wow, it's been absolutely ages since i posted!
the last thing i wrote about was being in rainy morelia. well, from there i headed to guadalajara, where i was met at the bus station by Michael Petch, the son of Maggie Royle, an artist in Bristol i have know for years. knowing i hadn't done any laundry for a while, he arrived with a sign saying 'Mr Stinky' - nice.
a camper van ride later and we were in his incredible dwellings in downtown guadalajara, where he and his brother David were gearing up for a film shoot the following week. straight away i was taken to try 'tortas ahogadas', an amazing drowned and spicy port sandwich, and then a short guided tour around downtown, where i was lucky enough to catch some mariachi action!
we then visited the roof of one of the tallest buildings nearby, to check it as a location for filming. from there i had an amazing view of gdl and saw how vast it is!!
i was there a couple of days before the show at Laboratorio Sensorial so spent the time exploring, recording, hanging out checking more locations (mainly bars!) and also spending time with Yair Lopez, one of the organisers of LS, and now a good friend.
i did manage to get some nice recordings which i used in the piece i played at the concert on the 17th feb, alongside Yair and Israel Martinez, an artist i'd met in london back in 2007. it was a great night, well attended - even the film crew came along, as did my next hosts Marie-Fred Dupree and her hubby Cuauhtemoc.
from that night i stayed with them in the very split Santa Ana Tepetitlan, Zapopan. i say split as where they live, if you walk to the left you are in one of the poorest looking villages i have visited in mexico, but if you walk left there is a myriad of new apartment buildings, manicured lawns and fences and gates with guards everywhere!
on the 18th i did head back downtown for an informal chat about my work at LS, alongside Yair and Israel once again, and then we visited a public square where Yair had managed to commandeer the PA system and was playing field recording based work to the public for the whole day!
the rest of the time was spent just hanging out, relaxing, walking, eating more great food and generally relaxing, although my final day in GDL was a little fraught, waiting for a courier delivery that didn't arrive until i had left for downtown once again (to record some sounds for the film using contact mic's for an added dimension) and then being told that UPS are going to charge me 1500 mexican pesos (around £75) to receive a delivery of my own cd's. to top this off, they then didn't deliver as Marie-Fred didn't have that much cash, and now won't be delivered until monday. i flew to Oaxaca today as i had booked the flight, and have my final show in mexico tomorrow night, at the very wonderful Cafe Central...
Friday, 24 February 2012
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Mexico City - Valle de Bravo - Morelia
and it's this morning that i realise i have not updated the journal side of things here for a couple of weeks!!
i arrived in mexico city on the 31st january, and was kindly collected by a representative of MUAC. it was right then that i realised what little spanish has actually managed to remain in my head after listening to michel thomas and his patronising delivery instantly dissipates when faced with either trying to speak to someone, or better yet when they speak to me!! great discovery!
so after trying to communicate with the driver for a while we both decided to admit defeat and we travelled very slowly though the mexico city traffic, delivering me at hotel milan. for anyone visiting mexico city i can highly recommend the hotel. it's reasonably priced and has comfy beds.
on the 1st i travelled by metrobus to the university city of UNAM, which is massive. and through my not being told that there is an extra stop that is spitting distance from MUAC, i got off at the main university terminal. this was a mistake - as i said, the campus is massive... i walked through what i discovered was the engineering department, which has large open areas of park and around ten large buildings, and then decided i was not going to find the museum this way. then i tried to use the global sim card i purchased specifically to use on my journey, to find that outgoing calls were barred!! no way of contacting the museum, or finding out how to get there from where i was!!
walking back to the metrobus stop i noticed a large group of people waiting for the 'pumabus' - it turned out this collection of 10 bus routes service the whole campus, and wouldn't you know it, there was one that could take me to MUAC. thankfully there are a number of mexicans that can speak enough english to take pity on me and my poor spanish and help me out....
as i visited the museum and auditorium, which is amazing by the way - similar in size to the auditorium at the arnolfini in bristol, and with the same collapsible tiered seating arrangement - i decided to come back the next day (2nd feb) to make some recordings to use in the performance. while i was at MUAC i got lunch at one of the restaurants on site, and after selling some dollars as i hadn't brought enough cash, i had an amazing tortilla soup, which i'll come back to....
so the 2nd was spent in the museum recording various aspects of the site, and also hanging out with the sound engineer for MUAC, Gil. he gave me a guided tour around the site, and then we walked around a volcanic park to a crazy crater that is also volcanic, but has been ringed with huge triangular concrete obelisks that make it look very sci-fi... and then it rained.
i had been in touch with a musician in mexico city, Amede Barez, who was possibly going to meet me at MUAC on the 2nd, but hadn't made it, so we arranged to meet on the 3rd. he took me on a short tour around the centre of mexico city, showing me how to use the metro (subway, not bus - confusing though...), market places, the parliament square, the square in which Francisco Lopez had a concert a few years ago, an exhibition of 'el santo' which was so funny - he was a character!
and then we went for tacos - first up was tongue, and then he got me to try brain - and it was really good! i was kind of squeamish, and if you actually think about what you're eating while chowing down, it does turn the stomach slightly, but it was tasty, and at least they use all parts of the animal!!
Amede then took me to a cantina, which after a search up and down the street we were on, turned out to be two doors away of the taco stand - there you buy a beer, and then you get a plate of food - for free! we had pork in a spicy red sauce and goat served with a kind of broth that uses the juices from the cooking process - again all good!
on the day of the concert (4th feb) i got to the auditorium around 12:30 as i wanted to compose my piece in situ using purely the recordings i had gathered through this year's travels. after around 3 hours i had a piece i was happy with, presented in 4 channels. Gil then took me to a square nearby where we got more amazing food - i haven't had bad food since being in mexico i think - apart from the quesadillas in the hotel - avoid!
the concert itself was attended by only a few people, around ten, maybe a couple more, but they were very respectful and appreciative, and the piece sounded amazing (even though i say so myself!).
after the concert i went back to the hotel, dropped off my gear, and then met up with Gil once again to drink mezcal and then was invited to a party at his sister's place which was very close by and full of very nice people...
on the 5th i took a bus to valle de bravo, where i was invited to stay by a sound artist i have been in contact with over the years, Sol Rezza, and her husband Daniel Ivan. i managed to catch the right bus, after managing to find the right terminal, and was there in just over two hours. and there was no-one to meet me. and then i found that i couldn't call anyone once again. after sitting trying to work out what to do for around 30 minutes, Daniel turned up - i was so glad to see him! it turned out Sol was working over the weekend running workshops, so we dropped off my luggage, had even tastier tacos, and walked a little around valle de bravo - and then it rained. again. it seems the british weather is following me around the world!!! apparently it's very unusual to rain so much this time of year.
i spent around 5 days with Daniel and Sol, hanging out, recording, drinking tequila... and they were the perfect hosts. Daniel cooked most nights, which was fantastic, and then Sol made her speciality - tortilla soup! as mentioned earlier, i'd had a great one at MUAC, but Sol's is incredible - and she uses pork rinds (as in pork scratching for you Brits out there) in it which work really well.
on the 9th i took a bus to toluca, in which i nearly lost my luggage, and my head, as the driver began to drive away while i was fishing it out of the hold! from toluca i got a bus to morelia, which i had been told was first class, but wow! the comfiest bus i think i have ever been on - and they give you food and drink for the journey!! i arrived remarkably fresh and was brought straight to the offices of CMMAS where i have the use of the residency room until the 13th, plus food vouchers for 4 days.
most of the 10th was taken up with preparing for the concert in the evening, but i did manage to skype both my parents and my friends kate and rachel - great to chat and catch up. as i mentioned, the british weather is following me, so for the whole day yesterday it was grey and raining - which stopped a number of people coming to the concert, but again the people who did make it seemed to really enjoy it.
and then tacos once again (but believe me i'm not complaining!) with Francisco and Silvana, the co-ordinators at CMMAS, plus some great tequila which you drink with a spicy tomato drink - very good! kind of like a two-part bloddy mary.
today it's still grey but seems to have stopped raining, so i'll catch up with some admin and then go for a long walk - morelia is beautiful and i have only seen a little of it so far...
i arrived in mexico city on the 31st january, and was kindly collected by a representative of MUAC. it was right then that i realised what little spanish has actually managed to remain in my head after listening to michel thomas and his patronising delivery instantly dissipates when faced with either trying to speak to someone, or better yet when they speak to me!! great discovery!
so after trying to communicate with the driver for a while we both decided to admit defeat and we travelled very slowly though the mexico city traffic, delivering me at hotel milan. for anyone visiting mexico city i can highly recommend the hotel. it's reasonably priced and has comfy beds.
on the 1st i travelled by metrobus to the university city of UNAM, which is massive. and through my not being told that there is an extra stop that is spitting distance from MUAC, i got off at the main university terminal. this was a mistake - as i said, the campus is massive... i walked through what i discovered was the engineering department, which has large open areas of park and around ten large buildings, and then decided i was not going to find the museum this way. then i tried to use the global sim card i purchased specifically to use on my journey, to find that outgoing calls were barred!! no way of contacting the museum, or finding out how to get there from where i was!!
walking back to the metrobus stop i noticed a large group of people waiting for the 'pumabus' - it turned out this collection of 10 bus routes service the whole campus, and wouldn't you know it, there was one that could take me to MUAC. thankfully there are a number of mexicans that can speak enough english to take pity on me and my poor spanish and help me out....
as i visited the museum and auditorium, which is amazing by the way - similar in size to the auditorium at the arnolfini in bristol, and with the same collapsible tiered seating arrangement - i decided to come back the next day (2nd feb) to make some recordings to use in the performance. while i was at MUAC i got lunch at one of the restaurants on site, and after selling some dollars as i hadn't brought enough cash, i had an amazing tortilla soup, which i'll come back to....
so the 2nd was spent in the museum recording various aspects of the site, and also hanging out with the sound engineer for MUAC, Gil. he gave me a guided tour around the site, and then we walked around a volcanic park to a crazy crater that is also volcanic, but has been ringed with huge triangular concrete obelisks that make it look very sci-fi... and then it rained.
i had been in touch with a musician in mexico city, Amede Barez, who was possibly going to meet me at MUAC on the 2nd, but hadn't made it, so we arranged to meet on the 3rd. he took me on a short tour around the centre of mexico city, showing me how to use the metro (subway, not bus - confusing though...), market places, the parliament square, the square in which Francisco Lopez had a concert a few years ago, an exhibition of 'el santo' which was so funny - he was a character!
and then we went for tacos - first up was tongue, and then he got me to try brain - and it was really good! i was kind of squeamish, and if you actually think about what you're eating while chowing down, it does turn the stomach slightly, but it was tasty, and at least they use all parts of the animal!!
Amede then took me to a cantina, which after a search up and down the street we were on, turned out to be two doors away of the taco stand - there you buy a beer, and then you get a plate of food - for free! we had pork in a spicy red sauce and goat served with a kind of broth that uses the juices from the cooking process - again all good!
on the day of the concert (4th feb) i got to the auditorium around 12:30 as i wanted to compose my piece in situ using purely the recordings i had gathered through this year's travels. after around 3 hours i had a piece i was happy with, presented in 4 channels. Gil then took me to a square nearby where we got more amazing food - i haven't had bad food since being in mexico i think - apart from the quesadillas in the hotel - avoid!
the concert itself was attended by only a few people, around ten, maybe a couple more, but they were very respectful and appreciative, and the piece sounded amazing (even though i say so myself!).
after the concert i went back to the hotel, dropped off my gear, and then met up with Gil once again to drink mezcal and then was invited to a party at his sister's place which was very close by and full of very nice people...
on the 5th i took a bus to valle de bravo, where i was invited to stay by a sound artist i have been in contact with over the years, Sol Rezza, and her husband Daniel Ivan. i managed to catch the right bus, after managing to find the right terminal, and was there in just over two hours. and there was no-one to meet me. and then i found that i couldn't call anyone once again. after sitting trying to work out what to do for around 30 minutes, Daniel turned up - i was so glad to see him! it turned out Sol was working over the weekend running workshops, so we dropped off my luggage, had even tastier tacos, and walked a little around valle de bravo - and then it rained. again. it seems the british weather is following me around the world!!! apparently it's very unusual to rain so much this time of year.
i spent around 5 days with Daniel and Sol, hanging out, recording, drinking tequila... and they were the perfect hosts. Daniel cooked most nights, which was fantastic, and then Sol made her speciality - tortilla soup! as mentioned earlier, i'd had a great one at MUAC, but Sol's is incredible - and she uses pork rinds (as in pork scratching for you Brits out there) in it which work really well.
on the 9th i took a bus to toluca, in which i nearly lost my luggage, and my head, as the driver began to drive away while i was fishing it out of the hold! from toluca i got a bus to morelia, which i had been told was first class, but wow! the comfiest bus i think i have ever been on - and they give you food and drink for the journey!! i arrived remarkably fresh and was brought straight to the offices of CMMAS where i have the use of the residency room until the 13th, plus food vouchers for 4 days.
most of the 10th was taken up with preparing for the concert in the evening, but i did manage to skype both my parents and my friends kate and rachel - great to chat and catch up. as i mentioned, the british weather is following me, so for the whole day yesterday it was grey and raining - which stopped a number of people coming to the concert, but again the people who did make it seemed to really enjoy it.
and then tacos once again (but believe me i'm not complaining!) with Francisco and Silvana, the co-ordinators at CMMAS, plus some great tequila which you drink with a spicy tomato drink - very good! kind of like a two-part bloddy mary.
today it's still grey but seems to have stopped raining, so i'll catch up with some admin and then go for a long walk - morelia is beautiful and i have only seen a little of it so far...
Friday, 10 February 2012
Concierto: Simon Whetham (Reino Unido)
10 de febrero del 2012
Fecha: 10 de febrero de 2012
Lugar: Auditorio del CMMAS
Entrada Libre
El compositor Simon Whetham presentará en este concierto dos de sus trabajos mas recientes: "Hydro-Static" y "In a State of Flux...".
01. Hidrostática (Hydro-Static)
La primera será una nueva versión de la obra en 4 canales que presentó como en el Festival de Música de la Estación de Bombeo de la calle McNeill, en Shreveport, Louisiana, Estados Unidos, en octubre de 2011. La obra está compuesta a partir de grabaciones de campo, las transmisiones de radio y acciones performativas capturadas en la estación de bombeo durante una semana de investigaciones sonoras. Una nueva versión de este trabajo será publicada en 2012 por el sello alemán Auf Abwegen.
02. En un estado de flujo ... (In a state of flux.....)
La segunda obra comenzó con las grabaciones captadas con la gira de la exhibición 'Active crossover', a lo largo de 2011, la cual continuará hasta el año 2012 con las grabaciones que se añaden desde lugares nuevos que Whetham visita en sus viajes alrededor del mundo. Las grabaciones incluyen variadas fuentes de sonido originadas por señales de radio y discos de vinilo, a través de grabaciones de campo y micrófonos de contacto, siempre con el objetivo de mostrar las resonancias sonoras de un espacio.
Simon Whetham ha capturado y la compuesto sonido principalmente con grabaciones de campo desde que participó en un viaje de investigación a Islandia en 2005. Desde entonces ha ido ganando un perfil cada vez mayor: mostrando en Islandia, la grabación en la selva amazónica de Brasil, actuando en gran número de festivales y eventos, tanto nacionales como internacionales. En particular Experimental Intermedia en Nueva York y Madeiradig 2010. Ha publicado su trabajo en los sellos Crónica, Unfathomless, Visión blanco y negro, ojos de dragón, SiRiDisc, Con V-, Oiseaux Trente, 1000fussler, Misterio del Mar, Entreacto, de instalación, Lens y Gruenrekorder. Ha recibido un encargo de Creative Labs para construir una instalación de sonido surround para demostrar su equipo y el software, encargado por el pintor Kathryn Thomas para componer una banda sonora envolvente para su serie de exposiciones llamada "años luz" . Su producción ha sido trasmitida por Resonancia, Overlap.org y Kunst Radio Austria, y participó en dos residencias en el contenedor de arte en Tallinn, Estonia.
Simon tiene su sede en Bristol, Reino Unido, donde ha vivido de manera intermitente durante 14 años.
http://www.simonwhetham.co.uk/
http://www.cmmas.org/cmmas_eventos.php?lan=es&id=580
more updates to follow... s
10 de febrero del 2012
Fecha: 10 de febrero de 2012
Lugar: Auditorio del CMMAS
Entrada Libre
El compositor Simon Whetham presentará en este concierto dos de sus trabajos mas recientes: "Hydro-Static" y "In a State of Flux...".
01. Hidrostática (Hydro-Static)
La primera será una nueva versión de la obra en 4 canales que presentó como en el Festival de Música de la Estación de Bombeo de la calle McNeill, en Shreveport, Louisiana, Estados Unidos, en octubre de 2011. La obra está compuesta a partir de grabaciones de campo, las transmisiones de radio y acciones performativas capturadas en la estación de bombeo durante una semana de investigaciones sonoras. Una nueva versión de este trabajo será publicada en 2012 por el sello alemán Auf Abwegen.
02. En un estado de flujo ... (In a state of flux.....)
La segunda obra comenzó con las grabaciones captadas con la gira de la exhibición 'Active crossover', a lo largo de 2011, la cual continuará hasta el año 2012 con las grabaciones que se añaden desde lugares nuevos que Whetham visita en sus viajes alrededor del mundo. Las grabaciones incluyen variadas fuentes de sonido originadas por señales de radio y discos de vinilo, a través de grabaciones de campo y micrófonos de contacto, siempre con el objetivo de mostrar las resonancias sonoras de un espacio.
Simon Whetham ha capturado y la compuesto sonido principalmente con grabaciones de campo desde que participó en un viaje de investigación a Islandia en 2005. Desde entonces ha ido ganando un perfil cada vez mayor: mostrando en Islandia, la grabación en la selva amazónica de Brasil, actuando en gran número de festivales y eventos, tanto nacionales como internacionales. En particular Experimental Intermedia en Nueva York y Madeiradig 2010. Ha publicado su trabajo en los sellos Crónica, Unfathomless, Visión blanco y negro, ojos de dragón, SiRiDisc, Con V-, Oiseaux Trente, 1000fussler, Misterio del Mar, Entreacto, de instalación, Lens y Gruenrekorder. Ha recibido un encargo de Creative Labs para construir una instalación de sonido surround para demostrar su equipo y el software, encargado por el pintor Kathryn Thomas para componer una banda sonora envolvente para su serie de exposiciones llamada "años luz" . Su producción ha sido trasmitida por Resonancia, Overlap.org y Kunst Radio Austria, y participó en dos residencias en el contenedor de arte en Tallinn, Estonia.
Simon tiene su sede en Bristol, Reino Unido, donde ha vivido de manera intermitente durante 14 años.
http://www.simonwhetham.co.uk/
http://www.cmmas.org/cmmas_eventos.php?lan=es&id=580
more updates to follow... s
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
PROGRAMA INDEXMUAC
PROGRAMA INDEXMUAC
Proyectos de música contemporánea
Simon Whetham
Sábado 4 de febrero, 18:00 hrs.
Whetham utiliza diferentes micrófonos capturando sonidos que escapan a nuestros oídos; así como transmisiones de radio y de objetos amplificados.
Auditorio
Costo: $100.00 | descuentos en taquilla
Abono: $200.00 (válido para cinco conciertos)
Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo
http://www.muac.unam.mx/ | +52 (55) 5622 6972
Centro Cultural Universitario
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