resonant objects
andré gonçalves &
kenneth kirschner | sirr022
"… liberated beauty in the
form of shimmering quivers of microtonal
shifts …"
Ed
Benndorf , DeBug
Magazine
The principles and the necessary setup
for this piece were conceived and designed
to create "a soundscape of resonance
frequencies triggered by sinewaves moving
in tidal motion". André
Gonçalves and Kenneth Kirschner
recorded this fabulous thing at Phill
Niblock's Experimental Intermedia Foundation
in March 2005 and, quite sincerely,
no words of mine can describe the pure
intensity and the breathtaking tension
that these slow oscillations are able
to originate, a perceptible aura which
is only broken by the presence - inevitable,
one would think - of some idiot coughing
loud between minutes 35 and 38 of the
flow (I can't help but hate these acoustic
polluters). But the sheer magic of these
sounds speaks for itself: we're in front
of a two-headed creature with Alvin
Lucier's brain and Eliane Radigue's
beatitude, gently raising its eyes to
allure us in a false sense of security
only to start stinging our membranes
with the sweetest frequency torture,
as the waves remember their place in
the room like if they had always lived
there. For the lucky ones who participated,
a beautiful reminder; for all the rest,
a must.
Massimo Ricci, Touching
Extremes, 31.12.2006
The result must have looked great, but
we are dealing with 'just' a CD here,
and that sounds great. The resonating
patterns are vaguely feedback like,
moving into all sorts of directions,
and there doesn't seem to be a moment
of not moving. The overtone like quality
of the work reminded me of Alvin Lucier,
more than of Kirschner's master Feldman.
It's music that creates an environment
within an environment - your environment.
The best it seems to play this at a
relatively soft volume and move through
your space and you will notice that
you seem to be picking up different
frequencies throughout. A beautiful
work, moving gently throughout time
and space.
FdW,
VitalWeekly 508 , 11.01.2006
Recorded
live in New York in March 2005, Resonant
Objects was a collaborative installation
piece by New York-based Kirschner and
Lisbon sound artist Gonçalves
in which six glass globes, each containing
a lamp, microphone and loudspeaker,
were suspended from the ceiling of Phill
Niblock's Experimental Intermedia Foundation
and made to resonate by a computer that
triggered six different frequencies
which were subsequently captured by
the microphones and relayed to an envelope-following
system that allowed them to control
the intensity of the light within each
globe. Though we can only imagine the
visual aspect of the work, the alarmingly
sensitive direct-to-DAT recording managed
to pick up a wealth of sonic information,
including, unfortunately, a few rather
obtrusive shuffles and coughs and a
few spectacular blasts of passing car
horns. The interference patterns of
the frequencies are truly rich and strange,
and take on an authentically three-dimensional
nature when played at considerable volume
– this is not an album best appreciated
on headphones – but one can't
help feeling that the fixity of the
final document rather flies in the face
of Kirschner's enthusiastic embracing
of the principle of indeterminacy. His
website contains numerous examples of
his open-access, open-ended music, in
which Flash software is used to randomly
layer selected mp3s into pieces that
can continue for as long as the listener
desires. That said, those of us not
fortunate to live nearby and experience
the installations first-hand can at
least rejoice in the fact that audio
CDs such as this and the recent releases
of music by Michael J. Schumacher, Room
Pieces (XI) and Stories (Quecksilber),
can at least give us an idea of the
beauty of these elusive, ephemeral works.
Dan Warburton,
The Wire Magazine (02.2006)
Sound
is all around. What Indian philosophy
dubs “Nada Brahma” is a
simple piece of physics in Western terms:
Each object resonates and reacts to
its environment, setting free a music
inaudible to the human ear. For hundreds
of years, scientists and artists have
searched for the concept behind this
music, its characteristsics and, most
importantly, a set of rules and a hidden
harmony. “Resonant Objects”
now comes as close to acchieving this
goal as anyone’s ever been.
Recorded live at the Experimental Intermedia
Foundation in New York last year, this
is, speaking in sensory terms, actually
only one half of the show, which combined
visual and aural elements to full effect.
Six objects, hanging from the ceiling,
were made to resonate. These resonances
were picked up by an inbuilt microphone
and sent to a computer, which adjusted
the objects’ light intensity accordingly
(the visual part). The extremely fine
sound, meanwhile, was emmitted directly
from the objects by speakers, without
the use of further amplification. This
aural part is what you’re getting
on the album and although we strongly
suspect that the complete event was
even more impressive, one never gets
the feeling of missing out on anything.
Mysteriously ondulating high-tone frequencies
are slowly undermined by deep drones
and shimmering shackles of sounds. Everything
constantly changes its pulse, only so
delicately that you hardly notice. The
elements disappear and reappear, making
for ever-changing combinations and subtle
mood swings: Sometimes, this musical
micro-environment sounds menacing and
dangerous, then again soothing and comforting,
occasionaly otherwordly and inexplicable,
then almost like a simple microphone
check just a few seconds before the
concert. Some audience noises slipped
in there as well, but they only serve
to deepen the texture.
Does it serve its purpose of making
the relationship between space and sound
apparent? Well, it’s hard to say.
Any attempt will remain an approximation
and maybe these natural frequencies
were not intended to be perceived by
man's (or woman's) ear anyway. On the
other hand, this 50-minute long track
clearly points at a secret hidden behind
the illusion of reality. Unveiling the
concept of “Nada Brahma”
or not, that makes it a wonderful piece
of music for sure.
http://www.mouvement-nouveau.com
01.2006
The
Lisboa-based artist André Gonçalves
creates micro-environments to explore
physical phenomena related with the
act of hearing. This time he worked
with six objects, which resonated each
in a different way , due to a range
of frequencies, generated by means of
computer and speakers. The sinewaves
thus created slowly change their patterns.
Minimal changes in the sound fluctuations
are the main ingredients. The music
reminds of the work of the Canadian
composer Michael Gentreau. For those
that have a lot of patience, this is
a wonderful listening experience.
http://www.xs4all.nl/~phosphor
Paesaggi
sonori di risonante e maestosa bellezza,
fluttuanti frequenze quelle di André
Gonçalves e Kenneth Kirschner,
minimali nelle loro elaborazioni acustiche
registrate alla Phill Niblock's Experimental
Intermedia Foundation nel Marzo del
2005. Percepibile la tensione delle
sequenze, nelle forme d'onda iterate
che si sovrappongono a creare intrecci
suggestivi. Scansioni, micro-environment
controllati tramite computer, mediante
un set che prevede la corrispondenza
in tempo-reale fra 'oggetti sospesi'
(sei forme regolari luminose di vetro
bianco con microfoni e altoparlanti)
e audio, il tutto pilotato mediante
messaggi MIDI, creando una relazione
stretta e biunivoca tra ampiezza del
suono e luce. Oscillazioni lente ma
in progressione, interessanti anche
nell'approccio spaziale, particolarmente
fruibile proprio nella dimensione live
del progetto.
Aurelio Cianciotta, Neural.it
Listening
to this disc brings us to discussions
about the presentation of sound art.
How related is this CD to the original
piece? What has been lost and what has
been gained by this production? By removing
the visual content of the art and presenting
a fixed recording of this work Gonçalves
and Kirschner have delivered a difficult
but rewarding production. The visual
content seems (from the liner notes)
very simple and beautiful. Six glass
lights were suspended from the ceiling
and controlled by a computer to glow
and fade with tones designed to resonance
these objects. The recording captures
the room and its audience, and sometimes
these shuffles and murmurs add to the
sense that we are listening to a documented
version of the piece rather than experiencing
the piece itself. In the last third
a few coughs and car horns are audible.
Whether this is seen as an intrusion
of extraneous sound or just part of
the document is arguably irrelevant.
To me these 'mistakes' give the piece
an added depth - the whole recording
is full room ambience, it is only the
few obvious sounds that we notice.
This disc can can only be listened to
on speakers as an environmental piece
- headphone listening is far to tiring
- the piece consists of feedback generated
sound in slow beating modulations. In
this sense the composition could be
thought of as tidal; slow creeping changes
that one is never quite aware of, develop
as tones that slowly overlap and evolve.
It's a demanding record that requires
concentrated listening somewhere between
the intensity of headphones and the
'removed listening' of sound environments.
The only criticism I could make is that
by completely separating the visual
and environmental experience of this
piece (even the CD artwork does not
appear to be connected) those involved
with the release are in danger of adding
to the old fashioned ideology that art
that works with sound is somehow portable
and not located in defined space. It
is this attitude which continues to
mislead many curators into perpetuating
the view that sound art is only concerned
with sound. From the written descriptions
of Gonçalves & Kirschner's
piece it is obvious this is not the
case. By adding some visual documentation
of the event, this area for misunderstanding
could easily have been avoided.
Mark Mclaren, http://www.furthernoise.org
Gonçalves
verfolgt eine ähnliche Herangehensweise
an Räume und die reziproken Resonanzfähigkeiten
zwischen eben diesen und den darin enthaltenen
Objekten wie Andrew McKenzie vom Hafler
Trio. Der Portugiese geht allerdings
bedächtiger zu Werk und gletschert
Sound nicht zu Stein, sondern erlaubt
frische Luft zum Atmen. Eine kalte Logik
liegt dem Aufbau der Installation zugrunde
(ein Raum, sechs Objekte mit Lampen
und Mikrophonen ausgerüstst hängen
in unterschiedlicher Höhe von der
Decke, Frequenzen stoßen sich
an etc.), das Ergebnis aber ist befreite
Schönheit in Form glänzender
Wallungen mikrotonaler Verschiebungen.
Welle für Welle hat in diesem einen
Raum Licht auf Licht getriggert. Ein
beeindruckend schönes Event muß
das gewesen sein, aufgeführt am
27. März 2005 in der Experimental
Intermedia Foundation in New York und
nun zu Recht zur Ewigkeit verbannt.
Ed Benndorf, De:Bug
Magazine
Gravado ao vivo na Experimental Intermedia
Foundation de Nova Iorque com a colaboração
de um músico electrónico
local, Kenneth Kirschner, que diz seguir
a religião do iPod, “Resonant
Objects” é um projecto
meta-musical do português André
Gonçalves, também conhecido
como OK Suitcase, que em eventos posteriores
teve outras variantes. O princípio
deste “work-in-progress”
é, no entanto, sempre o mesmo:
no caso (27 de Março de 2005),
enviou (por meio de pequenos alfifalantes)
frequências geradas em computador
para dentro de globos de luz, frequências
essas que eram captadas por microfones
aí colocados e assim entravam
em loop, frequências alimentando-se
de frequências. Esses mesmos sons
acendiam as lâmpadas dos globos,
correspondendo a maior ou menor intensidade
da iluminação à
intensidade vibracional dos próprios
sons. Em Lisboa, vimo-lo e ouvimo-lo
a fazer o mesmo com vasos para plantas.
A parte visual é irreproduzível
neste CD, mas esse é o problema
da presente electrónica intermedia.
Fica o registo sonoro de uma experiência
que lida com a criação
de micro-ambientes e a produção
de som em espaços herméticos,
e no que a este respeita testemunhamos
uma “arte sonora” (Gonçalves
não gosta de chamar “música”
ao que faz) baseada no “drone”,
como tal necessitando de tempo para
tudo tomar forma. A haver discursividade
nestes continuums de sinal, essa noção
vai-se forjando à medida que
nos apercebemos de pequenas alterações
no fluxo. E não se pense que
o minimalismo desta obra é relaxante:
é-nos exigida a máxima
concentração, de tal modo
que no final ficamos com a sensação
de que o mundo à nossa volta
parou.
http://rep.no.sapo.pt
Tutto ciò che circonda, abita
e, più di tutto, influenza gli
autori di “Resonant Object”
è attorniato da un alone di desiderio
(tutt’altro che nebbioso) nel
ri-congiungersi con gli entertainment
elettro-elettronici, ‘schiavi’
della lenta progressione. Un espansa
fascia di interessi, abita questo ‘oggetti
risonanti’: viene inalata una
scia di emotività e tensione
che lambisce (quasi matematicamente)
alla scuola americana di oggi; e così,
lasciando intuire l’innamoramento
‘dotto’ nei confronti di
spazi sonori, ampi e senza fine, alla
stregua di un Phil Niblock, oppure vicino
alle fresche sperimentazioni micro-environment
di Jason Kahn.
Due nomi, impossibili da non associare
come ‘punti guida’ alle
caratteristiche, comunque ben singolari,
contenute in questa orgia elettronica
dalle movenze catatoniche.
Ritornando alla partenza, non è
solo una semplice intuizione, osservando
il luogo dove si è versata linfa
vitale sulla realizzazione degli oggetti
danzanti sbuca fuori, a mò di
incastro perfetto, quell’Experimental
Intermedia Foundation, luogo di scambio
culturale, aperto e curato proprio da
Mr.Niblock in persona.
Fa ancora un certo effetto constatare,
nonostante la grande massa di simili
releases, il forte ‘sex-appeal’,
capace di spuntare da una mera e/o impercettibile
vibrazione, procurata ad / da un oggetto
qualsiasi… o accuratamente studiato
e ricercato come in questo caso.
La capacità di stravolgere, modificare,
abbellire una simile ‘reazione’,
per mezzo di un laptop, oppure di un
DAT e quant’altro, in circostanze
affini, indossa i panni di uno strumento
D.(erivazione) O.(origine) C. (controllata)
al 100%…. e con anche tutti i
‘riconoscimenti del caso’.
Un discorso, questo, che interessa molto
da vicino gli ambienti, gravitanti attorno
l’iberica SIRR e che ratifica
ulteriormente l’attenzione di
patron Raposo per l’impianto delle
installazioni.
Un unico lungo tappeto compone questo
lavoro, una distesa velata e lisergica
di 50 minuti pieni, ripercorre e mostra
il miglior stato di salute dell’elettro-acustica
creata ed effettata in real time. Gli
oggetti presi di mira all’occorrenza
sono sei globi di vetro bianco, ognuno
al proprio interno è dotato di
un mini-microfono, un altoparlante ed
una lampada elettrica; tutta la struttura
è appesa al soffitto, secondo
differenti distanze. La registrazione-manipolazione,
dicevamo, avviene in rigoroso tempo
reale e alla sua base troviamo un calcolatore
che, capace di selezionare sei diverse
frequenze, viene collegato ad ogni altoparlante.
Giunti quasi al termine, sembra proprio
ora di lanciare un meritato accenno
biografico, in senso puramente fisico,
sui mentori di questo viaggio nella
musica ultraterrena:
André Gonçalves è
da tempo famoso negli ambienti underground
di Lisbona e dintorni, il suo nome si
associa particolarmente all’etichetta
Grain Of Sound ed ai progetti futuristici
Ok.Suitcase e ETCH. Il compagno, Kenneth
Kirschner, lavora e proviene dagli ambienti
newyorkesi, da poco orbita nella scena
‘vera e propria’ experimental,
collaborazioni sparse, qua e là,
tra cui quella più luminosa rimane
il duo con Taylor Deupree.
Europa-Stati Uniti… legame con
la tradizione… scontro con la
modernità… il minimalismo
trasparente e mistico degli anni’70…
la tecnologia digitale di voga nei giorni
nostri.
Ed ora silenzio: parte il fruscio…
infinito.
Sergio Eletto, http://www.kathodik.it
ak
jizš samotny´ název tohoto
alba napovídá, hlavním
zdrojem zvuku, s nímzš zde oba
zúcšastnešní umešlci pracují,
jsou rezonující objekty.
Album vzniklo jako soucšást série
vytváršení mikroprostršedí
- pocšítacšem kontrolovany´ch
uzavršeny´ch prostor, jenzš by
autoružm umozšnily prozkoumávat
rozlicšné fyzické fenomény
související se zpužsobem
poslouchání.
Portugalec André Gonçalves
se dosud kromeš hudebních experimentuž
zaby´val videoartem a graficky´m
designem a od roku 2000 zacšal rozvíjet
propojování audio a video
slozšky svy´ch aplikací,
jezš prezentoval prši nejružznešjsších
multimediálních akcích
cši v galeriích. K projektu Resonant
Objects pršizval Americšana Kennetha
Kirschnera, jezš ve své tvorbeš
kombinuje avantgardu 20.století
(jeho vzorem je Morton Feldman) a trendy
moderní elektroniky.
Celá nahrávka (zšiveš
zaznamenaná v prostorech Experimentální
intermediální nadace Phila
Niblocka v New Yorku), na disku prezentovaná
jediny´m padesátiminutovy´m
trackem, je zajímavá pršedevsším
z prismatu zpužsobu jeho vzniku. K tomuto
úcšelu bylo v místnosti
rozmístešno sšest sklenešny´ch
objektuž v ružzny´ch vy´sškovy´ch
úrovních, uvnitrš ktery´ch
byl vlozšen mikrofon, reproduktor a
zšárovka. Kazšdy´ jednotlivy´
reproduktor byl spojen s pocšítacšem,
ktery´ spousštešl sšest odlisšny´ch
frekvencí. Tyto frekvence zpužsobily
rozrezonování jednotlivy´ch
objektuž, vy´sledny´ zvuk
byl zachycen mikrofony a postupneš dál
zpracováván. Vy´sledkem
je - podobneš jako u posledních
nahrávek The Hafler Trio - silneš
staticky znešjící zvuková
plocha, v nízš se sotva postršehnutelneš
prolínají jednotlivé
frekvence s nahodile zachyceny´mi
fieldrecordings (ruch z ulice, pokasšlávání
atpod.). Zní nekonfliktneš, ale
zárovenš posluchacšsky nepršílisš
vstršícneš.
Igor Novacek, http://www.freemusic.cz
"Six
objects were suspended from the ceiling
at different heights, each one made
from a globe of white glass with one
microphone, one speaker and one electrical
lamp inside. Each speaker was connected
individually to a computer that triggered
6 different frequencies – one
for each of the speakers. These frequencies
were tuned to the objects’ resonance
frequencies causing them to resonate.
These resonances were captured by the
objects’ microphones and redirected
to a 6-fold-envelope-follow system in
order to convert the amplitude of each
audio signal to MIDI messages. These
MIDI messages were then sent to the
computer which formatted the incoming
MIDI values and sent them to six dimmers
controlling the light intensity of each
object in a way that each object’s
light intensity was directly related
to its own sound amplitude." Translation:
glass lights up, sound changes, sound
changes, light changes. Just think,
all the money you paid out on insurance
premiums because you were entertaining
the ladies by candlelight can be saved
with this set-up. A high-pitched frequency
plays havoc with a low-pitched one,
sort of if you were playing with the
dimmer knob in an abandoned new tract
home just before the new tenants moved
in. You’d have to play with it
like DJ QBert, but you get the gist.
A vigorous, thorough massage of the
frontal lobes. Your cat will ask “What’s
that?”
DC,
http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine
Recorded at the infamous Experimental
Intermedia Foundation in NYC in 2005,
"Resonant Objects" is a new
multi-media project from two leading
experimental music gurus Andre Goncalves
and Kenneth Kirschner. What happened
during the recording is six objects
were suspended from the ceiling at different
heights. Each object was made from a
globe of white glass with one microphone,
speaker and one electrical lamp each.
Each of these speakers was then connected
to a computer that triggered six different
frequencies - one frequency per speaker.
In turn, these frequencies were turned
to the objects' resonance frequencies
causing them to resonate. The resonating
overtones are rich, though in fact very
little happens on the surface of the
recording. It's as if for a whole duration
of the movement, sound stood deadly
still. The variations that occur are
buried deep under the ear-pinching sound,
beneath what some will cause noise.
It's there you'll find the exhausting
and humbling beauty. The audio mass
moves slowly in one direction and seems
to be pushed by nothing at all. Pervasively
hypnotic quality is heard throughout,
which in fact can lull the listener
into an inadvertent state of slumber.
A sense of thick tension and deep drama
is evident in every little nook and
cranny of the piece. It's as if the
two composers wanted to keep everyone
present at the very edges of their seats
for the entire duration. For those of
us who were not lucky enough to be at
this momentous installation, I recommend
you sneak a peak at this brief clip:
www.undotw.org/ctrl/fotos/xtras/resonantobjects.htm
Tom Sekowski,
http://www.gaz-eta.vivo.pl
