and architect Iannis Xenakis shows a visionary attitude of it’s time, even if the first computer music experiments of people like Max Matthews and Newman Guttman at Bell Telephone Laboratories started as early as 1957. The "vision" of Xenakis might be vague in a somewhat poetical way, but reflects how the parameters for generating music and sound composing through the use of digital electronic devices constantly changes and are renewed. Through the recent years’ development of new forms of computer software, in particular the visually-oriented software and real-time sound processing, the user is enabled to generate sound from e.g. visual data rather than tedious streams of code, and the results of intuitive decisions are presented instantaneously. Even if this will not eliminate digital multi-track recording systems and the like, it certainly changes the ways of notating and composing.

The platform of Helium is purely computer and net based and the works presented here relate directly to the medium and communicative framework that it presents. Each contribution to Helium#2 reflects the individual practise of working in the field of sound and with computers as a basic tool in this process — as in Carl Michael von Hausswolffs utilisation of the inhabited sounds of the machinery and computer processing systems, Thomas Knak's sampling of real sounds of the everyday environment processed through Cubase sequencing, Mainpals production of (in this case fictive) commercial advertisement jingles is related to his current developments of self-invented new musical composing language and software system, and Carsten Nicolais interconnected visual and audible loop structure created through Flash programming. Though Helium being sort of a "closed" framework of art, it is presented as an open platform accessible to a broader audience and in that way defies the pure "art"- labelling. All the artists present work both on the artscene and in the regular music business. In fact three of the four run their own production and distribution labels, releasing their own and other related composers’ work. Working inside these commercial and creative networks, they thus articulate a new attitude towards communication of their practises. Due to the practical and economical accessibility of new high end technology and hence the possibility of creating own production and distribution possibilities through the label structures, the artists work in networks parallel to the institutional hierarchies of the art- and music-industries. In that way the artists liberate themselves from being viewed as either artists or musicians and be, well, constructors as I see them. In this way they are able to move freely in between the fields and draw inspiration from a broad spectre of interests, which is another reason why I find their work of great importance and interest for this project.

Carl Michael von Hausswolff works in the fields of visual art and experimental sound producing. He creates installations utilising tone generators, oscillators and radar equipment, jacking into electric circuits in buildings as well as listening in to radio waves receiving and reprocessing frequency tensions. His recordings often use this same material; basic domestic electricity outputs and frequencies in the air. His work both articulates the immaterial and ephemeral qualities of sound and electricity as well as it's physical impact on the surrounding environment. The works often confront the viewer with the constructive and destructive aspects of the material and deals with notions of communication and mapping of territory. Von Hausswolff often work in collaborations with artists like Leif Elggren, with whom he inaugurated the Kingdoms of Elgaland-Vargaland in 1991, and with Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen for various projects.

Carl Michael von Hausswolff is a board member of Fylkingen, a Swedish association for experimental composing and sound studies founded in 1936, and works as curator for Färgfabriken Kunsthalle in Stockholm realising exhibitions on pioneers of experimental sound . He runs his own label for experimental sound under the name of Origin ibn Stockholm, and releases through the labels Touch, London and Raster-Noton, Berlin. Contact: www.andrehn-schiptjenko.com / www.freq.se/origin

Thomas Knak / Opiate is a composer of electronic music and producer who ocassionally appears in the context of visual art. Since the start of the 1990's Thomas Knak has been reknowned as one of the most characteristic producers of electronic music in Scandinavia and Denmark. He creates sampler based sound compositions often utilising field recordings and pre-recorded sounds from the everyday environment, though the sounds are processed to an abstract level leaving their origin behind. The importance is the sound itself, not what or who makes the sound. He calls the compositions "spatial music", meaning that he wishes to avoid too many layers, melody-lines and effects, and instead give space for the listener. Though reflecting the concept of composer Erik Satie's "Muzak" as well as of Brian Eno¹s "Ambient Music", he creates his own sound that could be called "Objects for an ideal home" as is the title of his first album. The music is often made out of mistakes by pushing the sampler as far as possible in processing too much information in one time. Though his work is so tight connected to the sampler, he uses the Cubase computer program to visualize each track and structure, and thus holds that the combination of both is the best way to create the sound he wants.

Thomas Knak runs the record label Hobby Industries in Copenhagen, distributes through Morr Music, Berlin, and also releases through the label Raster-Noton, Berlin. Knak records solo as Opiate, Gloria Hirsch and Thomas Knak and is also 1/3 of Future 3 and 1/2 of James Bong. Recently he has composed and produced tracks for Björk's latest album Vespertine. Contact: www.hobbyind.com / www.morrmusic.com / www.vow.dk/april / www.systemf3.com

Mainpal Inv. / Kristian Vester is a sound and computer programmer who works with multiple forms of sound and music production. To him there is no real distinction between working with experimental sound or commercial sound and music production. The definitions and destinctions are of importance when it comes to Computer music and Electronic music as a computer works with data and an analogue synthesizer works with voltage. Vester takes the instruments seriously and works to minimize the equipment and press it to the limit. Though focusing so directly at the computers inherent abilities and limitations, starting out experimenting with electronic phone systems and the composing capabilities of the Comodore 64, he also sometimes work in a more mechanical way, such as to cut the tape in pieces and glue it together in a different order. At the moment he is working on creating a new musical composing language and software system as a non-scientific, and in his own words, "meaningless" research experiment. His music is based on the equipment itself and the process more than the final result, hence his work is constant experiments with the setup, with the sounds, beats, timbres, effects, flows, feedbacks and loops.

Kristian Vester produces under the names of Goodiepal (not to re-surface until 2003) and Mainpal Inv. He ocassionally does comercial sound works for companies such as Nokia, Carlsberg and Warner Bros and releases through the labels Hobby Industries, Copenhagen, Lucky Kitchen, New York, Unbearable Recordings, London and v/vm, London. Contact: www.hobbyind.com / www.luckykitchen.com / www.brainwashed.com/vvm.

Carsten Nicolai works in the fields of visual art and experimental sound construction. Working with sound installations in the intersection between sound and visuality, he investigates wave-shaped data through structures produced by natural eco-systems, objects, paintings and other visual and scientific related research material. The works often have a sculptural construction relying on visual structures created by sound frequencies as well as sound created from visual forms and patterns. Nicolai is researching in the field of electronics and electric frequencies, converting the principles as well as the effects of the material. The visual patterns created often refer to sign structures, thus the sound and images become types of logo-related statements in continuous process. His works deals with "phenomenon" — sound as frequency and it’s relation to light and movement as well as time / duration, space and the communication of information. Both as a musician and as a visual artist, Nicolai often collaborates with other artists on specific projects, such as Marko Peljan and Ryoji Ikeda. Nicolai releases under the names of noto, alva noto, and together with Ikeda as Cyclo.

Carsten Nicolai runs the record label Raster-Noton. Archiv für ton und nichtton in Berlin/Chemnitz, producing contemporary experimental music by various electronic artists and composers. Nicolai records under the names of noto, alva noto, and together with Ikeda as Cyclo. Nicolai also releases through the label Mille Plateaux, Frankfurt.Contact: www.raster-noton.de / www.noton.org / www.eigen-art.com

Jesper N. Joergensen is a curator and writer, based in Berlin and Frankfurt, co-manager of the production company onepercent cph, the former 1% Artspace & Magazine, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is currently preparing the exhibition "FREQUENCIES [Hz]" presenting contemporary positions in sound based art for Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, opening February 2002.

onepercent cph has been working with artists in the field of electronic sound on several occasions the recent years. In 1999 we produced a broad investigation in to the field through exhibitions, concerts, workshop/seminar, magazine- and CD production. The magazine publication (in Danish) and the CD (one : sound 001 w/ Ryoji Ikeda, Carsten Nicolai, Thomas Knak, CM von Hausswolff, Mika Vainio, MusicsystemM, Goodiepal, Carsten Hall) can be ordered through onepercent cph.The workshop/seminar can be viewed on Superchannel, the first channel.

Thanks for inspiration and/or collaboration: The artists, Pelle Krögholt and Christian Lehmann (Datamusik.dk), Jesper P. Graugaard, Russell Haswell, Michael Thouber / onepercent cph.

LINKS:

Labels:

A-musik: www.a-musik.com
Raster-Noton: www.raster-noton.de
Touch: www.touch.demon.uk
Or: www.touch.demon.uk/or
Ski-pp: www.ski-pp.com
Comatonse Recordings: www.comatonse.com
Mego: www.mego.at
Elektro: www.elektro.com
v/vm: http://brainwashed.com/vvm
Ash International: www.ashinternational.com
Sähkö: www.phinnweb.com/sahko
Staalplaat: www.staalplaat.com
Mille Plateaux: www.milles-plateaux.com
Hobby Industries: www.hobbyind.com
Origin: www.freq.se/origin
Morr Music: www.morrmusic.com
Laton: www.laton.at
Lucky Kitchen: www.luckykitchen.com

Other:

Datamusik: www.datamusik.dk
Ars Electronica: www.aec.at
Delta Acoustics: www.delta.dk
Superflex Superchannel: www.superchannel.org