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In many ways, music is all about relationships. Relationships between musicians, between artists and audiences, between artists and their instruments, even the relationships between sounds and notes in a scale. But we can also think of these relationships inside a wider web of connections. What would it be like to compose and perform music that embeds relationship between humans and non-humans such as plants, animals, or environments? What might that do to how we compose, perform, and listen to music? Today we dive into these questions with Luis Fernando Amaya, a composer and percussionist based in Oslo. Luis Fernando’s music has been performed throughout the Americas and Europe and themes of collective memory and relationships between humans and non-humans are often present in his work.
Bio and Links
Born in Aguascalientes, México, Luis Fernando Amaya is a composer and percussionist based in Oslo. Topics such as collective memory and the relationship between humans and non-humans (such as plants, animals, or environments) are commonly present in his work. He studied composition and music theory at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Musicales (CIEM) and holds a Ph.D. in composition and music technology from Northwestern University.
Amaya's music has been performed throughout the Americas and Europe by performers such as the CEPROMUSIC (México), Arditti Quartet (UK), Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (Switzerland), Ensemble Dal Niente, Fonema Consort, Yarn/Wire (USA), Oslo Domkor (Choir of the Cathedral of Oslo, Norway), amongst others. He is the recipient of awards and fellowships such as the Residency PRIX CIME (International Electroacoustic Music Competition 2023), a Presidential Fellowship (NU), and representing México in the 61st International Rostrum of Composers of the UNESCO in Helsinki, Finland. As a performer, Amaya is a member of the collective composition and free improvisation trio Fat Pigeon.
His scores are published by BabelScores.
His monographic album Cortahojas was recently released by Protomaterial Records.
https://www.luisfernandoamaya.com
Instagram @luisongolilongo
Bandcamp
Studies for "Bestiario: seis"
En esta línea contengo un bosque (2018)
Eddie Ortíz-González poetry
PhD Dissertation: Music Composition as a Means to Connect With the More-Than-Human: A Dialogue Between the Works of Walter Kitundu, Liza Lim, and Luis Fernando Amaya
Photo credit Ana María Bermúdez
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Most of the time we think of humans and non-humans as separate things. We experience and live in different worlds. Humans may love nature but are separate from nature. What if that is a wrong – or at least limiting – way to think about it? What would it mean to break down that separation? How might that change our experiences of sound and life with non-humans and nature? I’m your host Steve Williams and today we explore these questions with Gina Lo. We have lots to talk about so be sure to check out the show notes for links to the sounds and get in touch to [email protected] with your questions and comments.
Notes and Links
Bio
Gina Lo is a Taiwanese-born sound artist, field recordist, and performer based in Berlin. Their work revolves around the creation of immersive sonic environments that explore the fluid boundaries between human and non-human experiences, harmoniously merging the organic with the synthetic. Through live performances and sound installations, Gina employs a blend of electroacoustic instrumentation, field recordings, and custom-designed synthesizers. With a strong emphasis on attentive listening, their improvisational sets transform spaces into ever-evolving atmospheric landscapes.
Gina’s connection to nature is rooted in their upbringing on a subtropical island and extensive time spent off the grid throughout East and Southeast Asia, where they immersed themselves in the rhythms of the natural world and the intricate behaviors of wildlife. These encounters form the core of their sonic research, fostering a deep engagement with the elemental forces of nature as a lens for exploring the human condition. Gina’s work invites listeners into a meditative state, where the boundaries between self and environment blur, creating space for deeper reflection and a reconnection with the primal, transformative aspects of the psyche.
https://ginalosound.wixsite.com/work/about
https://www.instagram.com/ginalololo/
EROOO0oo00(O)oO.0o0.oo..sion - Æther compilation (re:natura, digital)Intuitive Dialogues @ginalolo and @frmvarHarkening Critters https://f-o-m.bandcamp.com/album/harkening-crittersCowie Bay https://f-o-m.bandcamp.com/track/cowie-bayBornean https://f-o-m.bandcamp.com/track/bornean-anuraSignals Festival Sound Installation https://catalyst-berlin.com/about/signals-festival-2021-installationsBerlin Modular Society 44 Live performance https://youtu.be/okHrEpze4wc -
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When people are asked what kind of neighbourhood they want to live in they often say they want a quiet neighbourhood. But by quiet, they do not mean silent! People want to hear the sounds of children playing, birds in the trees, and glasses clinking at cafés but may not want to hear sounds of traffic, construction, or planes overhead. They may want to preserve the sounds of the past or hear something completely different. The Future Soundscapes project connects with local residents to record (on their phones) sounds they want to hear more of and sounds they want to hear less of. The sounds are collected, categorized, and a soundscape of the future neighbourhood co-created with the collaborative inputs of local residents. The project has happened in Gothenburg Sweden and most recently in Utrecht Netherlands. Coming soon to Berlin and Oslo Norway. Today we dive into the why and how of Future Soundscapes and get to hear what happened in Gothenburg and Utrecht.
I’m your host Steve Williams, also known as drusnoise, and today’s episode will be a bit different. Usually I am interviewing an artist about their approach to sound, music, and sustainability. Today I will be talking about my Future Soundscapes project and sharing some excerpts from Gothenburg and Utrecht. I think it is a fascinating approach to futures and I hope you find it interesting too. Definitely send me a DM and let me know in the comments too. My email is [email protected]
Links and references
Future Soundscapes https://sustain.fm/fss
drusnoise https://drusnoise.com
Academic paper on Future Soundscapes
Listen – R. Murray Schafer documentary by National Film Board of Canada https://www.nfb.ca/film/listen/
Jordan Lacey. Sonic Rupture https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/sonic-rupture-9781501338571/
Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures https://urbanfutures.se/en
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What does it mean to give voice to nature? To the weather? How can we connect with ecological systems through sound and performance? And what does it mean to attune to nature? Today I am excited to explore these questions – and more. Juan C. Duarte Regino is an artist-researcher, currently a Ph.D. candidate at Aalto University. Central to his investigation is the relation between the atmosphere, the act of listening, and the profound concept of attunement. His background is in New Media, Design & Production, and Audiovisual Communication. His mission looks beyond conventional, extractive, or deterministic approaches to understanding the relationship between nature and technology. Instead, it ventures into ancient and indigenous knowledge that harmonizes with ecological perspectives on our weather systems, giving voice to the natural agencies at play within the realm of weather. So as you can imagine, Juan is a perfect fit for this show.
Bio
Juan C. Duarte Regino is an artist-researcher, currently a Ph.D. candidateat Aalto University. Central to his investigation is the relation between the atmosphere, the act of listening, and the profound concept of attunement. His background is in New Media, Design & Production, and Audiovisual Communication. His artistic endeavors over the last decade have gained recognition and have been showcased at prestigious eventsand venues internationally.His mission looks beyond conventional, extractive, or deterministic approaches to understanding the relationship between nature and technology. Instead, it ventures into ancient and indigenous knowledge that harmonizes with ecological perspectives on our weather systems, giving voice to the natural agencies at play within the realm of weather.His research revolves around the exploration of the symbiotic relationship between nature and technology through environmental sound. His work presents artifacts to resonate with atmospheric energies. In his approach, he proposes diversified technologies for attuning to nature. By doing so, Duarte Regino pushes the boundaries of artistic expression and enables a deeper understanding of our environment and its intricate interplay with technology.
Links
www.juanduarteregino.comhttps://juanduarte.bandcamp.com/
Hildegard Westerkamp - Kits Beachhttps://www.hildegardwesterkamp.ca/sound/comp/3/kitsbeach/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg96nU6ltLkSterne, J. (2019). Multimodal scholarship in world soundscape project composition: Toward a different media-theoretical legacy (or: The WSP as OG DH). Sound, Media, Ecology, 85-109.John Durham Peters - The Marvelous CloudsToward a Philosophy of Elemental Mediahttps://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo20069392.htmlAugury:https://juanduarteregino.com/Augury
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Sound is one of our most powerful senses. But it is just one of our senses. Sight, touch, smell, and taste are powerful too. And even more powerful when they are combined with sound. Today we talk with Melissa Ingaruca Moreno about her work with light, fungi, meditation, and sound. Melissa is an award-winning futurist and researcher in multispecies design based in Berlin. Her project ‘Endarken’ integrates fungal bioluminescence and sonification of nature with glimpses of darker futures. This is a future of designed light-darkness for multispecies cohabitation with a focus on healing and I am excited to chat with Melissa about how all of these ideas – and senses – fit together.
Bio
Melissa Ingaruca Moreno is an award-winning futurist and researcher in multispecies design. Endarken is a research-through-design project of Melissa Ingaruca Moreno´s PhD “Multispecies Cities and Emerging Technologies”, that re-imagines the future of nocturnal urban light for more-than-human wellbeing in Berlin via a series of participatory design workshops.
Links and references
Endarken Futures: Darkness as Healing https://melissa-ingaruca.medium.com/healing-in-darkness-endarken-futures-part-i-0d680189ea55
Endarken project overview https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lU7Elq6W2ZzZJMHAKe_IJvEYliCPB0Y4/view
Instagram @endarken_cities
Floating University https://floating-berlin.org/
Falchi, F. et al. The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness. Sci Adv 2, (2016).
Dunn, N. Dark Design: A New Framework for Advocacy and Creativity for the Nocturnal Commons. International Journal of Design in Society 10, 9–23 (2016).
Falchi, F., Cinzano, P., Elvidge, C., Keith, D. & Haim, A. Limiting the impact of light pollution on human health, environment and stellar visibility. J Environ Manage 92, 2714–2722 (2011).
Falcón, J. et al. Exposure to Artificial Light at Night and the Consequences for Flora, Fauna, and Ecosystems. Frontiers in Neuroscience vol. 14 Preprint at https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.602796 (2020).
Yang, L., Xiao, L., Guo, Y. & Yan, Y. A review of the effects of artificial light at night in urban areas on the ecosystem level and the remedial measures. (2022).
Gallan, B. & Gibson, C. New dawn or new dusk? Beyond the binary of day and night. Environment and Planning 43, 2509–2515 (2011).
Zielinska-Dabkowska, K. M. & Xavia, K. Protect our right to light. Nature 568, 451–453 (2019).
Pollastri, S. et al. More-Than-Human Future Cities. in ACM International Conference Proceeding Series 23–30 (Association for Computing Machinery, 2021). doi:10.1145/3469410.3469413.
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Sound and music are in many ways ethereal and, quite literally, float through the air with no environmental impact. But, especially in the electronic music world, the gear that makes sound, transmits sound, records sound, and drives the dance floor does have an environmental impact. What does that mean for a sustainable electronic music scene? Today we talk with Priscilla Haring-Kuipers of This is Not Rocket Science in Amsterdam about all this and more. Together with her husband Stijn, they design, make, sell and perform with modular synthesizers. Her background is in marketing, social sciences, media psychology and game-based-learning. I have had the chance to talk with Priscilla over the years about their company’s approach to sustainability and I’m excited to go deeper with that conversation today.
Bio
Priscilla Haring-Kuipers of This is Not Rocket Science in Amsterdam. Together with my husband Stijn we design, make, sell and perform with modular synthesizers. My background is in marketing, social sciences, media psychology and game-based-learning. Will sing.
Links
TINRS https://www.thisisnotrocketscience.nl/this-is-not-rocket-science/
TINR Sustainability https://www.thisisnotrocketscience.nl/sustainability/
Mastadon https://priscillaharing.info/
Articles at Elektor Magazine https://www.elektormagazine.de/authors/167432/priscilla-haring-kuipers
Vocal pack https://thisisnotrocketscience.bandcamp.com/album/vocal-pack-boom-link-to-zip
Club Synth https://www.thisisnotrocketscience.nl/clubsynth
sustain.fm https://sustain.fm
Contact [email protected]
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Sound is an interesting thing. Sounds can evoke emotions like happiness, anxiety, hope, and calmness. But what I find most interesting is how sound can evoke memories. One of my first memories of sound is my Mum playing the organ at church, laying down on the wooden pew and feeling bass in my whole body. Strong memories of family, connection and childhood – all from sound. In the latest episode of sustain, we are talking with Monica Sand – an artist and researcher based in Stockholm and Gothenburg. Monica has a long history of working with sounds and space. And most recently a project in Gothenburg exploring art, buildings, and human bodies as carriers of cultural memory. Today we chat about sound, memory, art, science, buildings, and bodies.
Bio
Monica Sand, artist and researcher with a PhD in artistic research, from the School of Architecture, KTH, Stockholm. Sand holds a position as Research Adviser at the Artistic Faculty, and affiliated researcher at the Academy of Music and Drama, at Gothenburg University. From 2011 until 2019 she was coordinating research at ArkDes, Stockholm. At KTH and during a postdoc at Konstfack (University College of Arts Crafts andDesign, Stockholm) she produced courses, walk-shops and lectures based on art and artistic research projects with a focus on collective actions in public space. Earlier art work took place in collaborations with different physics laboratories in Sweden and at CERN, the largest particle laboratory in Europe, Geneva: In between art and science and Acting Physics
Links
Playing the Space https://playingthespace.wordpress.com/
Matter Matters – Art, Buildings and Human Bodies as Carriers of Cultural Memory
https://playingthespace.wordpress.com/2023/12/18/en-bage-genom-tiden/
Matter Matters Sound Archive by Louisa Palmi https://palmi.org/The-Sound-Archive
Important message to the public, VMA: https://soundcloud.com/lur_arkdes/sarafranceschi-elegi-short
Forest Improvisations in the Uppsala Cathedral:
https://vimeo.com/55853657
City Experiments with students in an exhibition hall: Färgfabriken
https://vimeo.com/149003424?from=outro-embed
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It sounds simple, but what is noise? Is it unwanted sounds? Is it a set of frequencies? Or is it something that is always around us but something we don’t usually notice? Today we talk with Felipe Vareshi about their compositions and performances that give voice to the quietest and most hidden forms of noise pollution that affect us as individuals and as groups coexisting within urban spaces. We talk about sound, noise, listening, and the potentials of sound as a medium for “possible” futures and of the artist as the enabler for these kind of possibilities.
Bio
Felipe Vareschi is an Experimental Electronic Musician, Performer and Mastering Engineer based in Berlin. Their work explores the way people interact with each other through objects, with a particular focus on the interactions between individuals, technology and nature.
Felipe Vareschi is developing a new musical language where interactions between electronics, sound objects, performers, and installation sites mimic social interactions and human-object networks. Inspired by the physical and imaginary sounds of everyday life, Felipe aims to empower listeners to value and participate in the soundscape around them and embrace the noise of interconnected life.
Links
https://www.felipevareschi.com/
https://www.vareschimastering.com/
https://www.instagram.com/frmvar/
Your host
Steve Williams / drusnoise https://instagram.com/drusnoise
https://sustain.fm
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So what is trash really? What is waste? How do we cut down how much we throw away? And what happens when we throw things away? Is that really the end of things? Many groups like Bye Bye Plastic and Clubtopia are thinking about questions like these; how to reduce waste in clubs and festivals, get rid of plastic water bottles and so on. But a different approach is to completely rethink the idea of waste and trash. Today I talk with Veerle Pennock and Etta Harbar from Utrecht in the Netherlands. They are live performers, teachers, makers, and hackers exploring the crossover between e-waste, art, music, and instruments and I am happy to talk more with them about their work and approach to sustainability. And we hear a recording of their heavy-hitting noisy trash music live at Voltage Control Amsterdam.
Show notes and links
Performance recordings featured:
Modulation, 16.07.2023, de Nijverheid Utrecht, NL
Voltage Control Amsterdam, 21.01.2024, Paradiso Amsterdam, NL
Parallel Problems https://www.instagram.com/parallelproblems/
Veerle Pennock https://veerlepennock.com/
Elektrotek https://www.instagram.com/elektortek/
Etta HarBar https://www.instagram.com/ettaharbar/
Acid Solder Club https://www.instagram.com/acidsolderclub/
Intergalactic Cyber Trash Collective https://www.dbstudio.nl/event/expo-opening-wreckage/ Voltage Control Amsterdam https://www.instagram.com/voltagecontrolamsterdam/
Modulation Utrecht https://www.instagram.com/modulationutrecht/
Bye Bye Plastic Foundation https://www.instagram.com/byebyeplasticlife/
Clubtopia https://www.instagram.com/clubtopia
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Today we talk about the intersections of sustainability, health, data and sound in drusnoise’s techno composition ‘We are but dust and shadows’. The composition investigates how sonification of air pollution data can be used for modulation of sound, mirroring the ways that unseen particles in the air affect humans and the environment – usually in ways we do not notice or understand. The live experimental techno set features analog and digital modular synthesizers, samplers, FX pedals, iPad granular synths, and analog drum machines. Additional sounds and modulations come from public air pollution data, live sample and loop manipulation, field recordings, and scientific lectures.
Guest host JacqNoise (host of the Hijack show on RBL Radio) interviews drusnoise and we talk about sustainability and sound, data sonfication, improvisation, geek out on gear, and more.
Show notes
Links and references
Data artist: Lisa KnolleData sources: World Air Quality Index - Graz Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI), https://aqicn.org/city/graz/ | Das Serviceportal des Landes Steiermark, https://app.luis.steiermark.at/luft2/suche.phpEuropean Environment Agency report on Air quality in Europe https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2022Link to performance at Institut für Elektronische Musik und Akustik, Kunst Uni Graz 23.11.2023 https://youtu.be/CeQQ7NSPBC0Link to artist talk https://youtu.be/EMHHu3v6zIAJacqNoise https://jacqnoise.cargo.site/Hijack RBL https://rbl.media/programs/hijack/ Every 1st Saturday at 9pmGear mentioned
Eurorack modulesIntellijel MIDI – CV interface https://intellijel.com/shop/eurorack/1u/midi-1u/Mystic Circuits 3DVCA https://www.mysticcircuits.com/product/3dvcaWorng Electronics Soundstage https://www.worngelectronics.com/Elektron Octatrack https://www.elektron.se/en/octratrack-mkii-explorerElektron Analog Rytm https://www.elektron.se/en/analog-rytm-mkii-explorerBorderlands granular synth iPad app https://www.borderlands-granular.com/app/Eowave Quadrantid Swarm https://www.eowave.com/synthesizers/quadrantid-swarm/Bastl Instruments Softpop SP2 https://bastl-instruments.com/instruments/softpop2Error instruments Cloud Busting https://www.errorinstruments.com/a-74329068/bricky-format-standalone-box/cloudbusting-gold-xo-brickie/#descriptionAbleton Live https://www.ableton.com/en/Dust granular synth plugin https://www.soundmorph.com/product/49/dust -
When we talk about sustainability, what often comes to mind is climate change, CO2 emissions, wind turbines and solar panels. And of course these are important. But also important are questions of justice, power, and politics – who makes decisions? Who wins and who loses in a more sustainable world? And what are the promises and perils of technical solutions? Today I talk through some of these questions with Verónica Mota. Verónica Mota is a Sound Artist, Musician, Writer & Academic Researching Emancipation & Philosophy of Technology. Born in Mexico City and now based in Berlin, they explore sound as a fundamental inherent human experience and works conceptually researching the political and social impact sound art has. The episode includes an excerpt of their performance at sustain.fm x CTM Vorspiel in Berlin.
Links and references
Antonio Negri & Michael Hardt: "Empire" (2000).
Octavia E. Butler: "Parabel of the Sower" (1993).
Donna Haraway: "Simians, Cyborgs, and Women : The Reinvention of Nature" (2013).
Chela Sandoval: "Methodology of the Oppressed" (2000).
Isaac Asimov - Geschichten aus der Zukunft - Arte HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFKhheiCTKM
Veronica Mota music
https://www.instagram.com/777antigona/
https://linktr.ee/veronicamotaberlin
“NIHIL” https://camembertelectrique.bandcamp.com/album/nihil
UTOPIE & WIDERSTAND https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIgzulaEwa8/
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In the 1950s, Charles Keeling started measuring carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere at the Moana Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These measurements showed for the first time how the planet itself is breathing as forests in the Northern hemisphere grow leaves in the Spring absorbing CO2, then release it back into the atmosphere in the Fall when leaves drop off the trees. In this episode we talk about ‘Can you hear the Earth breathing?’ a composition and performance translates this climate data into sound, that brings to life these sustainability cycles and the natural (and un-natural) systems that lie beneath the production and absorption of carbon dioxide. The performance includes both sonified data representing CO2 concentration along with field recordings, modular synthesizers, samplers, biofeedback pads connected to plants, FX pedals, and looping feedback. We talk with Lisa the data artist on the project as well as Erbse, a movement artist collaborating on the project and discuss data sonification, translating sustainability concepts and data for audiences, creating space for improvisation, decentering the human, and more.
Performance videos
First solo performance at ACUD Macht Neu, Berlin School of Sound, Berlin 2022
First performance with Erbse at ACUD Macht Neu, Berlin Modular Society, Berlin April 2023
Second performance with Erbse at Liebig12, Berlin with sustain.berlin October 2023 https://youtu.be/r3zS9dDX-Gg?si=C-7zxidcaXmD4WgH
Links and references
Lisa Knolle - https://www.instagram.com/lisas_learnings/
Erbse - https://www.instagram.com/ochjoa/
‘Can you hear the Earth breathing?’ background https://www.drusnoise.com/can-you-hear-the-earth-breathing
Sustain.fm research https://www.sustain.fm/research
CO2 data used in ‘Can you hear the Earth breathing?’:
D. Keeling, S. C. Piper, R. B. Bacastow, M. Wahlen, T. P. Whorf, M. Heimann, and H. A. Meijer, “Exchanges of atmospheric CO2 and 13CO2 with the terrestrial biosphere and oceans from 1978 to 2000”. I. Global aspects, SIO Reference Series, No. 01-06, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, 88 pages, 2001
https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
More on data sonification
Å, Stjerna, Before Sound: Transversal Processes in Site-Specific Sonic Practice, University of Gothenburg. Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts, 2018.
Hermann, T., Hunt, A., and Neuhoff, J.G. (2011). The Sonification Handbook. Logos Publishing House, Berlin. Download free PDF at https://sonification.de/handbook/download/TheSonificationHandbook-HermannHuntNeuhoff-2011.pdf
Williams, S. (2022). Can you hear the Earth breathing? Translation and disclosure in sound art data sonification in Pauletto, S., Delle Monche, S., and Selfridge, R. 2nd Conference on the Sonification of Health and Environmental Data (SoniHED 2022, pp. 44-48). https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bwgn58sl6iggymksxo41u/Williams_SoniHED.pdf?rlkey=05ragquau26wova3ucn7vzqzy&dl=0
Kudos to Tim Wedde who created the py_midicsv library that we used https://github.com/timwedde/py_midicsv
New Materialism: https://newmaterialism.eu/almanac/a/agency.html
Alexis Shotwell: Against Purity. Living Ethically in Compromised Times (2016)
Jane Bennett: Vibrant Matter. A political ecology of things (2010)
Further reading:
Petra Kuppers: Eco Soma. Pain and Joy in Speculative Performance Encounters (2022)
Anna Tsing: The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins (2015)
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In this episode we dig into how sound and music can fit together with sustainability transitions – how can we change whole parts of our society to become more sustainable? This episode dives deep into how sound and music can represent, challenge, and inspire new imagination for the future through interviews and excerpts from the live performance.
