Reverberations: The Aesthetics, Affects and Politics of Noise

Edited by Drs Michael Goddard, Paul Hegarty and Benjamin Halligan is this groundbreaking collection that studies noise not merely as a sonic phenomenon but as an essential component of all communication and information systems. It's due for publication through Continuum next year and includes a chapter that I contributed based on my MA project. Despite what it says below, the title of the chapter has actually been changed to the simpler, perhaps more intriguing "Sshhh".

Description

Noise permeates our highly mediated and globalised cultures. Noise as art, music, cultural or digital practice is a way of intervening so that it can be harnessed for an aesthetic expression not caught within mainstream styles or distribution.

This wide-ranging book examines the concept and practices of noise, treating noise not merely as a sonic phenomenon but as an essential component of all communication and information systems. The book opens with ideas of what noise is, and then works through ideas of how noise works in contemporary media, to conclude by showing potentials within noise for a continuing cultural renovation through experimentation. Considered in this way, noise is seen as an essential yet excluded element of contemporary culture that demands a rigorous engagement. Reverberations brings together a range of perspectives, case studies, critiques and suggestions as to how noise can mobilize thought and cultural activity through a heightening of critical creativity.Written by a strong, international line-up of scholars and artists, Reverberations looks to energize this field of study and initiate debates for years to come.


Table of Contents

The Philosophy of Noise

1. Paul Hegarty, ‘A Chronic Condition: Noise and Time’
2. Scott Wilson, ‘Amusia, Noise and the Drive’
3. Andrew McGettigan, ‘Noise, Affect and Experience’
4. Cecile Malaspina, ‘Simondon, Complexity and Organised Noise’

Media Ecologies of Noise

5. Dean Lockwood, ‘Mongrel Vibrations: H. P. Lovecraft’s Weird Ecology of Noise’
6. Khadijah White, ‘Considering Sound: Language, Meaning and the Construction of Noise’
7. José Castanheira, ‘The Matter of Numbers: Sound and the Experience of Noise in Analog and Digital Models’
8. Rosa Menkman, ‘From Artefact to Filter, or how Noise Artefacts have become Commodities’

Audiovisual Noise Aesthetics

9. Laura Wilson, ‘Physical Spectatorship: Noise and Rape in Irreversible’
10. Robert Walker, ‘Cinematic Tinnitus’
11. Benjamin Halligan, ‘Noise for the Failing Image’
12. Daniel Cookney, ‘Sshhh: A Visual Exploration of Relative Silence/Noise’
13. Felicity Colman, ‘Sound manifesto: Lee Renaldo’s Notes for Robert Smithson’
14. Rob Gawthrop, ‘Thunder and Lightning: Noise and the avant-garde’

Noise Ethics and Politics

15. Mattin, ‘Anti-Self: Noise and the Destruction of Managerial Logic’
16. Marie Thompson and Clara Latham, ‘Exploitation or Emancipation? The Affect and Ethics of Noise’
17. Saeed Hydaralli, ‘What is Urban Noise? An Inquiry into its Formal Properties’
18. Bruce Russell, ‘Exploding the atmosphere: Realising the revolutionary potential of “the last street song” ’

Bibliography
Index

45g of Silence by Mads Hagstrøm

45g (1.5oz) of pure silence sealed in a can for just $19.14 at FLOWmarket. (The 'Next Generation Luxury' company also sells cans of self-esteem, compassion, intimacy and 'God'.) Design by Mads Hagstrøm.

There's an obvious nod here to Marcel Duchamp's Air de Paris ('50 cc of Paris Air') from 1919: something that I referenced in the Sshhh chapter of the upcoming Reverberations book.

Kanazawa Umimirai Library by Coelacanth K&H Architects

"Reading – for the sake of knowledge or enjoyment, or to explore the world of the human imagination – is one of those experiences that gives you a sense of emotional and spiritual richness quite different from economic or monetary well-being. In this sense, the act of creating a space that surrounds you with books is undoubtedly linked to the creation of a new, enriched sense of public values...

...This library consists of a single quiet and tranquil room that resembles a forest, filled with soft light and a feeling of openness reminiscent of the outdoors. "

Full story: link

Photography by Satoshi Asakawa.

John Cage

Cage (and particularly his 4'33") was hugely influential with the theory behind the Sshhh project. In what was a (failed) campaign for an alternative Christmas number one single, it's now at 21 in the Top 40. I hope that a few more people investigate some of the ideas behind the piece rather than just see it as a subversive attempt to topple X Factor.

The remixes, by the way, are entertaining. I particularly like Herve's 'Tidies Up The Studio remix' where the silence is punctuated by the odd bit of background noise.

Available to download here: Cage Against The Machine

Various - Fünf

artist: Various
title: Fünf
label: Ostgut Ton, DE. (Distributed by Word & Sound, DE.)
date: 25.10.10

(Available via the following link: Funf)

Ostgut Ton releases this unique compilation of music crafted from field recordings made inside the two Berlin clubs Berghain and Panorama Bar. The concept and original recordings were made by the Berlin based producer Emika. Over a period of two months Emika created the recordings in the clubs while they were closed to the public and edited them into a library of sounds. The library was then given to all the Ostgut Ton artists, but also to club associates like DJ Pete aka Substance, Dinky, Cassy, Margaret Dygas, Ryan Elliott and Scuba using his SCB alias, to make music with. This release marks the celebration of the label's five year anniversary.

Emika's idea started from feeling the whole building resonating from the music being played, which lead to the question: which sounds exist here when there is no party? Intrigued by stories of how the club spaces and sound systems influence the resident DJ sets and productions, Emika was curious to explore what music could be made from the building itself. Berghain’s sound technicians Krischan Makswitat and Silvio König, helped to record the entire light rig including the strobe lights, which in itself sounds techno. Other interesting sources to record were the large cooling rooms used for storing thousands of drinks in bottles. The ventilation systems in these rooms make incredible sub frequencies mixed with the sound of the bottles vibrating against each other. The club also contains large swings made from metal which creak and moan at the slightest of movements.

In total the library comprised over four gigabytes of sounds, and the artists were not given restrictions on how to make music from the library. The tracks on this compilation consist of each artists signature production aesthetics and feature debut solo productions by our residents Fiedel (one half of seminal Berlin based outfit MMM), Boris and Prosumer’s long term production partner Tama Sumo. All together this release highlights the special and inseparable relationships between the label, club space, and collective of artists.

Noise book (update)

Just had word that my proposal for a chapter in the publication prompted by the Bigger Than Words conference was successful. So that's something to look forward to in 2011.

It will be amazing that this work will actually culminate in something in a book that ends up in a library.

Final Thoughts (almost)

I thought that I was ready to wrap up this project (again). Especially as I'm currently submerging myself in my MA dissertation/final major project. However, I now need to work on a proposal/publication extract for one of the books triggered by the conference. I am daunted by this - as it will be my first attempt at being published academically - but I'll give it a go. I just need to untangle the theory that underpinned my practice so that it might work as a clear and concise chapter within a volume concerned with the politics and perceptions of noise.

I have to include:

• A 400 word proposal detailing the issues that the chapter will address and how it will be organised
• A few academic references and 5-6 keywords
• A 200 word biographical note

In fact, it's not that dissimiliar to what was submitted in answer to the conference's call for submissions although that was actually a very vague outline. It's essential that I now can pick out what is the philosophical stance I've come away with after going through this process. The final chapter will be around 5,000 words but won't need to be submitted until the end of the year.

Additionally, I expressed interest in assisting with any design aspects for the completed books should that be required. I feel that having a hand in the production of the volumes would be a fitting end to this project.

Bigger Than Words: finished

The Noise conference went well last week. I was particularly impressed by the sheer breadth of contributions. I didn't get chance to catch everything I was interested in due to various panels clashing. That said, some amazing and inspiring views on the subject and Dave dropped in for the showing of The Beat Is Law plus I met Cabaret Voltaire's Stephen Mallinder who was a really nice, interesting bloke. Additionally Michael Goddard has said that there is interest from publishers in the papers that will hopefully prompt two books [each looking at different aspects of the phenomena: roughly along the lines of Noise in Music/Noise Musics and the Aesthetics/Philosophy/Politics of Noise].

I forgot to use my camera but Rosa Menkman - whose own work is concerned with glitches in technology - posted some here.

Reworking the Sshhh presentation

I'm rewriting my Sshhh presentation for Friday's panel. I'm drawing a little from the research I'm doing for my dissertation project with observations on how kids observe silence. That has given me the chance to contrast John Cage's philosophy with that of Dizzee Rascal. I'm also trying not to be too rigid with the layout so that it feels a bit more informal.

Bigger Than Words - starts tomorrow

From salford.ac.uk:

News-
Conference, gigs and film showings to explore the concept of 'noise'

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

The concept of 'noise' will be taking over Salford venues this weekend as the University of Salford hosts a series of music events, film showings and academic debates.

Musicians including Stuart Braithwaite of cult band Mogwai will join academics from around the world to explore the entirety of noise in modern society. This includes noise pollution in the city, the depiction of deafness and tinnitus in movies and how the noise of the courtroom affects legal proceedings.

Music forms a key theme through the conference with Nicola Spelman's paper on Lou Reed's musical responses to undergoing electrotherapy and even discussion of a punk band that entered Russian politics after the fall of communism.

There will be a film showing on Thursday at the University's Adelphi House. The Beat is the Law Part 1 is a film following the Sheffield music scene in the 80s and 90s featuring Jarvis Cocker and Richard Hawley.

Music or 'noise gigs' will also take place at the King's Arms, Salford where electronic solo-pieces, computer glitches and para-musical videos featuring improvised instruments will be on display.

Conference organiser Michael Goddard said: "Noise is all around us in modern urban environments. Sometimes it is considered a pollutant and, at others, a cultural force. With this conference we aim to explore the whole range of ways in which noise affects our everyday lives."

'Noise, Affect, Politics' runs Thursday - Saturday at various locations in Salford.

Contact Michael Goddard on m.n.goddard@salford.ac.uk or Benjamin Halligan on b.halligan@salford for more information.

Bigger Than Words panel

So the Bigger Than Words, Wider Than Pictures conference is a couple of weeks off. I'm re-developing the presentation I delivered for that. A new structure I have for it is:

1. Personal introduction.
2. Opening quote and a bit about my own philosophical stance regarding noise perception.
3. My personal research and the recordings that were taken.
4. The development of a visual project and the influence of Cage's theories plus the visual influences that came courtesy of synaesthesia research and the Kiki/Bouba effect. Also some additional related ideas that Steve Goodman discusses in his Sonic Warfare book. [Which ended up being my holiday reading, by the way.]
   
5. The development of the completed book and the idea of sound as carrying the 'essence' of a particular space.
6. Questions and comments.

I wish I'd had the opportunity to get this breathing space before the last presentation as I've re-evaluated the project and feel more confident that I know what are the more interesting elements. Admittedly, some of this has come from the likes of SPARC where I got some feedback from people unfamiliar with the territory. So, while nervous, I'm a bit more confident that what I'll discuss will feel fresh while I also reckon that I know what it is that interests me about my work.

Further to this, I've been asked if I'd like to chair a panel at the conference. It's the parallel session on 'Noise & the Digital' featuring:

The matter of numbers: sound and the experience of noise in analog and digital models
(José Cláudio Siqueira Castanheira, Universidade Federal Fluminense - UFF, Brazil)

Glitch Studies Manifesto Presentation
(Rosa Menkman)

Xenakisian Sound Synthesis; Its Aesthetics and Influence on 'Post Digital' Computer Noise
(Christopher Haworth, Queens University Belfast)

I've not actually done this before but, given that this semester's project has largely been about participating, I said yes. Although I will need a few pointers from the organisers about what's required.

"Remix" CD

Some old text versions

I'm just going through a pile of old files to get together everything relating to the process for this project. Perhaps some of it will be useful for the Powerpoint. Anyway, I found these old text interpretations which were attempting to disrupt the type with treatments influenced by the production of noise.

Book/CD

Reworked library recordings

Above is the reworked version of the library noise. I also used the 3D Max output to cobble together some visual accompaniment.

Report cover

I've nearly finished the report for this project and for a while I have been talking about producing it in the format of a paperback book. So I just need to do a few more hours on it and then I can send it for printing. The above is the cover image which is based on the Marber Grid that was interesting me right at the beginning of the project. I've also used the Akzidenz Grotesk font for the title which relates to those vintage Penguin and Pelican paperbacks but the other text is using the British Library's favoured Syntax.

More recently I had become interested in the idea of noise from the perspective of it being very much about personal perception - despite wanting to produce something that felt like it was a very objective overview. One of the key things that was brought in of late was the visual disruption that can also come from resolution and - following the earlier method of printing material and re-scanning to lose some of its detail plus the use of the enlarged pixel - I've been producing images that combine different dpi outputs. This idea was also applied to the book cloth with the above shape being made up of the same piece being scanned at different sizes so that there's a contrast between the woven surfaces. I had also been manipulating the images during scanning to build on this idea of disruption within space so that crept in too. Plus there's the geometric forms that relate to my liking for textbook-type imagery.

Hoepfully this report element will be complete today and I can mainly focus on completing the CD packaging deliverable over the next fortnight.

Radius Installation by Random International

CC HH UK // Test video shot (unedited) from rAndom International on Vimeo.

"The installation is a sound-reactive media installation that plays with the light emitted by spatially arranged light sources. Where a commonly flat arrangement of LEDs would be conceived as a display with a resolution too low to establish image, text or pattern, Amplitude is actually home to a large number of individually controlled light sources on a y-axis. The introduction of a third dimension to the traditional concept of a display turns the piece into a vivid part of the space and emphasises the fact that the piece is a light installation rather than a display; the algorithm controlling the emittance of light creates a living organism that can be detected in the shadows that the installation casts on itself."

Proposed internal image

Another visual idea for the inside of this book. This one uses aspects of the grid that was previously mentioned alongside some photography of the space.

I made some notes the other day and mentioned something about how visual disruption within depictions of the environment could be a metaphor for the noise that exists there. The above was an attempt to illustrate that idea although, for me, there's something a bit disturbing about the image.

Bigger Than Words programme

There has been a rough draft of the programme for the Bigger Than Words conference drifting around. My contribution is pencilled in under a section titled 'Noise, Politics and Everday Life'. The other two submissions within this grouping appear to be music-related and I'm assuming that my subject very much represents the 'Everyday Life' within that title. Only I'm not sure that what I'm looking at is really that political. (Unfortunately it will clash with another session based around audiovisual noise aesthetics which I'd liked to have checked out.)

I do still need details through on the venue so that I can think through exactly what I'll be completing. I think my stint takes place on the afternoon of July 2nd but I had mentioned to both Dave and Amy about doing something as an installation to run for the duration of the event.

[The above is one of the internal images I've been playing around with, by the way.]

Layout for Virtual Worlds Research

I'm in the middle of putting together this research and laying out what will be a concertina book.

Hopefully.

Only I've decided to try and see if I could avoid any joins by using lining paper so that the extra long printed item is on one folded sheet. I am slightly worried as this could mean that one little mistake means starting all the print from the beginning while I'm also not sure if my printer is going to be alarmed by a seemingly never ending piece of paper. Anyway the above image is of some of the first pages. The photo treatments are pretty much the same throughout. They're a bit Financial Times or Football Pink.

I've also made a few sketches of what this 3D rendering will be when incorporating the shapes generated from the noise on the previous video. Those shapes were from the Windows Media Player visualization 'Amoeba'. The plan is to have each landing on the staircase emulating one of these forms rather than being a smooth semicircle. If this works then it should also provide some interesting silhouettes when rotating the 3D max geometry and will also culminate in a new shape - for a concentration of noise - when assessed from an aerial view. That's the idea at least.