re: politics of digital audio

[andrewduke@xxxxxxxxxx]

<hellomynameisphil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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?

***Hi, Phil.  Things that I personally like to explore
in my work, specifically: consumption, capitalism,
religion, transportation, the power digital technology
has over many to take natural things for granted,
digital technology vs. the environment, its effects on
physical and mental health, etc.  Some specific
examples:  Andrew Duke + Kim Cascone--"Container
Anxiety" on Toronto's Piehead, in which Kim and I
discuss how the advent of the CD medium has lead to a
focus on quality (the amount of material released on
CD) over quality.  Tsunami-Addiction's (label based out
of Paris) mandate fits into this theme.  Their 74
series focuses specifically on how many release 74
minute long albums on CD now just because the 74
minutes is there.  So to reflect on this, artists such
as myself, Hypo, O.Lamm, Ultra Milkmaids, Sawako,
Jansky Noise, and others have recorded material to an
exact length so that every release in the series is
exactly 74 minutes in length.  My albums "Physical and
Mental Health" (focusing on our personal and worldly
environments; an update of "Erosion" which came out on
my Cognition Audioworks imprint in 1996) and "More
Destructive Than Organized" (focusing on personal and
worldly conflict, cults, religion, sectarianism,
natural vs. digital), and an installation currently
running here in Halifax ("Dead Air Alive"--a reflection
on how, with many people, lack of bombast equals lack
of worth; probably something that us microsounders deal
with regularly when trying to explain our quieter/more
space-filled works) fit this theme.  Some forthcoming
examples of these things from me are Environmental
Politics on Dale's and/OAR (pieces derived from and
reflecting on the industrialization of Halifax NS and
Hamilton ON), Take Nothing For Granted on Macedonia's
Acid Fake, Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should
(pollution related pieces I'm working on in a
"techno"/dance context for Klitekture in Spain), Second
Opinion on Norway's TV5, and an installation I'm
putting together for Vancouver's next New Forms
festival.  Organic is an album I'm demoing that deals
with natural vs synthetic elements in our society. 
Boston's Massaccessi does a lot of microsound material
in which his thrust is picking at global capitalism. 
He's released an album on California's Phthalo re:
these themes and we've just done a track together
called "The Anti-Service Syndrome" for my "Consumer vs.
User" album on Phthalo.  Up next is finishing a track
together entitled "Buy First Second Free"; you can
probably guess what these are about by the titles! 
Sorry to rattle on about myself, but I feel that the
majority of my work deals with these things, it's my
passion, and felt it was thus applicable to mention.
Andrew

albums out now: Sprung (http://bip-hop.com) 
More Destructive Than Organized 
(http://staalplaat.com)
Highest Common Denominator (http://pieheadrecords.com)
Physical and Mental Health (http://dialrecords.com) 
74'02 (split with Hypo) (http://tsunami-addiction.com)
check Cognition (http://techno.ca/cognition)
for upcoming appearance and release updates
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