LinerNotes

My new sound installation Autapia is playing in Milton Keynes Gallery Project Space until 27th November as part of the current exhibition on new towns, Community Without Propinquity. Commissioned by Claire Louise Staunton of Inheritance Projects, Autapia is a sound portrait of the new town of Milton Keynes. Comprising field recordings interwoven with thoughts, ideas and experiences, all the archive material comes from old tape cassettes found in public and private archives, including the Milton Keynes City Discovery Centre. The installation is diffused through speakers I modified that are more commonly associated with large public address systems.

I passed my Amateur Radio Licence exam tonight. Thanks to Andrew G8GNI and Frank M0JSZ at MKARS.

I am collaborating with photographer, Rachael Marshall and installation artist, Maya Ramsay, on the documentation of buildings at Bletchley Park that are to be renovated. Our new blog is here. We have been granted access to make work in Blocks C and D, previously inaccessible to the public due to their state of repair. Rachael has been photographing the buildings in their current state and will document the renovation process throughout. Maya makes works by lifting pigment debris and texture from surfaces in the built environment and has been working on surfaces in both blocks. I have been capturing sounds within and outside the buildings. Block C in particular is a really challenging environment – many of the ceilings have collapsed and several of the rooms are inhabited by pigeons who fly towards flashlights and head torches! It is amazing to be granted access and, in spite of their inhospitable states, both blocks are strangely compelling due to their incredible histories. Block C is chiefly boarded up but a skylight near the back of the building has allowed enough light in combination with the damp environment for a “garden” to form. The pigeons seem to have established their individual territories and one in particular spends most of the day hopping around this garden space.

Photo by Rachael Marshall

Extracts from my sound installation Recording Contract Recordings, Milton Keynes Gallery.
Filmed and edited by Luke Williams.

Stan Warnow’s film – Deconstructing Dad, The Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott – is showing at Milton Keynes Gallery on Friday 12th August, 6.30pm. The film is my choice for the New Art MK screening program and despite its critical acclaim, has only been shown a couple of times before at festivals in the uk. Stan is the son of Raymond Scott and the film provides a fascinating perspective of the pioneering composer’s relationships, personal life, work and inventions. View the trailer here…

Read Stan Warnow’s post about the MK Gallery Deconstructing Dad screening on his website, www.scottdoc.com where you can order the film directly on dvd.

New Art MK opened with a well attended preview at Milton Keynes Gallery on 7th July.

The sound installation, Recording Contract Recordings has been an opportunity for me to work with various spaces in and around the gallery and to use those spaces as an element of composition. The main sound installation is situated in the cube gallery. Every 35 minutes, a section of the piece is broadcast simultaneously inside the cube and “through the walls” into the public square, connecting inside and outside space. The section consists of tiny piano fragments recorded within the body of the piano and diffused through horn speakers into the square. Listen to the section here: Recording Contract Recordings (vertical slice)

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Just finishing work on new sound installation  - Recording Contract Recordings – at Milton Keynes Gallery for the New Art MK show that opens 7th July and runs til 11th September.

Just stumbled across this photo of my voluntary participation in the Haptic drum kit experiments at the Open University in 2010. As I remember, learning response to auditory and haptic stimuli was being compared (my description!) More information about Haptic Drum Kit here.

“A masked woman silently prepares to make a cup of tea. Performed in mime against an effective and highly realistic soundscape, it’s beautifully observed. Each movement accurate to the smallest detail. As the woman’s memory fails, however ,the simple action of making tea becomes impossible and the end result is deeply moving.”

read full review of Captain Ko here on Glen’s Theatre Blog

Captain Ko mission reaches Sampled Festival at the Junction, Cambridge…