For all things Electroclassic

The WNO have set up a blog for all things relating to the Electroclassic project, if you would like to keeps tabs with that please view the blog site: http://electroclassic.tumblr.com/

West Bay Carving 1

As promised here are the other two carvings for west bay. Again in oak, imagery this time fossils and rope.

West Bay Carvings

Okay as promised. Here are some of the West Bay carvings. Carved in oak 100mm x 100mm, these are to be cast in bronze at MB foundry in west wales.

What is going on

This is like a diary. the diary that you mean to write in everyday and then 'things' get in the way.

Well I have noticed that people have been coming to the site but I have had nothing new for you to see. Not a good advert.

So

what has been happening?

West Bay continues, lots of detailing the words with poet Paul Hyland. Detailing the stone carving for the central motif with Nick Durnan. Detailing the whole design with Martin Peacock, this all takes time and doesn't necessarily make good blog material.

I have now started the carving of the little bronze features and once (maybe tomorrow) I have something to photograph I will post images. We always want something to see.

Electroclassic is starting to move into gear. We have set up a blog on the Tumblr site (http://electroclassic.tumblr.com/) so keep an eye open for that. We have just been given the repertoire for this season: Il Trovatore Die Fledermaus Concert repertoire information

Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No 3 Bartok: Piano Concerto no 2

Kurtag: Quasi una Fantasia Beethoven: Symphony No 7

I have downloaded this lot and have been listening to it whilst carving, and yes I did enjoy it.

WNO Project Electroclassic

For all of you who have listened to Tapes and Ashes or the Gimlet-Eyed Mariners there is a new twist in the my sonic world. Composer Jessica Curry (http://www.jessicacurry.co.uk/), My brother Jo (http://www.jofairfax.co.uk/ who creates films and light installation as well as the public art he is known for and myself have become a dream team.

We have been selected for the research residency (see below) with the Welsh National Opera. This is terrific news and another foot on the electronic ladder that started all those years ago in the early 1970's as a callow 19 year I studied electronic music in London with my grandfather Ernest Berk. Working with Revox tape recorders, ossilators and modulaters. sticking tapes together creating massive loops and playing tapes backwards. to know working with Korg Kaosillators, Logic on the Laptop and more recently various synths on the ipad. This is tremendously exciting and working in the above team and with the opportunity to work alongside the musicians in the WNO, yes excitement is coursing every vein. Roll on the New year.

Earlier this year, WNO///3 undertook research into music copyright and intellectual property issues with funding awarded by Arts Council of England’s Digital Content Development programme. A lot of questions were asked and a lot of answers weren’t necessarily found, largely because the territory is complex when it comes to classical music, and the approaches to dealing with the issues to date often contradictory and frequently restrictive for those artists wishing to evolve new ways of combining digital art with live performance without either risking their shirts, or a law suit.

The idea behind Project Electroclassic is breathtakingly simple, but cuts to the heart of the matter; it’s to go back to basics and asks what might be possible – by asking musicians and artists engaged in the field to try out something new in a risk-free environment. Project Electroclassic will bring together digital sonic artists, composers with a classical music training and WNO musicians to test drive and maybe even breach the boundaries. The selected artists will join musicians from WNO’s Orchestra in scheduled sessions in March through to April. They will be asked to develop creative pieces from audio samples, possibly a live performance, or a piece of sonic art, or a digital media installation; all the work will be broadcast on WNO///3. WNO///3 will also host a performance featuring visual artists and musicians as part of a series of events, including Electrostatic at the Colston Hall, Bristol, in May 2011.

But most important of all, the residency will focus on open debate of the complexity of music copyright and intellectual property. A short symposium (including live performance) is planned, which will illustrate the key findings of artist, composer and musician alike.

West Bay Bronze Fossils

For the project below I will be carving a number of wooden fossils that will be cast into bronze, instead of carving fossils such as ammonites, belemnites etc, I have decided to carve images from the main industries of West Bay such as; rope making, fishing and boatbuilding as well as a 'brittlestar' and maybe a 'shark's tooth'. There is a feeling amongst the locals I have spoken too that the 'fossil theme' may have been overdone.

I have also brought in the poet Paul Hyland to write the verse for the paving and the stonecarver Nick Durnan to carve the central motif and the edging work. Their participation on the job will guarantee great quality and bring another dimension to the scheme.

West Bay

West Bay project is going well. This is a general overview of the plan, there are a few subtle changes but on the whole this is the gist.