Sounds intriguing: Audacious – Festival of Sonic Arts

Throughout the first weekend of March, central Christchurch will resonate with an exciting programme of sonic art installations, workshops, sound walks and performances at Audacious, Canterbury’s first ever Festival of Sonic Art.

As both a festival artist and organiser I am very excited about this event and the fantastic range of artworks, activities and experiences Audacious will bring to the city. My own work, Sunburners will be installed on the bank of the Avon River on Oxford Terrace between Hereford and Cashel Streets. It utilizes simple solarbots to tap out minimal but constantly shifting rhythmic patterns as the solarbots speed up and slow down relative to the amount of sunlight shining on them.

This gives the work both an uncanny life of its own and some fun interactive potential as the audience can slow down the solarbots individually by casting shadows on them. The sonic characteristics of the work are very different depending on the levels of sunlight so that in dim weather it is quite subdued and delicate while in full, bright sunshine it becomes rather loud and very fast and furious. I’m crossing my fingers for mostly good weather with a bit of variety in cloud cover for best results.

Sunburners Study by Adam Willetts

Information from Audacious:

Highlights include A Folded Path the pedestrian symphony created specifically for the streets of Christchurch by UK artists, Circumstance; a water sound sculpture created by Chris Reddington and Tom Phillpotts (Christchurch); solar powered sonic sculptures on the banks of the River Avon by Adam Willetts (Christchurch); sonic glass rods made by Alastair Galbraith (Dunedin) that can be played by passersby and the lost sounds of the city returned, such as the Cathedral Bells, by Stanier Black-Five (Christchurch).

There’s also a chance to get hand/ears-on at the series of sonic workshops over the weekend: from building and playing Taonga Puoro/Traditional Maori instruments, with local experts Tony Smith (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu – Kāti Irakehu) and Geoff Low (Christchurch) to building your own synthesizer with Nicolas Woollaston (Christchurch). There are also a number of sessions specifically designed for children, such as those led by sound artist and science educator, Dr Claire Pannell (Australia) who will be exploring how we hear and helping children build sound making instruments to take home, and sound based story sessions with experimental guitarist and former Christchurch City Libraries Storytimes star, Greg Malcolm (Christchurch).

For full festival details and booking information visit audacious.org.nz

Unknown Superiors: Erewhon Calling – Experimental Sound in New Zealand

Even to lifelong natives of one race or another, New Zealand is often summed up in one word: boring. The long white cloud of our original name seems in the 21st century to consist of ennui, repression, angst and mundane order coupled with rigid expectations and an ingrained fear of singularity.

Aside from technological advances, some loosening of morals and the allowance of more wiggle room in sexual politics, there is little difference between modern New Zealand and the country Bill Pearson was writing about sixty years ago when he argued that being different = trying to be superior.

So may the heavens smile upon the random eccentrics who buck the trend and spend their time fashioning flame-powered pipe organs, or learning how to press records with Frankenstein-ed washing machine parts, or utilising the power of the sun to make a robot play guitar. In Erewhon Calling – Experimental Sound in New Zealand, Bruce Russell has compiled a vibrant celebration of the “antipodean misfits and malcontents” who devote their hands, hearts and ears to staying as far away from the oeuvre of The Exponents as is humanly conceivable.

In an expected esoteric fashion, this collection derives its title from Samuel Butler’s satirical novel Erewhon, in which the eponymous fantasy land is, as Russell retells it, “defended…by stone sound sculptures which make such ‘hideous noises’ that…’however brave a man might be, he could never stand such a concert.’ ” An almost-reversal of “nowhere,” Butler’s novel allegedly satirises blandly-Victorian principles (I barely made it fifty pages in so I’m inclined to take the internet’s word for it), and by merging Butler’s title with that of The Clash’s classic album London Calling, Russell nails the spirit of these brilliant weirdoes.

Although perhaps brilliance is too light a term for these unknown superiors, such as Alastair Galbraith and his eight note fire organ that harnesses the power of bunsen burners to produce distinct notes. Also to be found within these pages is the ingenuity of Geraldine’s Peter King and his lathe cut approach to record pressing, for which he uses a home-made machine cobbled together from washing machine parts in a process so unique, it has attracted the attention of such far-flung artists as Beastie Boys and Pavement.

Even Christchurch City Libraries’ own Adam Willetts earns a spot for his experiments with solar-powered robots (or ‘solarbots’), which were given the ability to make music on an electric guitar in order to transform the live performer into the furniture itself.

So for those of you feel like celebrating New Zealand Music Month by leaning on the more intriguing side of things, Erewhon Calling should provide you with a great starting point (I’d also recommend Russell’s Left-handed Blows – Writing on Sound 1993-2009), plus be sure to join us at New Brighton Library on Saturday 25 May as Adam performs with his home-made modular synthesisers and takes us on a musical journey which promises to be anything but boring.

Abstract psychedelic pop music hits Shirley Library

Adam Willetts performing live

I have to admit that I am a complete novice when it comes to abstract psychedelic pop music, but as a budding librarian my craving for knowledge about the unknown encouraged me to talk to Adam Willetts about his style of music. I was especially interested as Adam will be giving a live performance at Shirley Library (Sunday 24th May) as part of Christchurch City Libraries New Zealand Music Month .

I have discovered Christchurch has a thriving experimental music scene and Adam is an important part of this and performs regularly around New Zealand and internationally, featuring alongside artists such as Dan Deacon, High Places, The Dead C, Rafael Toral, and Akio Suzuki. He was recently part of Trambience, where a Christchurch tram carriage is transformed into a mobile music venue and both the audience and performers travel through the city streets.

Adam makes his own instruments and uses his homemade synthesisers and electronics ‘to create rich and immersive fields of sound with a fragile yet propulsive sense of momentum, carefully balancing elements of euphoric beauty with seething and unpredictable noise.’

Come along to Shirley Library on Sunday 24 May 12-1pm for a musical experience like never before.