Electronic Music Studies Network Conference (with Alok Nayak)

Milapfest and Liverpool Hope University presented a major outcome of their partnership work last week in an important conference presented by the Electronic Music Studies (EMS) Network at Lisbon, Portugal - See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

Dr Manuella Blackburn (Lecturer, Hope University) and Alok Nayak (Director of Development, Milapfest) gave  a co-authored conference paper entitled ‘Performer as sound source: Interactions and Mediations in the studio and in the field.’ - See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

Milapfest and Liverpool Hope University presented a major outcome of their partnership work last week in an important conference presented by the Electronic Music Studies (EMS) Network at Lisbon, Portugal - See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

Dr Manuella Blackburn (Lecturer, Hope University) and Alok Nayak (Director of Development, Milapfest) gave  a co-authored conference paper entitled ‘Performer as sound source: Interactions and Mediations in the studio and in the field.’ - See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

On 19th June I presented a paper at the Electronic Music Studies Network Conference about the AHRC collaborative project with Milapfest. Alok Nayak (director of development) joined me in Lisbon at Culturegest to deliver the research developments.

The paper focused on issues of sound collection from Indian musical instruments and how these materials are used creatively in compositional work. The paper presented several research questions: what are the optimum conditions for a successful recording session? How prescriptive should one be as a composer when dealing with a performer, and how does one navigate the same situation cross-culturally with foreign instruments where unfamiliar performance traditions and language barries exist?

Milapfest and Liverpool Hope University presented a major outcome of their partnership work last week in an important conference presented by the Electronic Music Studies (EMS) Network at Lisbon, Portugal.
Dr Manuella Blackburn (Lecturer, Hope University) and Alok Nayak (Director of Development, Milapfest) gave  a co-authored conference paper entitled ‘Performer as sound source: Interactions and Mediations in the studio and in the field.’
The paper focused on the issues of sound collection from Indian musical instruments, and how these materials are used creatively in new compositions. The paper presented several research questions: what are the optimum conditions for a successful recording session? How prescriptive one should be as a composer? And how does one navigate the same situation cross-culturally with foreign and ethnic instruments where unfamiliar performance practice traditions and language barriers may exist?
- See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

Milapfest and Liverpool Hope University presented a major outcome of their partnership work last week in an important conference presented by the Electronic Music Studies (EMS) Network at Lisbon, Portugal.
Dr Manuella Blackburn (Lecturer, Hope University) and Alok Nayak (Director of Development, Milapfest) gave  a co-authored conference paper entitled ‘Performer as sound source: Interactions and Mediations in the studio and in the field.’
The paper focused on the issues of sound collection from Indian musical instruments, and how these materials are used creatively in new compositions. The paper presented several research questions: what are the optimum conditions for a successful recording session? How prescriptive one should be as a composer? And how does one navigate the same situation cross-culturally with foreign and ethnic instruments where unfamiliar performance practice traditions and language barriers may exist?
- See more at: http://www.milapfest.com/news/milapfest-and-liverpool-hope-university-at-the-ems-conference-lisbon/#sthash.s7W8hZ6p.dpuf

 

 

Performance of New shruti for Sarod and electronics at the Capstone Theatre, Liverpool

Manuella Blackburn & Rajeeb Chakraborty

Rajeeb Chakraborty: sarod

New piece for Sarod and tape

New mixed piece for Sarod and tape - New Shruti

In two parts:
http://www.manuella.co.uk/Sarod_part1.mp3

http://www.manuella.co.uk/Sarod_part2.mp3

The work will be premiered on Saturday 27th April at the Capstone Theatre, Liverpool Hope University as part of Milapfest's Music for the Mind and Soul concert (starting at 1pm), in a post-concert presentation event from 3pm.

Interview with Rajeeb Chakraborty

Interview with Dr Rajeeb Chakraborty  (performer for my mixed work for sarod and tape)

1.    Can you talk about your approach to learning the piece?

It was quite interesting. Actually what happened when I heard the first bit I wasn’t getting the entire idea. I listened to your previous CD and your approach was quite different from that one, because there you were using mostly ambient sounds. I have worked with ambient sounds before, but this one was very special because you used different instruments and their tones and you did some processing of those, and actually whatever was being playing by different ethnic instruments and on top of that the challenge was to fix the scale. Then when I kept listening to it time and again I could start relating to it a much better way with my sarod with your track. The other challenging part was that there was no constant rhythm.  To develop it when you are playing ad lib kind of thing like alaps (long notes) it was not only that as there were climatic points so I had to be very careful with those when I come exactly at the same point with you at those points. It was quite a learning process actually playing for this.

2.    Is this a completely new experience?

Absolutely! This was a new experience because what I was saying – previously I have worked with ambient sounds but not sounds which have been created with different kinds of musical instruments or those that have been processed.  So this is a new experience certainly.

3.    Now that you have heard and played the piece, can you comment on the process of initially recording you (back in January)? Can you comment on how the recording stage has influenced the resulting work?

It helped you in structuring the music. But what I found that because it was bits and pieces taken from different areas [of the recording session] I would have been happy to do it again or re-record it, as sometimes we don’t play one solid note eg. Re Ga – not like that. I wanted to give some kind of Indian embellishments along with your track – it would give it another dimension to it [an added musicality]. Playing it in an Indian way.

4.    Can you hear how your sound material has been re-worked into this new composition?

Yes – these are like the spices and ingredients – but you did the cooking. I didn’t know why you were recording me [in January] to be frank because I didn’t hear any of your music [previously] I didn’t know what kind of complementing I would be doing on my instrument to your track. Once it was done I kept listening to it from yesterday and it made more sense, and that’s why I wanted to change a couple of things and also keep some things which I thought had been intelligently done. You had a little bit of ingredients; you didn’t have a lot of material, like 3-4 hours of sarod playing, then you could have just made it like you wanted. Now I have more clues about it – it is a new experience. We were totally unknown to each other – I didn’t know much about your music.

5.    I see the project with you as a collaborative process. Was it clear what your contribution would be in the recording stage and in the forthcoming performing stage?

In the performance the easy part about Indian musicians, or what is difficult for other musicians, is if there is a fixed part they can play it exactly, but here there is a problem as there is no particular tempo or rhythm. There is just a guideline [waveform] and no one is conducting. To remember something of 13 minutes is next to impossible because every time we play maybe its the same thing but in a different way. So the theme is the same, topic is the same, but content and stylization is different every time, so once it is formulated it is best to stick to how you are progressing with the music so I can come as close as possible so it will make more sense then we are talking in the same line.

6.    Has the process of collaboration been revelatory? Have you learnt anything from this project?

Certainly! The approach of the music is so very different – you keep learning. As we were discussing, every day doing the same mundane thing for creative people they become a bit sad about that. It is always challenging but at the same time you discover yourself in a new light, in a new idiom of music and you grow with that and grow a taste for it. Later on it tells you what to do. It has been a learning curve. Getting exposed to a completely new style and genre – I love it. You keep an impression of this in your mind.

7.    Can you comment on the aspect of working with technology in this piece?

I am a tech savvy person. As a composer I need to know a little bit as often it is not possible to hire a recordist or in a quite a few sessions we record by ourselves. I have got to know a new approach here.

8.    I view the accompaniment part of this composition as a sort of ‘tampura’ or ‘shruti box’. The role of the drone accompaniment is so central to Indian Classical music and this is something I aimed to transfer to my piece. Although a constant pitch centre is not maintained throughout, do you feel the accompaniment supports your playing style and content?

Certainly. It is taking a role of drone instrument but like the drone keeps us grounded in a scale, but here you are doing more than that. You are instigating me you are giving me clues ‘do this, do that’. So it is not only a drone, it is teasing me to come up with some musical challenges, so I wont confine it only to a drone, it is more than that. It is compelling me us to come and fight with something and initiating activity. You have to come and complement it or compete with it. It is an attractive thing in many places. Especially going out of your comfort zone. Then it becomes more challenging. Music has no barriers and we are quite open – wanting to coming to a podium where we are in a hand-shaking experience. So it is something more than a drone. When you created that a lot of in built flexibility was there.

Paper accepted to EMS conference, Lisbon (June 2013)

My paper describing the methodologies of working with the Milapfest musicians has been accepted for presentation at this years Electronic Music Studies Network Conference (June 2013, Lisbon)

Performer as sound source: interactions and mediations in the recording studio and in the field

Abstract

In this paper, the author takes particular interest in the collection of sound material from musical instruments (for use in both acousmatic and mixed works) and how the composer manages creative intent and concepts while collaborating with a performer. Interactions at this stage ultimately impact upon the sound material collected as well as the final composition. The frontier for exchange during these composer/performer encounters enables collaborative work to flourish – but what are the optimum conditions for a successful recording session? Is there a requisite limit or a bare minimum on how prescriptive one should be as a composer when directing the performer in order to avoid confining the creative possibilities of one’s own imagination or the performer’s own input? And how does one navigate the same situation cross-culturally with foreign and ethnic instruments where unfamiliar performance practice traditions and language barriers may exist?

It is common to interact with object sound sources (eg. keys, coins, slinky etc…) in an exploratory fashion, prizing out unusual gestures and textures while always on the look out for those happy accidents that might lend themselves well to the transformation process in the studio. With instrumental sound sources, where a performer is involved, the same exploratory activity may not be immediately possible and we must therefore effectively communicate to the performer our request for specific experimentation with sound types and timbres. Approaches to this activity differ from composer to composer and modes of collaboration between composer and performer subsequently change as a result. How we, as composers, conduct this sound capturing process is led ultimately by what we want to work with in the studio. With the use of composer interviews, existing repertoire and previous noteworthy collaborations I am aim to propose, and distinguish between, the following modes of collaboration:

q      Instructive/directional: The composer is prescriptive in outlining how and what the performer is to play.

q      Explorative/interactive: Details of material remain somewhat unspecified. Some loose ideas and concepts may be discussed beforehand. Contributions from both sides allow a creative exchange to flow.

q      Unstructured: An open session where the performer is given free reign/carte blanche to decide what to play. A typical example of this is when a performer demonstrates extended techniques specific to their instrument – the composer acts as a listener and thus learns directly from this process as to what the available sound possibilities are.

Two further distinctive situations are worthy of discussion:

q      The composer becomes the performer. The composer experiments with an instrument that they have no formal training on as a means of generating sounds. This also applies to situations where the composer performs or plays with objects (not instruments as such) often in unconventional ways.

q      Adapting to source. The composer adapts to a sound source or performer. On-the-fly field recordings (eg. recording environmental sounds, street performers etc…) where the composer cannot intrude upon or affect the sounding outcome. All adaptations here refer to technical considerations eg. Position, microphone handling and volume control on field recorder).

This paper examines the authority and instructive role of the composer in the recording studio along with how one might take ownership of these captured sound materials in future creative work.  Finding oneself within the material generated by others (sounds, notes, phrases, motifs and even melody lines), especially from unfamiliar cultures and contexts can be challenging. This part of the paper draws upon first hand accounts of collaborating with Milapfest (UK, Indian arts development trust) in building an online sound archive of Indian musical instruments as part of an ongoing educational outreach program at Liverpool Hope University. The sound archive material came to exist as a bi-product of collecting sound material for my own creative work (two new electroacoustic music works exploring the use of culturally significant sound material). A significant proportion of this research project (supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK) involves individual recording sessions with approximately 25 - 30 instrumentalists from this highly specialised performance tradition. This raises important issues regarding cross-cultural exchange and what, as an electroacoustic music composer, I might achieve sonically from exploring their practice, along with the question of how and what the performers take away from these encounters. Within the ‘give and take’ of a cross-cultural collaboration, I am posing the question of how possible it is to exert one’s creative and personal compositional voice when considering each different mode of collaboration. As creative projects evolve, take shape and are eventually performed, how is the performer’s reception of the final work informed by the early stage collaboration between composer and performer? The collection of both idiomatic and unconventional sound materials provides a discussion point within this discourse, which will be supported by personal perspectives and those from performers involved in this collaborative process.

Sarod and electronics work-in-progress

I've been working on some of the gamakas (pitch bends) collected from Rajeeb Chakraborty (sarod). This is section from my new piece, which will be performed at the end of April in Liverpool.

Further logo

Composition residency at Elektronmusikstudion - EMS

I started my composition residency at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm on Tuesday. I will be here until 15th March working on my new piece for Sarod and electronics. My plan is to work on the accompanying fixed media material that will go along side the sarod melody line.
Five sections are so far emerging... its looking like another episodic work!

1) Opening section (2.5 mins) glitch-crackle materials with sarod plucks and eventually repeated melodic patterns. Mini climax before section ends

2) Harmonic section (2mins) focus on sarod pulls/gamakas accompanied with harmonic loops and flickering glitches

3) Slower section (3mins) A dramatic change of pace and character. Sarod motif are spaced wider apart to allow ea material to decay naturally and evolve. Use of violin resonances transformed into drones provides a complimentary accompaniment to live sarod. 

4) Gamaka section (2mins) material entirely derived from sarod pitch bends (gamakas) which gives an arching over and under effect. This section is more gestural than the previous two which are more textural based.

5) Sarod-led section (2-3mins) Longer sarod phrases are used in this section. The rhythmic patterns of the sarod material (sum) are followed closely by the ea material, shadowing the impulses to give an impression of a percussive presence.

6) Super slow closing (2mins) final section is a free accompaniment without a specified sarod melody The material is derived from transposed sarod notes overlayed with falling/rising iterations. Tanpura sounds poke in and out of the texture. There is the impression of slow cyclic loops rotating towards a closing point.

Logo design

Logo for sound archive - some further variations to follow...

A review of Javaari

I found a review by Joseph Sannicandro of my music online. His blog gives a full acount of the AKOUSMA festival. 
Really interesting to see some initial thoughts on Javaari, although a little on the negative side, plus there are some major misconceptions about what acousmatic music should or should not be!:

"Manuela Blackburn, PhD., is an electroustic composer from the UK, and also a lecturer on music technology at Liverpool  Hope University.  I mention her academic training in part because her work has some of the qualities one might expect, utilizing Max/MSP and presenting her work in a very controlled manner.  I don’t mean this in a derogatory way; this is by no means the sort of overly cerebral Computer Music that often comes out of the academe.   The program consisted of four prepared pieces, the last which was exchanged in favor of a recently completed piece, the first of a planned trilogy utilizing Indian music samples.   That last piece incorporated tabla and sitar, which I found to be  not very compelling.  Acousmatic music is meant to obscure the source material, but both instruments were clearly recognizable, not to mention identified by the composer in her address to the audience beforehand. Freed from their original context but still identifiable, they were utilized in way that didn’t resonate with me.  The philosophy (or spirituality) of Indian music is an inherent part of its structures, eg. the drone, or the meter/tala, and underlies the music (as social practice, as art). Manipulated and cut up in this way that impact is lost, so their inclusion begins to seem like an necessary exoticization rather than teasing out something new.   The first three pieces were more appealing, however, at times verging on glitch territory.  Each featured a steady momentum, almost impatient, never stopping or repeating. The compositions were dynamic and propulsive in a very thoughtful way.  The audience was seated with the composer’s mixing console behind us, with some space available to lie down in center of the front rows" ....by Joseph Sannicandro

new images

Nadaswaram

Kanjira

Bansuri flute

Shrutri (harmonium) box

India trip (10th - 19th January)

Summary of activities in India with Alok Nayak (Director of Development, Milapfest):

Ahmedabad (11th - 14th Jan): I attended the last three days of the Saptak festival (annual event showcasing new talent and guest stars in Indian Classical Music). I was particularly interested in the different vocal traditions on show in the evening concert including: Parveen Sultana (often referred to as the Queen of Classical Vocal and Hindustani Music) and Aishwarya Majumdar. 
Another interesting concert included a 'Mohan Veena' (modified guitar used in Indian Classical music) performed by its inventor - Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Seeing these performances provided my first experience of this listening to Indian Classical music within its home cultural context.

13th Jan: 2hr recording session with Rajeeb Charkraborty (Sarod) - this gave me an opportunity to collect sound materials for a new piece for Sarod and electronics. We talked about how the piece would be put together and performed. Rajeeb's raw sound material will be organised in Pro Tools and the electronic part (electroacoustic sound) will be placed around this as a tape part (triggered at points during the piece). Single sounds, motifs, rhythmic pattens and extended phrases were recorded for this purpose.

Rajeeb Charkraborty & sarod

Delhi (14th -16th Jan): Visit to Gandharva Mahavidyalaya - a school for Indian music and dance - some music classes were briefly observed and a meeting with the principal, Madhup Mudgal enabled us to discuss teaching styles, the Milapfest/Liverpool Hope collaboration and the forthcoming educational website. This school had a wonderfully stocked library which I'm eager to return to. I really would like to get my hands on: B. Chaitanya Deva, Musical Instruments of India, Their History and Development:

A visit to the Sangeet Natak Akademi to view the extensive Museum and Gallery of Musical Instruments was an amazing discovery. The museum holds around 600 Indian musical instruments, 250 which are currently on display. This was a fascinating visit to be up close to many instruments I'd read about from afar. The collection of instruments is also documented in a hard-copy catalog (with photos) and a computer based archive classifying instruments on lines of 'membranophones, idiophones, aerophones and chordophones. 

Instruments from the Sangeet Museum

Catalog system of instruments at Sangeet Akademi

Chennai (16th - 19th Jan) Alok and I met with Leela Samson (Bharatanatyam dancer who has recently been appointed by Liverpool Hope as a visiting lecturer within Dance). This was a great opportunity to discuss her intentions for her time at Hope starting in September 2013.

A recording session of three India folk percussion instruments (Pohl and two different Halgis) was an unexpected opportunity at Girish Gopalakrishnan's home studio - this opened up a discussion on how extensive the online sound archive should be - where do you draw the line in terms of the lesser known obscure instruments and those that exist more as historical artifacts, no longer in use? We have discussed the possibility of building this resource in phases so its development evolves over a longer time span to include as many as possible.

I was fortunate to visit A. R Rahman's sound studio in Chennai on my penultimate day in India. He is widely known for his film music and Oscar nominations, including the soundtrack to Slum dog Millionaire. It was great to see the amazing studio facilities, which are attached to a conservatory (KM Music Conservatory) set up by Rahman for music education/future musicians.

Overall the trip to India provided a great opportunity to discuss future plans for the Milapfest/Hope partnership and how the research project can move forward. On reflection the visit appears to be an important turning point in the AHRC project as my relationship and knowledge of Indian classical music culture has changed purely from visiting its country of origin. Its an interesting question if visiting a country (where one is borrowing from) is a necessary prerequisite for borrowing in the first place? The discussions with Alok Nayak on diaspora, the existence of a British Gharana and how he views respectful borrowing provided some the most stimulating conversations of the project so far including an 8-hour discussion while waiting for a plane to Delhi!

Organised Sound - issue coordinator

My call for articles on the theme of 'The Sound of Cultures' for an issue of Organised Sound has been officially released.
I am hoping this opens up a wider dialogue on the issue of cultural sound use:

Organised Sound: An International Journal of Music and Technology

Call for submissions

Volume 19, Number 2

Issue thematic title: The Sound of Cultures

Date of Publication: August 2014

Issue co-ordinator: Manuella Blackburn (blackbm@hope.ac.uk)

Submission deadline: 15 September 2013

Recorded sound often provides the starting point for creative work within the practice of electroacoustic music. Means of accessing sounds and inspiration from all corners of the globe bring these aural and often so-called exotic experiences closer to us than ever before. High-quality portable recording technology, file sharing, networking and the Internet have all contributed to this ‘easy’ access, but what are the ethical considerations here? Should creators of sonic art assume unrestricted access or even proprietary rights over this substantial resource? Where does respect end and appropriation commence? And as audience members, how do we listen and respond to works that borrow, reconfigure and transform cultural/ethnic/exotic sounds?

Following the Organised Sound ‘Global Local’ issue 13/2 (2008), the open sound world of electroacoustic music, where any sound may be sampled and integrated, demands a closer look. Are certain sounds ‘off-limits’ with respect to issues of cultural or social sensitivity? Should we be cautious and respectful when we plunder from the global sound pallet? How do we as composers deal with these sounds in the studio?

Of course culture can manifest itself in other ways. An impression, hint or suggestion may imply inspiration drawn from a foreign ‘otherness’. Understanding how such influences manifest themselves within sonic works may reveal new fusions, hybrids and methods of composing. Cultures can also be described as internal developments within regions, genres, institutions and schools of thought. Greater awareness of sub-cultural contributions to the wider understanding of electroacoustic music is fundamental to the continuation and evolution of sonic practices. Modes of synthesis, programming, installation, audio-visual practices and performance are often defined and contextualized through cultural practice. The role of technology and its ability to capture, collate, preserve and exploit cultural sounds and aural traditions are all aspects at the heart of this issue.

Topics for investigation might include:

·     Issues associated with sonic/musical exchange across cultural boundaries

·     ‘Exoticism’ and its manifestation in electroacoustic music/sound art  

·     Identification and developments of musical sub-cultures

·     Sonic signatures (originating from regions, institutions, genres and practice)

·     Issues of sonic appropriation and borrowing

·     Sound location and dislocation

·     Site- and cultural-specific sound

·     Symbolic/iconic sound use and its prevalence in electroacoustic music

·     The preservation, cultivation or exploitation of local/global sounds

·     Ethnic phonography