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Cut and Splice - Soundscapes



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CUT & SPLICE
Thursday 1 May 2003 at 20.00 live at the ICA, London

**** Francisco Lopez***Chris Watson*** Gregg Wagstaff ***

The final instalment of the festival, this week=B9s Cut and Splice explores
our soundscape - the sounds around us and their use in contemporary artist=B9=
s
work.

The Cut and Splice series is curated and produced by Sonic Arts Network and
BBC Radio 3 and features live performances at the ICA in London and weekly
broadcasts on the Hear and Now programme.

Francisco Lopez
=8CA truly (awe-)inspiring experience of boundless sonic depth.=B9 -
Experimental Musical Instruments, USA
His music arises from the processing of environmental recordings from all
over the world, to extreme minimalist effect. His powerful performances
typically manipulate the audience's experience by withholding sound for an
extended period of time and then very slowly introducing noise, which build=
s
to an intense and overwhelming peak.

By initially depriving the senses, an acute awareness of any sound
introduced develops. By deliberately refusing to supply any visual or
material reinforcement during the shows (he is hidden from view throughout
his performances and makes the audience wear blindfolds) the introduction o=
f
even the most microscopic sound becomes significant, and the relationship
between the audience and sound is made uneasy and unpredictable.
www.franciscolopez.net

Chris Watson
Chris Watson is a sound recordist with a particular and passionate interest
in recording the wildlife sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres aroun=
d
the world. This has involved an investigation into the acoustic properties
of certain special locations and how the essence contained within that site
can be captured and reproduced through recordings. He is =B9interested in
recording these in close-up to try and reveal something of their individual
beauty, rhythm, eloquence and sheer power=B9.

Regularly recording for BBC wildlife programmes, Watson has also recorded
two albums with the Touch label. He will be presenting two new pieces at Cu=
t
& Splice, 'Vatnaj=F6kull' is a piece following the journey of the Vatnaj=F6kull
glacier in Iceland from the summit and down into the Sea of Norway to the
Arctic Ocean. The composition was recorded on location and includes sounds
of the ice field as well as the habitats and animals on and around the
glacier's route. The track reflects the character as well as the changing
acoustic space of this glacier - the largest in Europe =AD as it slowly flows
across Iceland and then into the ocean. =A0In 1996 there was a volcanic
eruption underneath Vatnaj=F6kull, and Chris has tried to capture and
reproduce something of this awesome and menacing power. This piece is time
compressed; a journey that usually takes a piece of ice 10,000 years is
covered in 18 mins.

'Ol-Olool-O' is the name of the ridge that dominates the western edge, and
hence the weather, of the Masai Mara in Kenya. It is apiece rich in the
rhythms and dynamics created by equatorial weather systems, and it's
influence on animal behaviour. It conveys a sense of drama, and as such, is
full of tension, surprise, chaos & death. This is the music of a place that
is beyond our control, and we enter with considerable risk..

'Ol-Olool-O' was recorded on location and is an 18 min. time compression of
the 14 hrs of one day from just before dawn, through until the onset of
night.

Gregg Wagstaff=20
Gregg Wagstaff is a freelance sound artist from Fife and co-founder of the
UK and Ireland Soundscape Community and a director of the World Forum for
Acoustic Ecology. For Cut and Splice, Gregg presents the sounds of the isle=
s
of Harris and Lewis, undisturbed, untreated, just as they are. Bagpipes and
bells, peat cutters and sheep-shearing, hand looms and white water whispers=
..
Sonic daylight.

Tickets (=A310/9/8) direct from the ICA on 020 7930 3647

Broadcasts
Saturday 10th May 2003 at 23.00 broadcast on Hear & Now, BBC Radio 3
Tuesday 29th April 2003 hear Cut and Splice excerpts on John Peel=B9s Radio 1
show.

--
******************************************
Darryl Biggs
Communications Officer
Sonic Arts Network
The Jerwood Space
171 Union Street
London =A0SE1 0LN
T: 020 7928 7337 F: 020 7928 7338
W: http://www.sonicartsnetwork.org
******************************************

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