Author Archives: Rose-Ebony Vargas

Abstract Turntablism: Research

Leave a Reply

What is Abstract Turntablism? Pioneer Maria Chavez – Marco Gomez

A brief insight into Maria Chavez’s inspirations and mindset is given in this article. The article, though titled “What is Abstract Turntablism?” clearly highlights Chavez’s latest release at the time, which is highlighted as a rarity. Chavez doesn’t typically release recorded music as she’d rather not exist within the rigid structures based on capitalism that “corporations created to commodify sound.”

Although she was born non-hearing due to fluid retaining in her ears, Chavez does not consider this a factor to her desire to create sound, as her earliest memories are from after this issue was resolved. Chavez’s book is described to be an interactive piece- the reader is encouraged to rip out the pages as instructed.

The Marco Gomez interview with Maria Chavez’s transcript was a short, but interesting read. It is titled “What is Abstract Turntablism?”, yet doesn’t give an answer to this question. It may seem as though the article was some sort of marketing plot to entice readers of the article to buy her book. Regardless, it is very insightful to Chavez as a person. Through her style of speech, it is evident that she thinks of life in an abstracted way; she comes across as anti mainstream, anti corporation, and sees art in all aspects of life. Chavez is a sound artist I feel very aligned to, and I’m very keen to get experimenting with her methods.

Spinning Record – Emily Downe

Emily Downe’s sound and animation piece, Spinning Record, is inspired by NASA’s sending of golden records of 1977, by which NASA sent two golden records to space, which contained pieces of music members of the board deemed to be reflective of humanity at the time. Downe’s piece is created with the idea in mind that humans exist on a linear path, whilst the rest of “existence continues spinning on an endless loop. I love how Downe was able to express this idea in art, as it’s an idea that I have been attempting to verbalise for a while now. The video feels reflective of human existence, with  the pace of the animation increasing as time passes. The sound design has emphasised the concept on the vinyl record, with the famous crackle heard throughout.

Spinning a Record to Pieces at 12,500fps – The Slow Mo Guys

Although not intended to be an art piece, the Slow Mo Guys have demonstrated another abstractification of the use of the vinyl record here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-DTjpde9-0, even if only intended to be a video to show their experiment on speed. I loved their creativity in finding a method to spin the record at such a fast speed, how carefully planned each stage of the experiment was. Blending the use of household items with the use of the vinyl felt like a real utilisation of resources, and proved how easy it is to carry out artistic experiments right at home.

Information, Language and Interaction

Leave a Reply

As sound artists, we may often assume the whole world feels sound the way we do, that feeling being one we emit within our sonic practices. And whilst the listener or consumer may be able to resonate and connect with that feeling, they may not truly understand whatever the message it is the composer is conveying. Audio papers become important in helping those not immersed within the world of sound to understand the meaning behind sound. Of course, those wanting to gain that understanding could read pre-written literature on topics of interest, so what is it that makes the audio paper so special? Of course, there’s a huge difference in format which makes it more accessible to some and many other practical factors, but what makes the audio paper truly special is its connection with its creator. For a successful audio paper, a sound artist must be aware of one’s voice and self as the performer of the audio paper.

I plan for my audio paper to be based around vinyl culture and abstract turntablism. As someone who is immersed within the world of dance music, it can be challenging to contextualise myself and my own practices within the world of sound art. Within the opening chapters of Richard Osbourne’s Vinyl: A History of the Analog Record, it is mentioned that the art of DJing (my sonic practice I use most) is an art of experimenting with the turntable in a way it was not initially manufactured to be used for. Scratching, pulling back and other small techniques DJ use wear out the records more than intended. This makes it appropriate to talk about vinyl culture in an audio paper within the realm of sound arts. This experimental nature of turntablism is challenged and taken to more extreme depths by artists such as Maria Cahvez, who breaks up records, layering them atop each other to create sound collage. 

Being immersed within the world of dance music, I would love to be able to interview vinyl collectors in my social sphere- people such as Bradley Zero, who runs Rhythm Section, where I work. This would allow the social and musical context of turntablism to be explored without simply rewording academic texts to understand the historical context. This would also allow my musicality away from the sound art realm to be presented within the audio paper. I would also like to explore my own record collection within the audio paper, which gives a brief insight into my upbringing and cultures that make up the sound artist I am today, giving the audio paper a sense of personality. 

Whilst the audio paper may seem like an attempt to keep my research safe, as it regards a practice I am heavily involved in, I feel as though I am taking it as an opportunity to open the mainstream listener of sound to the world of sound art. I honestly believe that a deep understanding of sound away from its musicality, and experimenting with any form of sound creation is what keeps our minds connected to the Earth and to God. Giving people this knowledge may just be what we need to heal as a human race and create a better world.

Podcast Review: Sound Matters- Bad Vibrations

Leave a Reply

This podcast begins with a flurry of out of tune sounds clashing together, only lightly audible in the mix as the attention is on the narrator. Immediately, a soundscape that reflects the title and theme- Bad Vibrations- of the podcast is set. The narrator explains that this podcast is an exploration into how sound and music actually physically affect us, providing rhetorical examples such as “can music control your nervous system” and if it can ”turn you into a knife wielding murderer”. Whilst the topic of the podcast has been drawn out, an entire summary on the points covered has not been laid out, instead a passage of an interview which he has conducted is played. The flow feels more natural and conversations like, whilst information isn’t being repeated- all the information given feels fresh and interesting.

Exploring ideas laid out in James Kenneway’s book Bad Vibrations, the podcast explores claims throughout history about the idea of music making one ill- which Kenneway regards as “just plain nonesense”. Despite this opinion, the podcast somewhat gives credit to these claims (considering the time periods and science of those times) by detailing where music has an effect on health. The phenomenon of musicogenic epilepsy leads to those affeted having siezures induced by music. However, the difference between inducing and causing is made clear- the condition is not as a result of music, but once an individual suffers from it, music will beome a point of sensitivity for them, the same way light is for epileptics typically. The speakers use this point to take away credibility from the historical claims, and move onto their next point. I find this interesting, as I would have loved to be given an insight into the modern science behind musicogenic epilepsy, so as to gather my own opinion as to whether music has a negative effect on health. The podcast goes on to detail other phenomena of music inducing ill health and death, such as conductors dying whilst conducting works by Wagner, and Benjamin Franklin’s glass harmonica.

The idea of pathological music is explored- music as a catalsyt for disease, and music as a dangerous nervous stimulant. The discourse around this focuses on women, always with a focus on womens’ fertility. With a growing interest in psycohology, there too was an emphasis on analysing composers’ mental weakness. With 20th century psuedo scientific racist theories about music, the arguments around pathological music become futile, however, polotical weaponisation of music continues. This includes torture using music in the war on terror, and in CIA interrogation methods (totrture).

The podcast concludes by letting the reader know that research into the harmful effects on music on health is vague and inconclusive. I would have liked to hear examples of Wagner’s work, or even the CIA interrogation music within the podcast to add aesthetic quality. It would have also been nice to hear more than one person be interviewed. As this is a podcast series, however, it is understandable that there is a sole focus on one interviewee. I enjoyed listening to this podcast.

Introduction to Sound Studies and Ethnographic Modes

Leave a Reply

With sound art being a range of practices rooted in audio and sound culture, it would make sense if there was a way of presenting worded information sonically- which there is: audio papers. An audio paper is an academic publication which is presented as an audio document. It allows for information to be relayed with added expression and detail which just written words, even just word themselves, can’t do on their own. In addition to this, they may be more accessible to people with visual impairments or who generally struggle to grasp a written document. Audio papers may also be preffered to a written document, as they may have the opportunity to be presented in exhibition spaces.

Before looking at and reviewing a few audio papers, it is important to be aware of the ‘Audio Paper Manifesto’, outlined below:

  1. The audio paper affords performative aesthetics
  2. The audio paper is idiosyncratic.
  3. The audio paper is situated and partial.
  4. The audio paper renders affects and sensations.
  5. The audio paper is multifocal; it assembles diverse and often heterogeneous voices.
  6. The audio paper has multiple protagonists, narrators and material agencies.
  7. The audio paper brings aesthetics and technologies together in mediation.
  8. The audio paper is a constituent part of larger ecologies.

Maria Chavez live performance: As a turntablist, I was fascinated by the way Maria Chavez uses “abstract turntablism” to create soundscapes- she describes the art of turntablism itself as audacious, as the performer touches the vinyl during playback, unlike it was designed to be. “Abstractifying” this is to just take it one step further in breaking conventions. Chavez foregoes the use of record sleeves and allows her vinyl to be stored in her record box, touching one another, creatin scratches. With other records, Chavez breaks them, using them to create sound collages. She uses a specially designed double needle cartridge to be able to stack the fragments of vinyl on top of each other.

As a turntablist, Chavez’s practice has inspired me to take my musical practice into the sound art realm in order to understand what it is she does. Being involved in abstract turntablism requires a good technical understanding of turntablism, so that one is able to break the conventions of how a turntable is meant to be used without damaging equipment / cuasing safety hazards.

It would be important to to talk about abstract turntablism in the form of an audio paper, as it would give the opportunity for demonstrations to be made on how works created within the practice sound. To be able to draft a script for an audio paper on abstract turntablsim, the historical context of turntablism must be understood and discovered within the audio paper, without making the listening experience consuiming for the consumer of the audio paper. To go about this, I would have to carry out interviews to provide information in a way that feels new and fresh.

Thinking forward, I believe talking about abstract turntablism in an audio paper would make for a great gallery exhibit, as it can be pressed onto vinyl to be presented in the form that it discusess.

Introduction to DIY electronics

Leave a Reply

Important texts:
Nicolas Colins – Handmade Electronic Music
Andy Farnel – Designing Sound

The world of electronics is a daunting one- but being rooted in science, is one that can be thoroughly understood, this undertanding being of importance when trying to break the creative boundaries. Circuits surround our everyday living, particuarly in a modern society where most of our household and recreational devices are powered by electricity. When creating sound with electronics, having a key understanding of circuits and how they work is the primary step to mastering the craft.

The Victorian Synthesiser

Composed of a battery connected to a speaker driver with two crocodile clips (one clip for the negative and one for the positive terminals), the Victorian synthesiser attempts to achieve effects similar to those of modern hardware synthesisers, but using Victorian techniques. Tweaking and adding differnt components such as breadboards, jump wires and paperclips can adapt the sound created.

In this image, a breadboard is used to route the positive and negative signals, allowing for the crocodile clips to know hold paper clips to adapt the sound.

The World’s Simplest Circuit

Taking the idea of using a breadboard further, here’s an example of what is known as the world’s simplest circuit- albeit with all the jumpwies and “fiddly” little bits, it may seem complex to build at first. These “fiddly” components that have now been introduced are resistors and capcitors.

Resistors
A resistor is a small component made up of a longwire and (usually) another sort of material, such as carbon film, that withstands and controls the flow of curent. Varying resitors carry different levels of resistance, with the lower the resistance, the slower the circuit will operate. Although a resistor doesn’t add anything to the circuit in terms of sound quality or texture, it allows the user to have control over the flow of power. Different types of resistors include LDR resistors, also known as photoresistor, – their resistance being affected by light exposure- and force sensitive resistors, which are affected by chysical contact and pressure, amongst many others. In the photo of a ‘World’s Simplest Circuit’ created by myself (pictured above; the largest component aside from the breadbaprd; large upright square), a force sensitive resistor is used.

Capacitors
Capacitors are components in the circuit which store electrical charge, which is seen in the photo above (the small yellow figure undearneath the resistor). The resistor is then used to control the flow of this electrical charge. Different capacitors have different levels of voltage, so by replacing the capacitor, the user of the circuit can control the texture and loudness of sound that is produced.

Here is a visual demonstration of my circuit in effect. Enjoy!

Reflection on Sound Piece

Leave a Reply

The World Doesn’t Dance But I Do is a piece created with the intention of “abstractifying” the dancefloor. There’s often discourse around whether sound pieces created under the term “sound art” should be classified as either DIY or Avante Garde, making sound art sound to be something inaccessible to the mainstream. The piece I have created has taken a tumultuous journey, being deconstructed, reconstructed, reaching to be a sound that can be enjoyed by the mainstream and the art worlds alike. Created by first constructing its basic structure and “musical” elements in Logic, then being run through the SP 404, I believe this piece has achieved its goal, the journey behind being explored below.

With a lack of access to resources needed to create a sound piece (a laptop, a DAW, microphones), much of my time leading up to its creation was spent pondering on inspiration. As a jungle / drum and bass DJ, I was becoming increasingly pulled towards the sounds of Source Direct. In their music, the basses used act as a driving force, with the harmony being left as an afterthought, if included at all. The basses used are often accompanied by higher pitch synth sounds, not usually constructing entire melodies, but as more of a decoration to the main elements: the drums and the bass. I had also become less interested in the use of sampling, and became more drawn to the use of musique concrete, or authentically composing elements. I decided to experiment- I was to make a drum and bass track composed entirely of concrete sounds, no synthesisers, no samples. 

However, once finally acquiring a studio space and the resources needed to compose, my entire idea was flipped on its head. The first problem was that the concrete sounds I had recorded didn’t fit authentically with what I was trying to create; the percussion sounds recorded from park benches and punching bags didn’t have the richness that traditional drum samples provide. With this being said, I wanted to ensure that I stuck to my rule of no sampling from pre-existing material. To my luck, there was a drum kit in the room. I recorded kick drum, snare, hi-hats and cymbal sounds using a dynamic microphone. Each part was recorded individually. The second reason why my initial idea was ruled out was because once I entered the studio, I was sidetracked by the beautiful noises I could create on the hardware synthesisers. I began creating a bassline using the SE-1 X, using it as a driving force for the piece. I then constructed the drum groove around this, then used the AX60 and  Juno-106 to add secondary bass parts and tangents of harmonic lines.

Although I am very happy with the outcome of my piece, I believe there were a couple downfalls. Whilst using hardware gives a unique touch, it highlights technical issues. Once the different elements had been run through the SP, many sounds were lost in the mix, most notably the tangents of melodic lines. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem, as I’d just go back into Logic and adjust the levels. However, this was not possible on the SP, as the effects added were recorded in real time. This demonstrates that whilst hardware allows you to create and manipulate sounds in very unique ways, it becomes harder to manipulate individual elements and rectify mistakes. In saying this, I would have loved to utilise the hardware in the room more advantageously, as there were compressors and EQs at the studio. I did not know how to use these, meaning that I had to mix in Logic using software plugins. This meant that the piece wasn’t entirely created without digital manipulation, which may take away from the end goal.

In spite of this, I believe this piece has achieved its goal to “abstractify” the dancefloor- in theory. It is a piece that lacks clarity in terms of structure and musicality, yet is easy on the ear in terms of instrumentation and rhythm. It is fast paced with a rolling percussion line, making it enjoyable to dance to (particularly in the second half). This was an important goal for me to achieve, as I am someone who creates music that is often out of time and out of key, usually pieces that don’t have musical or rhythmic feel to them, and whilst I am proud of these pieces, I am unable to use them within my sonic practice- DJing. At the moment within dance music scenes, there are discussions surrounding representation, particularly about womens’ representation on the dancefloor. If I am able to play out my sonic creations on the dancefloor, not only will I be opening up club-goers to the world of sound art, but I will also be lessening the ratio of music made by men to women within this context. For the future, I will play this piece in my next set to see if I have achieved my goal in practice.

Sound Objects: Music Concrète

Leave a Reply

“Musique Concrète can often be misunderstood as simply referring to music made entirely of naturally occurring sounds, and not containing instrumental and human input” – Marc Henshall.

Initially, this is how I thought of music concrete, it took for me to read Marc Henshall’s Musique Concrète – Pioneering Electronic Music – Part1 to change my perspective. When first playing with the idea of music concrete, Pierre Schaeffer came to a quick realisation that using the sounds just as recorded, his compositions all had a sameness to them. He realised that manipulation was needed in order to create more interesting compositions, which he did by experimenting with the speeds of his recordings. He found, however, that just experimenting with the speed wasn’t enough to create something new; examining sounds on a micro-level, he found he could manipulate the attack and timbre of a sound, amongst other qualities.

Creative Synthesis: Software and Hardware

Leave a Reply

It is actually perfect that I had already planned to write up a blog on creative synthesis, as my time spent at the studio sparked a much deeper passion for this topic. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by an array of synthesisers and samplers, and much to my satisfaction, the Juno-106 happened to be amongst this collection. Instead of beginning my piece recording ordinary objects to use as percussion sounds as previously planned, I began creating sounds with the synthesisers. Emulating my favourite synth sounds from drum and bass and broken beat tracks, I very quickly realised what had been setting back my productions and compositions: not having used hardware. Sure, I understand how to use a subtractive synthesiser in Logic and Protools, but it just didn’t feel fun, and I feel like the sounds I was trying to create and emulate were just too hard to make. Now having touched and used hardware, I liken this experience to my experience of DJ’ing, where I couldn’t even grasp the concept of it until I was introduced to turntables. With this being said, I feel like I am sonically more pulled into the world of analog- and to immerse myself within it, I need to understand it.

There are four main types of synthesis: subtractive, additive, modular, and FM. I am going to explain how the foremost mentioned works, using annotated diagrams. The idea of subtractive synthesis is to filter sound once it is made to add harmonic complexity.

However, the types of synthesis, and whether you’re using software or hardware aren’t the only factors providing a diverse range of sound in the world of synthesis. Within hardware, there is the option to use either analog or digital synthesis. In the article written by Suresh Bist, there is a video included where the man speaking states that whilst unique sounds can be created using hardware synthesis, they may not align with the project tempo when using effects such as modulation- something which I personally experienced. In the same article, Bist says that analog may still be preferable to digital because of its hands on approach. I agree.

Sound Objects: Sampling.

Leave a Reply

When reading an extract of Thomas Porcello’s The Ethics of Digital Audio-Sampling: Engineers’ Discourse, I was immediately drawn into the topic, as sampling is a technique heavily used by myself. Quite quickly, an example of the sampled artist’s work was discovered in this extract- Jan Hammer’s use of David Earl Johnson’s congas in the Miami Vice theme. Johnson argues that compensation be made to him by Hammer, as, if it is him playing, he should have been in the studio being paid for his time and skill. The sample was taken from an earlier recording session of the two, which, particularly by today’s views on sound production, has allowed the later creation of the Miami Vice theme to be completed with less time, budget and labour consumed. It also allows for the producer to have more creative control of the sample, allowing the previously created sound to exist in multiple corners of the spectrum of sound. Personally, I interpreted Johnson’s argument not as a criticism of the reuse of his work, but rather as an addition to the discourse surrounding the ethics of sampling.

For a long while I was making “abstract rap beats”, which entailed taking a sample, usually an obscure jazz or soul tune, and playing around with it until it was almost, if not completely, unrecognisable. I soon realised how easy it could be for anyone to make music with this method, and even sooner realised how lazy and unskilled my productions became as such. Arguments laid out by rap music engineers in the Porcello paper advocate for the use of sampling similar material to that of which I’ve done, however, ensure the sample is still recognisable. The reasoning behind this could partially be to make sure the piece created is still crediting the sampled material. In the style of production I was partaking in, none of the melodic and harmonic sounds were actually being created by me, but instead just heavily manipulated and deformed so as to cover my theft. When clearly leaving the sample exposed, the producer is forced to organically create elements to surround and re-contextualise it. However, the engineers Porcello himself spoke to took a different stance- they viewed this in the same way I viewed my aforementioned method of production.

The engineers Porcello spoke to viewed sampling more-so as a tool to base ideas around, taking something close to the sound you were originally envisioning, then altering it to be what you want and building around that. To align this view with my understanding of production, I thought about how drum breaks are created in drum and bass. One of the most famous breaks, the Apache break, sampled a long percussion break from Incredible Bongo Band’s cover of Jerry Lordan’s Apache. When used within drum and bass music, the break is mixed and run through samplers and plug-ins to give it a distinctive quality that is more suitable to the hard sounds of that genre. But if the aim is to make is sound dissimilar to the sampled material, why not just record what it is you wish to sample yourself, or pay a musician who can? One of the engineers in Porcello’s paper, Glassie, comments on this, “If you could recreate Phil Colins’ drum sound.. in another studio, with identical mics… then if a sound could be recreated, it would be hard to say that you actually own that sound.” Therefore, if there is no telling if you created that sound yourself or not, then it would evidently be preferable for a producer to take the route that is more cost and time efficient; sampling.

However, something in Glassie’s comments resonates with me in conjunction with David Earl Johnson’s argument for compensation over the use of his sample. Johnson brought forth the fact that the specific way in which he played his congas in that moment in that studio is what gives it its distinctive quality. Whilst you can alter the sound of a sample, there is only so far you can stretch it before it starts sounding distorted and unpleasant. Glassie does acknowledge this in his comments, too. This thought inspired me to attempt a production in a way I usually would, but using absolutely no samples, paving way for the creation of the sound piece which I will be submitting as part of Creative Sound Projects Element 2, working entitled Jungle Concrete.

To create this piece, I decided to create a timeframe to complete this project, using my blog entries to guide and inspire me along the way.

(insert image of plan)

Having now booked the studio to finally create this soundpiece, I feel enthusiastic about this project. I am a little scared, as since my laptop broke around 2 months ago I haven’t been able to create anything, and I now feel like I’m lacking in skill. Hopefully the motivation will override any loss of skill. I look forward to reflecting on my time at the studio.