Sunday, December 18, 2005

day of wisp

yesterday i attended the final day of the Workshop on Interactive Systems in Performing Arts (WISP), as part of the HCSNet Summer Fest. At this point in time, it's right up my alley as I'm doing more and more performances using interactive systems or alternative HCIs.

Good to see/hear what's happening at select international locations and throughout Australia - in a range of different scenarios, by people with a range of different artistic backgrounds...

Saturday, December 17, 2005

scholar-ship

a busy week this week...
i've also just found out that i've been awarded an honours scholarship to undertake studies (and develop my "suspect backpack" project) with the Sonic Communications Research Group (SCRG) at Canberra University in 2006.

outing sounds

i found out this week I've just recieved a Sounding Out grant from the Australia Council for the Arts to assist with development of some alternative HCIs (in this case, accellerometers). This is part of my new solo live performance endeavour - ID-i/o.

I'm using one of Angelo Fraietta's microcontrollers and have been working with Nick Engel from Lake Technology to assist in building some modifications to the board.

the first prototype was performed with at Gadget (at the Australian Choreographic Centre), as part of a collaboration with dpwolf.

summer gadget


performed at an event - gadget - on wednesday 7th december, at the Australian Choreographc Centre. A night of experimental sound and vision...

the line-up included:
alex thorogood + warwick lynch + josh wodak (visuals)
somaya langley + dpwolf (visuals)
steve law
kimmo vennonen
(gadget-7 group improvisation)

mc'd by julian day, the night had a really great feel to it, good to engage in discussion about the performance just witnessed in between each of them.

lots of good feedback about the gig, which should be the start of a series of these events to continue in 2006.

Dave Wolf (aka. dpwolf) and I put together a performance about cities, focussing on images of sites of destruction (video of the Griffin Centre in Canberra - in a semi-demolished state) and sounds of crowded resonant city spaces. Used some new accellerometers to control parameters of the sound. Somehow we managed to pull the piece together, working in a hot environment with loads of bugs and flying insects - not particularly conducive to laptop work.

seditious exhibitions

there's an exhibition that's just wound up at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (see: http://www.casulapowerhouse.com/pages/current.php), which was a response to the new additions to the federal government's anti-terrorism laws. The modification of these laws have many artists concerned - and rightly so - about the potential impact on freedom of speech and how this relates to their artworks.

as part of metasense, i submitted a work based around some graffiti found on a footpath in redfern...

Saturday, December 03, 2005

e-performance

attended a day of the e-performance conference at UNSW (http://media.arts.unsw.edu.au/eperformance/program.html)

Norie Neumark and Maria Miranda's presentation on their e.motion project was fantastic and hilarious all at once. Sarah Rubidge's interactive space raises all the questions - the role of an individual, proximity to others and meaningful interaction with a constructed space - that we are all grappling with in developing these interactive environments.

there are still questions lingering in my mind:

  • do immersive spaces really create more immersive art experiences?

  • do users/audiences actually gain from these types of experiences?

  • do experiences that intend to frustrate the user actually make them contemplate the issue/concept being addressed?

Friday, December 02, 2005

jarring...

once again, i'm jarred by the world [governments] and the way it responds to humanity. and i can only think that behind each government facade, are a group of individuals. each able to speak out against such atrocities, should they choose.

as individuals, we can make the choice, to speak out against things we know in our heart are wrong, and to minimise harm...

so despite the collectives of individuals that gathered all around australia opposing the hanging, still a goverment would not listen to the voices of the people. because they sought to wield their power?

my world jolts like this everyday.

picturing

have just completed interfaces for the National Library of Australia's pictures delivery system - released this week.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an13385070

Monday, November 14, 2005

dissenting voices

As most of you who keep an ear/eye on the media, the review of the Sedition Laws looks positively terror-fying for artists...

Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are one of the few things that we consider our right as Australians living in Australia in the current day and age. (Perhaps we just take it for granted...) As creators, artists, musicians, media makers (the list is long) - our work embodies our beliefs, and so perhaps we are first in the "firing line", should these restrictive laws come into effect.

The current situation that has emerged over the past two weeks makes the ground we stand on seem infintely less stable, and crumbling at an exponential rate...

For more information take a look at:

http://www.ozsedition.blogspot.com/

and more info at:
http://www.newmatilda.com.au

and the independent media sites, such as: http://www.indymedia.org.au/

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

~liquid~~

Somaya Langley - Liquid Architecture 6Liquid Architecture 6 - Public Office, Melbourne, 2nd July 2005

sounding passionate

Ten Minutes of Passion

Radio producers and sound artists from across the country have melded archival audio and contemporary sound to explore love, anger and obsession – in short the emotions of passion.

Now it’s listeners’ turn to experience Ten Minutes of Passion, an innovative new radio series commissioned by the National Film and Sound Archive (a division of the Australian Film Commission) and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA). The series will be available free of charge to any CBAA affiliated station for inclusion in local programming from early November.

The ten 10-minute mini-features, documentaries and soundscapes are suitable for general programming, arts segments or any program with a political, social, cultural or historical focus.

Australia’s audio heritage is showcased through such diverse projects as:

John Sheridan and Paul Kelly’s A Passion For Early Radio, a journey back to the pre-television era of radio - a time when the public received global news from the radio and listened with fascination.

Brendon Kennedy’s Audio Nullius, an experimental radio play focusing on acoustic archaeologists who sift the cosmos for relics of past civilisations.

Artan Jama and Simon Winkler’s Australian Cultural Identity, an audio montage that attempts to define Australia’s identity by exploring soccer, the television program Neighbours and Indigenous reconciliation.

Jillian Bartlett’s Gunzels, a radio documentary about a group of eccentric people who share an obsession with, and commitment to, buses.

Mykel Carlier’s Fathom, an avant-garde sound collage fusing the many layers of perspective and emotion found in archival audio.

Michelle O’Connor’s Love Stories, which explores whether the experience of falling in love is the same for everyone.

Somaya Langley’s Passion in the Protest, a personal exploration of the extraordinary passion found in protests.

Rob Willis’ Stand Up and Sing, a mini-documentary about Australia’s passion for music and song from 1897 to the present.

Michael Kraaz‘s The Billabong Bolt, about a long forgotten Australian superhero who explores the Archive’s collection and wonders why he wasn’t chosen as an icon.

Richard Allen’s The Kimberly Under Attack, a radio documentary that explores the influence of World War Two on the Kimberly region via first hand stories relating to the area.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

channelling soundlabs...

Some of my sound has been included in the online SoundLab Channel EDITION III as part of the section of soundart from Australia curated by Michael Yuen.

The artists include:
Thomas Reiner, Lawrence English, Robert Sazdov
Sebastian Tomczak, Stephen Gard and myself

You can find it at: http://concerthall.le-musee-divisioniste.org/start1.htm

"arty cipnats"

Here's a little article in the age about the ANAT Lab and participants - or to quote Adam Nash and Melinda Rackham "arty cipnats"...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/spacedout-artists-create-wayout-worlds/2005/10/02/1128191605847.html

devine moments...

Amnesty International Freedom Festival 2005 - Tilleys Devine Cafe (Canberra, Aus)

SomayaID-i/o + Josh Wodak
SomayaID-i/o + Josh Wodak
Ursula RuckerUrsula Rucker
Ursula RuckerUrsula Rucker
Ben MonoBen Mono
Bec PatonBec Paton
Cris ClucasCris Clucas

images: n mariette

protesting passion

Have recieved one of the three finalist awards for my piece "Passion in the Protest" which is a real surprise. Other winners are Brendon Kennedy with "Audio Nullius" and Mykel Carlier with "Fathom". Ten works were commissioned as part of the "Ten Minutes of Passion Now and Then" by the National Film and Sound Archive (now part of the AFC) and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

There's more info (and broadcast times) at: http://www.screensound.gov.au/passion/web/audio.htm

Thursday, October 13, 2005

stop and listen

The amnesty international freedom festival about 3 weeks ago with international guests Ursula Rucker (and her band Gintas Janusonis and Tim Motzer) from Philadelphia and New York and Munich DJ Ben Mono plus Bec Paton (now based in Sydney) and other Canberra locals (Cris Clucas and Ashley Feraude, Mikah Freeman and myself) seems to have made an impact.

Images:
http://www.inthemix.com.au/photos10/amnesty-tilleys/

Review:
http://www.inthemix.com.au/reviews/events/23094/

[There was also a great Australian countryside experience - complete with kangaroos (and joey) and large bitey ants, especially for Ben... no images unfortunately, but it was a great laugh, and a memorable morning.]

toasting circuitry

yet another gig...

on at TOAST in Canberra on Saturday October 22nd

Starting 8pm sharp...

Line-up:
Somaya
Warwick
Monopod
Alien Digit
Disjunction Reunion
Conrad Newholmes
Bec Paton

mic-madness

the Make It Up Club last night in Melbourne, was a night to be remembered...

Arrived just as Gulpepsh from Osaka - masked by orange and black scarf bound around his head/face - beatboxed his way through the night with random screams, japanese opera, and some fucking hardcore mic shit (bassline, drums and other noises articulating the performance, all coming from the one source...). Apparrently refered to as Japanese terror-pop - whatever it is, it's just so engaging it becomes addictive.

For anyone around in Melb this week it's got the energy that a live performance should really have. He'll be performing tonight (Wed October 12) at PONY. The gig also has Steve Law, Sean Baxter and Stephen Richards doing some band-based music I've been told.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"Clash of the Dark Sci-Fi Titans"

____ __ __ _ _____
__ __________ _ _ __ __ _
_ ____ __ __ _
_____________plug n play this week :
___from the backstreets of bladerunner,
____ _____ __ __________ _ _
______grimey arcade sounds
__ stuttering electrics in the sky...
_______channelling the ghosts in the machine
___tickling the underbelly of the mothership
_____ __ ____ __ __ _ _
______ 'Science Fiction'
____________VS_____ _ _
____ _____ __ __ _ _
_____somaya langley ( canberra )
_____________&
___future eater ( collingwood )
______ _____ _ __ _ _
______pixels by jean poole,
____________farmed from fantastic planets,
_____and otherworldly electricities..
________________ _ _
__ __ _ _____
_ _ pnp: kent st cafe :: 201 smith st
_______ _ :: 8-11pm:: every thu :: free _ _
____ _ _ _____ _ _____ __ _

for those of you in melbourne this thursday 14th october...

Friday, October 07, 2005

mod-chipping

Sony vs Stevens case came thru yesterday ruling that mod chipping of Sony PlayStations is legal.

Hopefully this effects the exemption of TPM's for Australian cultural institutions (as a result of the FTA) in a positive way. and the association of tools with alternatively licenced materials (such as media licenced under creative commons)

See: http://www.theage.com.au/news/breaking/playstation-mods-legal-says-high-court/2005/10/06/1128562920702.html

Pluggaz N Playaz

too late to make it to the gig... however for those in Melb's, played a gig at Kent St Cafe, Smith St, with the following line-up:

dpwolf (Brunswick ) :: self-coded video madness
Somaya Langley (Canberra) :: hearty sonic-soup
Anthony Magen (Coburg) :: found sound regurgitations
Future Eater (World Of Warcraft):: stormy weather chillectro
Jean P00le (Collingwood ) :: fresh pixel booty

structure

structure
Licenced under Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License

enforce

enforce
Licenced under Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License

repeat pattern

repeat pattern
Licenced under Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License

lunch

lunch
Licenced under Creative Commons NonCommercial Sampling Plus 1.0 License

fringes of electro

this year's electrofringe didn't seem to have the same intensive vibe as other years - some speculate this has ties to the close of bloody fist in newcastle. thus said, this year i spoke on a few panels and presented a few collaborative performances with a number of different people

somehow the 3am jam at the collaborador space - post inappropriate discussion at the leagues club - had me fired up to actually push my feelings through my sound. such a good channel for providing a realm to explore and diffuse my frustrations while hoping the message gets through to others.

haven't ever jammed with govinda before - such a beautiful play - wonder why we've never managed to do this in the past...

this is about...

solo performance at the Amnesty International Freedom Festival 2005 - at Tilley's on the 25th September. aired a new work i've been developing - loosely titled "this is about..." and all the things that standing up infront of a microphone, being given the opportunity to have a voice, represents.

at times life seems so serendipitous - this gig with ursula rucker, having listened so frequently to her silver or lead album during the end, 2004. having acts of infidelity by previous partners push our paths to cross and into a parallel stream of sonic production and empowerment.

this is about, is about so many things - but mainly about respect, openness and honesty.

war and peace bot

there's been a little discussion of political issues at the Create_Space lab - which prompted today's project.

the DIRT (Dynamic Interactive Response Time) workshop today was based around the creation of DrawBots (drawing robots). Created a jittery, hyperactive machine-gun looking bot with a couple of paper cranes attached - commentary on military forces "do good" missions... Image to be uploaded.

Beginning concept development (and implementation) on a "backpack/parcel" interactive new media work, to do with the current social attitude to backpack wearers and suspect packages - post London bombings and Canberra situation with white sand/cultural institutions earlier in the year.

More info as the project progresses...

new networks, new spaces

Almost one week down at the ANAT New Media lab - Create_Space - at the Melbourne Meat Market venue.

Meeting, collaborating and socialising with a range of Australian New Media artists - Tim Plaisted, Matt Gardiner, Troy Innocent, Alex Gillespie, Sarah Neville, Trish Adams, Tim Barrass, Andrew Burrell, Shiralee Saul plus facilitators Adam Nash, Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki.

Much discussion of history/memory, residue, layering of memory over time in relation to specific locations, associations between particular spaces and feelings.

The first collaboration project with Tim Plaisted and Trish Adams resulted in a number of concepts for projects around the themes of: waiting spaces, lost spaces, inaccessible spaces, display/stage spaces, dead spaces.

Fantastic to collaborate with a new group of people who are highly skilled at what they do. Also really interesting to see/hear how other's deal with space, and interesting to see my own perception and association to public and social spaces.

Friday, August 19, 2005

commence transmission

my emergence into blogging...
why do it?
why does anyone else?

to experience what we see others doing - which feels like flock mentality, however...