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Opsound Newsletter



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OPSOUND NEWSLETTER 

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CONTENTS

++ POOL OPENS
++ OPSOUND LIVE AT THE PSY-GEO-CON MAY 8-11 NYC
++ CALL TO ARTISTS/MUSICIANS ONGOING

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OPSOUND POOL OPENS

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Opsound is off to an excellent start with almost 100 soundfiles in the
open pool from artists in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland,
Italy, Norway, the UK, and the US, as well as the farther reaches of
cyberspace.  More is arriving every day.  Stop on by, the water is
fine. 

http://www.opsound.org/opsound/pool.html

To add your own work to the pool:

http://www.opsound.org/opsound/call.html

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OPSOUND AT THE PSY-GEO-CONFLUX

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Opsound will be part of the first Psy-Geo-Conflux in New York, May
8-11, 2003.  

We'll be participating with the Opsound Audio Blog, and also doing a DJ
set featuring opsounds from the pool and field recordings from all over
at the psy-geo-con closing party at Subtonic, on May 11.

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Opsound Audio Blog

What is the sound of psychogeography? The moody ambience of car tires
on a wet street. The scuff of walking. Little snippets of overheard
conversation. Music from the open door of a bar you're passing. During
the days of the psy-geo-conflux, May 8-11, participants in New York and
anywhere will be able to phone into the the Opsound audio blog and
record psychogeographic reports. Results will instantly be posted as
streaming mp3s to this page where they can be heard from anywhere, and
also remixed, rearranged and incorporated into other music and sound
pieces. 

During the conference a phone number and passcode will be available
through the psygeocon & opsound sites, and will be also be passed
around on cards. Anyone will be able to phone in with a report. Reports
can be up to two minutes in length. You are encouraged to begin by
saying who and where you are, and your report can include both verbal
descriptions and (loud) ambiences. 

During the run of the conference you'll be able to access the blog from
http://www.opsound.org/psygeocon.html

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Opsound DJ Set (featuring a live performance by Weapons of Mass
Destruction)

Sounds from the open pool mixed with field recordings from all over.

Psy-Geo-Con Closing Party
Sunday, May 11
8PM-Midnight
Subtonic Lounge @ Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street (btw Delancy and Rivington)
New York

The party will also feature live performances by Geoff Dugan & Sean
Meehan, and Jodi Shapiro, and DJ sets by Fabio Roberti and Krou.
http://www.tonicnyc.com/

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More on the Psy-Geo-Conflux:

Dates: May 9-11, 2003

Psy-Geo-Conflux headquarters and exhibition site:
ABC No Rio 
156 Rivington Street (between Clinton & Suffolk)
NYC 10002 tel: 212.254.3697

Psy-Geo-Conflux website:
http://www.glowlab.com/psygeocon/pgc_index.html

Psy-Geo-Conflux 2003 marks the inauguration of an an annual event
dedicated to current artistic and social investigations in
psychogeography. Part festival and part conference, it will bring
together visual and sound artists, writers, urban adventurers and
curious city dwellers to explore the physical and psychological terrain
of the urban landscape.

In 1955, Guy Debord defined psychogeography as "the study of the
precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment,
consciously organized  or not, on the emotions and behaviour of
individuals."   It has also been summarized as "the active search for,
and celebration of, chance and coincidence, concurrently with the
divination of patterns and repetitions thrown up by the
[meeting/collision] of the chaos and structures of cities, personal
histories and interpretations. It is based on the technique of the
"derive," an informed and aware wandering, with continuous observation,
through varied environments. It can be sought and can lead anywhere." 

The idea for Psy-Geo-Conflux originated in an ongoing online
conversation with a network of psychogeographers actively pursuing
investigations in Utrecht, Rotterdam, London, Berlin, Lisbon, Paris,
New York and San Francisco, to name a few places.  As part of this
dialogue I proposed organizing an event in New York as a prototype  for
an annual gathering to be held in different cities and bring like minds
together. The response was enthusiastic, and a steady stream of
proposals followed.

Projects for Psy-Geo-Conflux include a live, city-scale chess match
using volunteers with cell phones as players on the Manhattan street
grid, a tour/acoustic parade with Brooklyn street art collective
Toyshop, a walk with artist Sal  Randolph (organizer of last year's
Free Biennial ) to distribute copies of her book Free  Words, and an
experiment in walking the urban itineraries catalogued in a database by
Paris-based artist and professor Karen O'Rourke. In addition, there
will be projects that explore translating digital networks into
pathways through the city, a lecture on the psychological effects of
urban planning in divided cities such as Berlin, and a presentation on
the subject game theory. Finally, there will be a reception featuring
video works and DJs using found sound recorded on the streets and
subways, and an exhibition of artwork, photographs, maps and documents
relating to the various projects. All events will be free and open to
the public. 

With the inauguration of this annual event, I look forward to helping
create an exciting and collaborative atmosphere for those already
engaged in psychogeographic pursuits, and in turn engaging city
residents in new ways to explore our surroundings.

--Christina Ray 
--Glowlab founder/editor
--February, 2003 
--http://www.glowlab.com

Psy-Geo-Conflux 
http://www.glowlab.com/psygeocon/pgc_index.html

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AN OPEN CALL TO MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS - ONGOING

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Musicians and sound artists of all kinds are invited to join the
Opsound project.

Opsound is a record label using an open source, copyleft model, an
experiment in practical gift economics, a laboratory for new ways of
releasing music.

In its first phase of operation, Opsound is gathering material for an
open sound pool which will be drawn on for the creation of a series of
online and real-world microlabels. All material for the sound pool will
be released under a Creative Commons license (the
"Attribution-ShareAlike license "), a copyleft license in the spirit of
open source software license which allows for all kinds of copying,
remixing, use, and reuse while retaining an attribution  to the
original artist.

Anyone is encouraged to contribute sound files to the open sound pool,
including field recordings, ambiences, incomplete improvisations,
monologues & dialogues, spoken texts, unfinished experiments, detached
soundtracks, vocal solos, strange noises, bedroom laptop, microsound,
generative, glitch dub, idm, minimal techno, blip hop, hip hop,
turntablist, downtempo, uptempo, reggae, ragga, raga, roots, breakbeat,
basement punk, garage band, indy, shoegazer, psychedelia, noise, song,
be-bop, free jazz, modern composition, avant-anything, etc. Sound files
can be complete pieces of music, or elements intended be combined into
something  new.

DEADLINE: There is currently no deadline, and entries will be accepted
on an ongoing basis. You are, however, encouraged to enter your
material as soon as is conveniently possible.

HOW TO ENTER: Please visit the Opsound site at http://www.opsound.org,
read the guidelines and faq, and then use the entry form.

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THAT'S ALL 'TIL NEXT TIME

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OPSOUND
648 Broadway Suite 1005
New York, NY 10012 
212-777-1156 
http://www.opsound.org
info@xxxxxxxxxxx

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