{ S O U N D P O R T R A I T S }

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #24} APHEX TWIN

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin April 1st, 2018 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Richard James, aka Aphex Twin, is one of the most inventive and influential figures in contemporary electronic music. A name synonymous with the IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), Aphex Twin's debut album "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" is considered a "watershed of ambient music" and since then he has released one groundbreaking album after another over the past few decades. He is a founder of Rephlex Records and is closely associated with Warp Records with whom he has released a variety of works.

https://www.facebook.com/events/617930671886250/

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{SOUND PORTRAITS #23} MARK FELL

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin January 21st, 2018 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Mark Fell is a multidisciplinary sound artist and electronic musician currently based in Sheffield, England. Fell’s work explores the intersections of club culture and academic computer music, challenging the aesthetic and social boundaries of each. In addition to being well-known for producing electronic music as part of the duo snd, Fell’s recordings of electronic music have been released on the labels Mille Plateaux, Editions Mego, ALKU and Raster Noton, and his work as an installation artist has been presented in gallery and museum spaces in London (ICA and Whitechapel Gallery), New York City, Europe and elsewhere internationally.

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{SOUND PORTRAITS #22} MEREDITH MONK

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin December 17th, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Composer and singer Meredith Monk’s work has always defied categorization. Throughout a professional career that began in 1964, she has not only experimented in a wide variety of fields – embracing film, installation and site-specific work as well as music and dance – but also frequently blazed new trails. She has, in particular, been a pioneer in what is now called interdisciplinary performance and extended vocal technique, earning her plaudits as “a magician of the voice”. Her work, in terms of compositional process and performance is a fusion of ancient and futuristic. In a time where we are constantly surrounded by weapons of mass distraction, Monk’s work offers a refuge: it has the ability to transport both performer and audience to another universe.

https://www.facebook.com/events/706364446241533/

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{SOUND PORTRAITS #21} DELIA DERBYRHIRE

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin October 31st, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

The "unsung hero of British electronic music", Delia Derbyshire was a composer of musique concrete best known for the theme tune to Doctor Who, arguably one of the most famous works of electronic music production, and her pioneering work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where her unique approach set the groundwork for radio and television sound design.  Relatively unknown until recently, in part due to being required to work under a pseudonym, Derbyshire has worked with artists such as Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, and Stockhausen; and is often acknowledged as a major influence by artists such as Aphex Twin, Orbital, and Portishead.  Today's Sound Portraits will be hosted by both Doron Sadja and Doreen Ooi.

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{SOUND PORTRAITS #20} CARSTEN NICOLAI / ALVA NOTO

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin July 30th, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Carsten Nicolai is a multi-disciplinary artist, best known for his audio-visual installations, who also performs under the pseudonym Alva Noto. Aiming to synthesize artistic formats and approaches, Nicolai applies scientific systems, mathematical patterns, and semiotics to the generation of art, including grids, codes, errors, and random or autonomously generated structures. Nicolai co-founded the Raster-Noton label in 1999, and has released numerous solo experimental music recordings while also collaborating with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ryoji Ikeda, and Frank Bretschneider. Nicolai has been the subject of more than fifty international solo exhibitions since 1987, and has performed and created installations in many of the world's most prestigious spaces including the Guggenheim, the SF MoMA, the Tate Modern and Venice Biennale amongst others.

https://www.facebook.com/events/262653764219651/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-20-carsten-nicolai-alva-noto.html

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #19} KAIJA SAARIAHO

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin June 25th, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Kaija Saariaho is a Finnish composer whose style is a melange of spectralism and musique concrete. Sonically her works are rich, textural and etherial and she regularly combines live music and electronics. She was one of the founding members the “Ears Open Society”, a collective formed in the 1977 to bring import, advocate and perform contemporary classical music in Finland. Saariaho then became the first woman to work at IRCAM, the computer music research institute in Paris in 1982. In addition to the traditional listening session, tonight’s Sound Portraits will feature a live performance of Saariaho’s work ‘Vent Nocturne’ for viola and electronics, performed by Doreen Ooi. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1226657864130510/

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #18} MIKA VAINIO

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin May 28th, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Mika Vainio was the co-founder of Finnish techno duo Pan Sonic, whose innovative brand of blistering rhythmic noise and uncompromising minimalism transformed them into one of the most popular exports from the Northern European techno underground. Unlike Pan Sonic's harder, comparatively more dancefloor-oriented gear, however, Vainio's solo work tended more toward the ambient and experimental, wedding sparse machine noises with shifting rhythms, sonic textures, and assorted channel separation weirdness. Through his career, Vainio collaborated with the likes of Charlemagne Palestine, Fennesz, Merbow, Suicide's Alan Vega, Autechre's Sean Booth, and Keiji Haino. Mika Vainio passed away just a few weeks ago at the age of 53. Join us in a celebration of his life and work. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1048699431929570/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-18-mika-vainio-pan-sonic.html

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #17} IANNIS XENAKIS

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin April 16th, 2017 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

You can read all you like about the mathematics, computers, architecture and Greek myths that underpin the music of Iannis Xenakis’s music, but nothing quite prepares you for its savage, brute force and immense beauty. A composer, architect, engineer, and political refugee, Xenakis is arguably one of the most important composers of the 20th century - pioneering the use of mathematical models in music such as applications of set theory, stochastic processes and game theory and was also a vital force in the development of electronic and computer music. A trained architect, Xenakis collaborated with Le Corbusier, which influenced his approach with music: he integrated music with architecture, designing music for pre-existing spaces, and designing spaces to be integrated with specific music compositions and performances.

https://www.facebook.com/events/209060659582932/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-17-iannis-xenakis.html

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #15} AUTECHRE

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin October 9th, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Few artists hold a place in the hearts of today’s producers like Autechre. The British duo was among the first wave of artists associated with Warp Records and have built a reputation by challenging the perceived possibilities of machine-made music. Their first experimental and emotional recordings seemed entirely new, as if beamed in straight from a newly-discovered corner of the universe where architecture is constructed of sound and colonies of machines have learned to feel. Today, Autechre’s members Rob Brown and Sean Booth are IDM demigods. Decades after their first release, they are still pursuing their own vision of avant garde electronica: cold, clanging, cerebral, merciless, and entrancing. Autechre will be performing live at Berlin’s Kraftwerk on November 19th, so we will be taking this opportunity to take an in depth look at their nearly 30 years of groundbreaking work.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1748560625405561/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-15-autechre.html

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #14} WENDY CARLOS

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin September 4th, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Electronic music composer Wendy Carlos could be argued as the defining woman of electronic music in the '60s and '70s, creating a number of groundbreaking albums, adaptations, and movie scores. She first gained recognition for her Switched-On Bach album, an entirely-electronic recreation of music by J.S. Bach using a Moog synthesizer. The album became the first ever platinum-selling classical album, as well as the most influential "electronic" classical recording of all time, smashing the borders between classical and synthesized music. She is also well known for her soundtrack work, including such films as The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and Tron.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1800865956826477/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-14-wendy-carlos.html

WHAT WE LISTENED TO:

Title Music from Clockwork Orange from the Clockwork Orange Soundtrack Sinfonia To Cantata #29 from Switched on Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major, II-Adagio from Switched on Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Andante from Well Tempered Synthesizer Timesteps from the Clockwork Orange Soundtrack The Rocky Mountains from The Shining Soundtrack Clockworks (Blood Elevator) from The Shining Soundtrack Incantation from Beauty in the Beast

RESOURCES:

SLIDESHOW FROM SOUNDPORTRAITS www.wendycarlos.com 1979 Interview in Playboy Magazine 

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #13} LAURIE ANDERSON

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin August 7th, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Laurie Anderson is one of America's most renowned creative pioneers. She is best known for her multimedia presentations and innovative use of technology. As a writer, director, visual artist and vocalist she has created groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, pop music, theater and experimental music. Widely known outside the art world since her 1981 hit “O Superman”, Anderson has developed custom electronic instruments, published seven books, and her visual work has been presented in major museums around the world. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/259310377786125/

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #12} TONY CONRAD

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin June 5th, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Tonight’s Sound Portraits will be a special tribute evening to celebrate the life and work of Tony Conrad, who passed away last month. Composer, filmmaker, video artist, media activist, writer, and educator, Tony Conrad is considered one the great American artists of our time. A pioneer of minimal music, underground film, and alternative tuning, his vast inter-disciplinary repertoire has single-handedly created and influenced major film and compositional movements. A pivotal figure in the formation of The Velvet Underground and The Dream Syndicate, Conrad’s list of collaborators is as impressive as it is diverse, including such artists as La Monte Young, Faust, Henry Flynt, Mike Kelley, Jack Smith, Tony Oursler, and Cindy Sherman. Relentlessly expanding the boundaries of music and film throughout his career, Tony Conrad performed and exhibited extensively right up until his death, influencing countless artists and leaving a profound and inspiring creative legacy.

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[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #11} CONRAD SCHNITZLER

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin April 3rd, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Conrad Schnitzler, composer and conceptual artist, is one of the most important representatives of Germany's electronic music avant-garde. He studied sculpture with Joseph Beuys, before leaving Düsseldorf Kunstakademie to focus on experiments with synthesizer and tape. In 1967 he co-founded the radical Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin, which became the center for kosmische music. A founder of Kluster and an early member of Tangerine Dream, Schnitzler's experimental, industrial soundscapes defined the early releases of these seminal groups. Always moving forward, he embarked on a solo career that spanned five decades of invention, with a vision remarkably ahead of its time.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1557823141177591/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-11-conrad-schnitzler.html

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[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #10} RYOJI IKEDA

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin March 13th, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Composer and artist Ryoji Ikeda is one of the most important international representatives of media art and experimental electronic music. He creates synaesthetic installations that focus on the essential characteristics of sound itself and that of visuals as light by means of both mathematical precision and mathematical aesthetics.  A pioneer in the world of minimal electronic music, his work is defined by its razor-sharp digital techniques and the purity of his sounds - often using only sine tones and noise, with frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing. Comparable to a hacker, he enters the world of data and makes its hidden essentials – its code – visible: unfolding data streams and abstract computational processes to envelop the viewer in both sound and light.  Often working on an incredibly large scale (such as NYC’s 55,000 sq ft Park Avenue Armory), Ryoji Ikeda elaborately orchestrates sound, visuals, materials, physical phenomena and mathematical notions into live performances and installations that are as unique as they are immersive.

https://www.facebook.com/events/171300893257670/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-10-ryoji-ikeda.html

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[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #09} IASOS

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin February 21st, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

If you’ve ever had a near-death experience, chances are you’ve been fortunate enough to hear music that sounds identical to the blissed-out tones of IASOS. In 1989, the psychology department at Plymouth State College discovered that Iasos’ music bore a remarkable resemblance to the sounds heard by people as they dipped a toe into that dimension between life and death.  A true outsider and in many ways a visionary artist, Iasos is up there with the likes of Vangelis, Brian Eno, and his old pal Steven Halpern as one of the electronic pioneers of what became known as New Age music.  Using custom built analog and early digital synthesizers along with flutes, pianos, and environmental recordings, Iasos creates expansive, celestial, uplifting electronic music that floats, shimmers, and transcends the earthly to induce higher states of consciousness. 

IASOS will be joining us via Skype for a Q&A at the end of the session!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1223142044381130/

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-9-iasos.html

[sound-portraits]

DOWNLOAD IASOS SLIDESHOW (PDF)

Suggested Links:

http://iasos.com/ http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2011/08/interview-new-age-pioneer-iasos-in-words http://www.vice.com/read/whats-the-frequency-iasos-v20-n8

[sound-portraits]

{SOUND PORTRAITS #08} PAULINE OLIVEROS

Spektrum @ Bürknerstraße 12 Berlin January 31st, 2016 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Pauline Oliveros is widely recognized as one of America's most important composers of the 20th and 21st century. A leader of the avant-garde and a pioneer of improvisatory music, alternate tuning systems, contemporary accordion playing, electronics and multimedia events, Oliveros continues to be a vital force through her continuing performance and compositional practice.  Oliveros served as the first director of the storied San Francisco Tape Music Center, where she worked alongside renowned artists like Morton Subotnick, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Don Buchla, and John Cage to help shape electronic music in the US.  In 1988 as a result of descending 14 feet into an underground cistern to make a recording, Oliveros coined the term "Deep Listening" a pun that has blossomed into, "an aesthetic based upon principles of improvisation, electronic music, ritual, teaching and meditation. This aesthetic is designed to inspire both trained and untrained performers to practice the art of listening and responding to environmental conditions in solo and ensemble situations."  

Oliveros will be performing at this year’s CTM Festival on February 4, 5, and 6.  

http://spektrumberlin.de/events/detail/sound-portraits-pauline-oliveros-101.html