Institute of Contemporary Arts

The Experiment: The Art of Listening pt.2

"The art of music is no longer limited to the sounding models of instruments and voices. Electoacoustic music opens access to all sounds, a bewildering sonic array ranging from the real to the surreal and beyond." Denis Smalley, electroacoustic composer.

Part 2 of the art of listening flows into the ambiguous nature of electroacoustic music, a world of infinite reflection, indeterminacy and transformation. Again we are in conversation with acousmatic composer Adam Asnan and uncovering his thoughts about the future places that new composition and 'experimental' music can go. What is the state of electroacoustic and new music now and what areas, if any, are left to be discovered?

As part of an intense dissection of sound and its possibilities, we will be listening to some 1970s BBC field recordings from the lovely BBC 7" Archive which have the wonderful addition of the detailed sound scratch added to our listening pleasure. Again this shows us the importance of different playback formats: the sound of the 7" record both carries the music and also acts as a sound object 'instrument' in its own plastic right.

Also during the podcast we will be listening to some exclusive records of live recording of some of a new composition by Adam, entitled Conglomeration for Instant Concrete = Movement 2.

More also from the wonderful entracte label - this time we have glorious musique concrète composer Hama Yoko aka Yôko Higashi, hailing from Japan but based in France. Higashi has a unique sense for mixing pop melodies with concrete sounds: very explorative, an aural landscape of the highest order.

Finally we have Idea Fire Company and their recording Lost at Sea - so get asborbed, enlightened and awashed with sound in the bleached light of January and enjoy!

Keep Listening!

The Experiment is a monthly podcast commissioned by the ICA and presented and produced by Kevin Quigley. This month's guest presenter is acousmatic composer Adam Asnan.

www.entracte.co.uk
www.myspace.com/adamasnanaudible
www.myspace.com/hamayoko