My return to Bogota after a year was slightly marred by the continuing effects of food poisoning... but after meeting up with David, Camilo and Sebastian on Thursday evening for a rehearsal of sorts with the quad speaker system we were to use on Friday, I was ready for the concert.
Then one of the artists involved in the evening's events starting acting as if he was the star of the show - I don't know, maybe he was, but I find overinflated egos unnecessary and distasteful in my line of work as an artist... it's such a small field we inhabit as 'experimental' musicians or sound artists, why assume you're much more important than someone else?
I actually find this behaviour unacceptable in life generally...
To top things off, one of the speakers that was working fine during the rehearsal and the soundcheck before the show started to sound like a bowl of rice krispies when I played a really rather subtle mid-low frequency sound through it! It took the edge off any dynamic I tried to build during my set, which is a shame. the spatialisation of the piece worked well though. Of all the sets, I thought David's was the best - nice textures and tones, good pace and development - well done sir!
Afterwards we hit a burger place - a test for my stomach and one that it passed!! :-)
Saturday I met with someone very special to me from my last visit to Bogota, Ms. Ana Gabriela Jimenez Devia. It was great to see her and catch up. Then a quiet night in watching the first Downey Jr/Law Sherlock Holmes movie, which I actually really enjoyed! Inspired by this, I bought a copy of 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' from a bookshop in La Candelaria to read on the next few flights I'll be taking!
Sunday i was collected by David and Lina to go for tapas and sangria, and then after visiting David's parents - lovely people! - I was dropped at Matik-Matik for Sunday evening's concert with Ana Maria Romano. Ricardo Arias and one of his students joined us and opened the evening, playing sound making objects and processing the sounds - and then Ana and I performed a crossover set, so I began solo, was then joined by Ana, and then she played solo. I have to say, even though i was performing as part of it, the piece was gorgeous! Ana and I have very different approaches to making music, but they worked together really well! I look forward to working with ehr again at some point in the future...
Monday i flew back to Medellin, was collected at the airport by my make up artist friend Juliana and we visited a couple of the pueblos around Medellin. Very nice to see what lies outside the city.
And Tuesday i visited Casa Tres Patios to discuss coming back to Medellin for another residency early next year...
So now, safely back at Campos de Gutierrez, I prepare for a presentation this evening at Plazarte and continue to compose the piece I have created here.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Campos de Gutierrez/Medellin - Bogota
after checking where i had got to in my last post, i can continue... so from the 2nd march until the 10th work commenced on a couple of possible new methods of playing sounds in a live context, or maybe an installation. the main idea is nothing new - sound being played through resonant objects - but i also tried to fabricate a directional speaker using a huge beer can that held 8 smaller cans, lots of corrugated cardboard and a dayton sound exciter (a speaker driver that allows you to play sound/music through a solid object or surface).
oh, and also on the 3rd we were invited to the space where we were going to exhibit for a party. this was a fundraiser for a group of artists who needed to raise money to go to costa rica, and it worked! they had quite a crowd and a really great band. needless to say, my britishness came to the fore and i was unable to dance at all, even when drinking heavily! the trouble is colombians are just born dnacers - i was unable to even try as i would have looked like the flailing uncle at a wedding even if i could dance, and those of you who know me know i can't!! ah well, i met some lovely people anyway!
back to the subject - sounds were gathered for a few days at campos de gutierrez, and also continuing experiments with the sound exciters, playing 'wooden' sounds through the body of an old guitar and 'metallic' sounds through another beer can, although this was to be replaced with an oil drum i had spied at plazarte (the exhibition space). the homework paid off - once i got to the space to install on the friday, everything went according to plan. the two objects and the house speaker system were all i needed to play a multi-channel piece on the opening night. i also had plans for a small brass bell and violin bow - more later...
on thursday a young artist called miguel izasa from medellin visited us (well, me) at campos de gutierrez, and for someone so young, he's really focused and knows exactly what he's doing with sound and recording... we spent the afternoon walking up the mountain to the village of santa elena, recording when possible, but mainly chatting about sound/music/art/etc.
saturday came around and things came together on that day, with some of the artists working through the night on their installations. and the main thing was that some grass that an artist called chris wolston had ordered turned up and was installed in one of the open squares in the space. the down side of this was, as the grass was being installed, the door remained open and someone got access to the building and stole my buddy alejandro's computer (with all of his residency work on it) and projector. :-(
an absolute shame and it really couldn't have happened to a nicer guy... after fruitless attempts at tracking down the thieves, and much soul searching, he went ahead with his show, which was great.
also on saturday, david velez from bogota came to perform. he decided to play in a duo with miguel and their performance was pretty great, although affected by loud chatter and the sub-standard speaker system. they were set up by the bar and i asked the bar to be closed during performances but there was no stopping it!
i practically begged the organisers to close the bar for my performance, knowing it was going to be a lot quieter than david and miguel's, and thankfully they did. there was still chatter from other parts of the building, but in the square, the audience were really great, respectful and attentive. it may have helped that i moved around the audience with various objects, crunching a huge dry leaf to being with and bowing the bell i mentioned earlier - i have tried methods like this before but have felt like i was going through the motions, and just replicating actions of friends such as john grzinich and max shentelev, but this time i really felt it was part of the piece and needed the interaction. i even had some guy dancing (expressively of course) throughout, which definitely added an extra dimension!
after the performances, etc. david and i, and luke and elizabeth clark, decided to head back to campos and get some sleep. we stopped on the way back for some food and left all our stuff (computers and all) in the taxi while we ate. i don't even know if i'd do that in bristol!! no sad ending to the story there though, all was good.
and the sunday was pretty much taken up with david and i walking around medellin (centro and poblada) eating and drinking beer! we went back to plazarte and they gave us even more beer! it was a great day!! and fresh trout for tea, bought from one of the neighbours on via santa elena.
monday i went back to plazarte once again to record the guitar and the oil drum resonating with the various sounds i used in the performance, with a view to recomposing the piece to include these, and then was met by a young lady i actually met on the previous friday, who was doing make up for a fashion shoot that was being held in plazarte too. we went to poblado for lunch (a chicken curry for me) and then took the metro to visit the metrocable, when i suddenly felt really faint, had really bad stomach cramps and apparently went completely green! we got off a few stops before our destination and i had to sit for around 15 minutes before i could even face standing up again. juliana suggested i went back to her place to lie down (try to remember, i'm sick here people!) so after another gruelling metro ride back to where she'd parked the car, she then drove us to her place, which is up out fo the city, and also in a high rise - amazing views!
thank you once again juliana for nursing me!
after not much sleep that night through constant visits to the smallest room, i felt a little better by morning. this ebbed and flowed all day, and although i managed to eat a little rice in the evening, still felt pretty rough.
and guess what? i had to fly to bogota on wednesday! so i took as many pills as i could - although feeling much better than on monday, i still knew i was sick - and the climb from campos de gutierrez to via santa elena had never been so hard! but i managed to make it, with alejandro's help, and he also assisted in getting a taxi to the airport.
the journey went without mishap(!) and i think i even slept a little although the journey is only 50 minutes or so.
in bogota i caught a taxi from the airport to the area i'm staying in, la candelaria, which is pretty touristy but also quite nice - and i had to help him find the place! i had to ask at another hostel - in my bad spanish - as he just didn't have a clue! anyway, i'm here now. i took it very easy yesterday, still feeling weak - lack of food mainly, but the altitude doesn't help.
today i took a wander around downtown, passed by some places i recognised from being here last year and ended up at el museo de arte del banco de la republica, which is an amazing building with some good artworks - no sound pieces though and i think some of the rooms would really benefit from it! then headed to the university for 5pm where i met up with david once again and camilo rojas to rehearse for our show tomorrow - and after 4 hours there moving speakers around etc. we did rehearse... it's going to be a good show tomorrow!
oh, and also on the 3rd we were invited to the space where we were going to exhibit for a party. this was a fundraiser for a group of artists who needed to raise money to go to costa rica, and it worked! they had quite a crowd and a really great band. needless to say, my britishness came to the fore and i was unable to dance at all, even when drinking heavily! the trouble is colombians are just born dnacers - i was unable to even try as i would have looked like the flailing uncle at a wedding even if i could dance, and those of you who know me know i can't!! ah well, i met some lovely people anyway!
back to the subject - sounds were gathered for a few days at campos de gutierrez, and also continuing experiments with the sound exciters, playing 'wooden' sounds through the body of an old guitar and 'metallic' sounds through another beer can, although this was to be replaced with an oil drum i had spied at plazarte (the exhibition space). the homework paid off - once i got to the space to install on the friday, everything went according to plan. the two objects and the house speaker system were all i needed to play a multi-channel piece on the opening night. i also had plans for a small brass bell and violin bow - more later...
on thursday a young artist called miguel izasa from medellin visited us (well, me) at campos de gutierrez, and for someone so young, he's really focused and knows exactly what he's doing with sound and recording... we spent the afternoon walking up the mountain to the village of santa elena, recording when possible, but mainly chatting about sound/music/art/etc.
saturday came around and things came together on that day, with some of the artists working through the night on their installations. and the main thing was that some grass that an artist called chris wolston had ordered turned up and was installed in one of the open squares in the space. the down side of this was, as the grass was being installed, the door remained open and someone got access to the building and stole my buddy alejandro's computer (with all of his residency work on it) and projector. :-(
an absolute shame and it really couldn't have happened to a nicer guy... after fruitless attempts at tracking down the thieves, and much soul searching, he went ahead with his show, which was great.
also on saturday, david velez from bogota came to perform. he decided to play in a duo with miguel and their performance was pretty great, although affected by loud chatter and the sub-standard speaker system. they were set up by the bar and i asked the bar to be closed during performances but there was no stopping it!
i practically begged the organisers to close the bar for my performance, knowing it was going to be a lot quieter than david and miguel's, and thankfully they did. there was still chatter from other parts of the building, but in the square, the audience were really great, respectful and attentive. it may have helped that i moved around the audience with various objects, crunching a huge dry leaf to being with and bowing the bell i mentioned earlier - i have tried methods like this before but have felt like i was going through the motions, and just replicating actions of friends such as john grzinich and max shentelev, but this time i really felt it was part of the piece and needed the interaction. i even had some guy dancing (expressively of course) throughout, which definitely added an extra dimension!
after the performances, etc. david and i, and luke and elizabeth clark, decided to head back to campos and get some sleep. we stopped on the way back for some food and left all our stuff (computers and all) in the taxi while we ate. i don't even know if i'd do that in bristol!! no sad ending to the story there though, all was good.
and the sunday was pretty much taken up with david and i walking around medellin (centro and poblada) eating and drinking beer! we went back to plazarte and they gave us even more beer! it was a great day!! and fresh trout for tea, bought from one of the neighbours on via santa elena.
monday i went back to plazarte once again to record the guitar and the oil drum resonating with the various sounds i used in the performance, with a view to recomposing the piece to include these, and then was met by a young lady i actually met on the previous friday, who was doing make up for a fashion shoot that was being held in plazarte too. we went to poblado for lunch (a chicken curry for me) and then took the metro to visit the metrocable, when i suddenly felt really faint, had really bad stomach cramps and apparently went completely green! we got off a few stops before our destination and i had to sit for around 15 minutes before i could even face standing up again. juliana suggested i went back to her place to lie down (try to remember, i'm sick here people!) so after another gruelling metro ride back to where she'd parked the car, she then drove us to her place, which is up out fo the city, and also in a high rise - amazing views!
thank you once again juliana for nursing me!
after not much sleep that night through constant visits to the smallest room, i felt a little better by morning. this ebbed and flowed all day, and although i managed to eat a little rice in the evening, still felt pretty rough.
and guess what? i had to fly to bogota on wednesday! so i took as many pills as i could - although feeling much better than on monday, i still knew i was sick - and the climb from campos de gutierrez to via santa elena had never been so hard! but i managed to make it, with alejandro's help, and he also assisted in getting a taxi to the airport.
the journey went without mishap(!) and i think i even slept a little although the journey is only 50 minutes or so.
in bogota i caught a taxi from the airport to the area i'm staying in, la candelaria, which is pretty touristy but also quite nice - and i had to help him find the place! i had to ask at another hostel - in my bad spanish - as he just didn't have a clue! anyway, i'm here now. i took it very easy yesterday, still feeling weak - lack of food mainly, but the altitude doesn't help.
today i took a wander around downtown, passed by some places i recognised from being here last year and ended up at el museo de arte del banco de la republica, which is an amazing building with some good artworks - no sound pieces though and i think some of the rooms would really benefit from it! then headed to the university for 5pm where i met up with david once again and camilo rojas to rehearse for our show tomorrow - and after 4 hours there moving speakers around etc. we did rehearse... it's going to be a good show tomorrow!
Friday, 2 March 2012
oaxaca - mexico city - medellin
the show at cafe central was a little disappointing to be honest - and i should have known it would be really. i had to play from the stage so had no idea how the piece sounded in the room - low frequencies caused the whole stage to shake so i actually thought i was playing louder than i probably was - lesson learned once again. and half the audience where attentive while the other half chatted away, which i kind of expected but always distracts me... anyway, yadira and the rest of the staff at cafe central were great - really friendly and always ready to get me yet another complementary drink (after performing of course!) and i did get a little bit of cash for my troubles.
after going for more excellent street food with john jairo, gabriela (my hosts), federico and alejandra i headed back to the cafe alone to grab a couple more drinks, made friends with a norwegian guy and two young ladies from tijuana/san diego and we stayed out drinking until 6am! then i got lost trying to find my way back to jj and gabi's place! suddenly, a little drunk and more than a little worried, my spanish actually came back to me and i was able to ask a passer by for help in getting back to the zocalo, where i could navigate from - it turned out i had walked in completely the opposite direction!!
so after getting back around 7am and grabbing 3 hours sleep, my hosts took me for breakfast and then to monte alban, which although is a tourist attraction, is a great way to spend 3 hours walking around!
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/oaxaca-monte-alban.htm
another day of hanging out in oaxaca and then i headed back to mexico city by bus - the ride is one of the most beautiful i have done. half the 6 hour journey takes you up over the mountain range north of oaxaca.
so after more exploring of mexico city and meeting with marco morales at muac once more for lunch and to collect some cd's and dvd's of mine that my parents sent me and took 5 weeks to arrive, i meet up with dario bernal-villegas, an improvising drummer based in mexico city, for mezcal, beer and food - an honour to meet you dario!
i got to medellin, colombia yesterday after having to get up @ 4am. then amazingly had just enough mexican pesos to pay for the two nights at the hotel i was in and the taxi to the airport! dead jammy.
the flight took me to san jose in costa rica - that country looks amazing from the air - i may have to go an explore if/when my spanish improves...
then breezed baggage collection and immigration, to then sit in arrivals for over an hour waiting for someone to come get me...
ah well, at least i'm here now. internet access will be severely limited as we all (6 of us at the last count) are sharing a mobile internet dongle - the type you plug into your computer using a usb port.
the other artists seem ok - i have made good friends with a spanish painter whose english is only marginally better than my spanish! i think we'll be teaching each other for the month i'm here!
it turns out i'm the old guy here - everyone else is late 20's to early 30's but they're ok... another sound artist and his wife from uk (luke and elizabeth), an artist called bjork from iceland (not THE bjork...), a guy from the states doing ceramics called chris, a french video artist - oralee (probably spelt that wrong!) - who was actually born and adopted in colombia by french parents and the guy who is co-ordinating the residency, andres. hmm, i thought there were more - maybe i'm forgetting someone...
anyway, the house is incredible - there is a link on my facebook page but it doesn't do the place justice! i'm sitting on the verenda, looking out over trees and fields and i can see medellin in the distance - it's around a 30 minute bus ride into town - i went with alejandro, the spanish artist, yesterday to help him shop for the evening meal - that was an experience!! the driver doesn't take into consideration the standing passengers when negotiating a winding mountain road, believe me!
so today i will be recording, and seeing the space we will be presenting work in on the 10th... updates when i can! :-)
after going for more excellent street food with john jairo, gabriela (my hosts), federico and alejandra i headed back to the cafe alone to grab a couple more drinks, made friends with a norwegian guy and two young ladies from tijuana/san diego and we stayed out drinking until 6am! then i got lost trying to find my way back to jj and gabi's place! suddenly, a little drunk and more than a little worried, my spanish actually came back to me and i was able to ask a passer by for help in getting back to the zocalo, where i could navigate from - it turned out i had walked in completely the opposite direction!!
so after getting back around 7am and grabbing 3 hours sleep, my hosts took me for breakfast and then to monte alban, which although is a tourist attraction, is a great way to spend 3 hours walking around!
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/oaxaca-monte-alban.htm
another day of hanging out in oaxaca and then i headed back to mexico city by bus - the ride is one of the most beautiful i have done. half the 6 hour journey takes you up over the mountain range north of oaxaca.
so after more exploring of mexico city and meeting with marco morales at muac once more for lunch and to collect some cd's and dvd's of mine that my parents sent me and took 5 weeks to arrive, i meet up with dario bernal-villegas, an improvising drummer based in mexico city, for mezcal, beer and food - an honour to meet you dario!
i got to medellin, colombia yesterday after having to get up @ 4am. then amazingly had just enough mexican pesos to pay for the two nights at the hotel i was in and the taxi to the airport! dead jammy.
the flight took me to san jose in costa rica - that country looks amazing from the air - i may have to go an explore if/when my spanish improves...
then breezed baggage collection and immigration, to then sit in arrivals for over an hour waiting for someone to come get me...
ah well, at least i'm here now. internet access will be severely limited as we all (6 of us at the last count) are sharing a mobile internet dongle - the type you plug into your computer using a usb port.
the other artists seem ok - i have made good friends with a spanish painter whose english is only marginally better than my spanish! i think we'll be teaching each other for the month i'm here!
it turns out i'm the old guy here - everyone else is late 20's to early 30's but they're ok... another sound artist and his wife from uk (luke and elizabeth), an artist called bjork from iceland (not THE bjork...), a guy from the states doing ceramics called chris, a french video artist - oralee (probably spelt that wrong!) - who was actually born and adopted in colombia by french parents and the guy who is co-ordinating the residency, andres. hmm, i thought there were more - maybe i'm forgetting someone...
anyway, the house is incredible - there is a link on my facebook page but it doesn't do the place justice! i'm sitting on the verenda, looking out over trees and fields and i can see medellin in the distance - it's around a 30 minute bus ride into town - i went with alejandro, the spanish artist, yesterday to help him shop for the evening meal - that was an experience!! the driver doesn't take into consideration the standing passengers when negotiating a winding mountain road, believe me!
so today i will be recording, and seeing the space we will be presenting work in on the 10th... updates when i can! :-)
Friday, 24 February 2012
Morelia - Guadalajara - Oaxaca
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...
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...
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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