Re: [microsound] "the politics of digital audio"

[Mark Roberts <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Phil

There's a new 2CD compilation called 'the fire this time' which features a
bunch of tracks by artists such as pan sonic & aphex twin (ie, not artists
generally associated with political manifesto-like works). However the
second CD features a kind of radio-play soundtrack over the top of these
tracks which uses a vast collection of soundbytes to criticise the anti-iraq
partnership of fire. It's not exactly using digital technology to critique
digital technology, but it is using the media (as a tool of power) against
itself.

I was asking for comments on a similar topic to this a couple of months ago
- it was more of an enquiry into who is producing political works that stand
on their own (without the need for an accompanying textual explanation).
However most of the artists who have done this (Ultra-Red, Muslimgauze,
Random_inc etc) do not really deal with the digital as a subject.

I think the problem with trying to do something like that would be that the
result 'sounds' the same as another project which has no intention of
dealing with anything.

Maybe Kim Cascone's 'Parasites' could be considered as dealing digitally
with a digital effect - though I'm certainly no authority on the work, so I
would hope Kim will answer from his own perspective here.

For me anyway, the issue is that I could 'say' that anything I've done deals
with x or y, but then on another day, I could say that the same piece of
music deals with a or b, a completely different subject. No-one would know
any different unless they heard what I said the music was 'about' (or of
course, if I gave it an obviously referential title.)

Intereting topic though - it'll be fun to see what people's ideas of
critical digital work are.

Mark

on 20/12/02 04:24, ph!L @ c e n t i b e l at
hellomynameisphil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> What are some examples of microsound that is about the politics of
> digital technology? Anyone making stuff that is about the use of digital
> technology in global capitalism or state surveillance for example?
> Specifically, anyone making work about the ambiguity entailed in using
> digital technology to critique digital technology? Or making a point of
> using the same technology as that used by power in order to provide a
> critique of that power? That's the kind of thing I'm starting to become
> interested in. Reply offlist if you want, but onlist is fine too if
> people want to discuss it.
> 
> ph
> 
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> Phil Thomson
> 
> http://www3.telus.net/thisisphil/
> http://centibel.vze.com/
> http://everything.does.it/
> http://www.sfu.ca/~pthomson/
> 
> scan (s'agita, italy)
> synat (acidfake, macedonia)
> ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
> 
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