2005/04 - prof

Goodbye 2005…

An amazing year for me in the UK, both personally and artistically. Thank you everyone that made my experience such a positive one (including the unending support of friends and family stateside.) I’ve met so many amazing people, attended great shows and openings, and been able to develop more then ever before. Please check the above link to access some of last years events…and now on to 2006!

Untitled Bass Piece no 1, Ragsdale Realisation, Dec 12th

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Mark Ragsdale sent me his beautiful realization of my untitled bass piece no. 1 using an electric bass and ebow.

And the original piece: original mp3

He describes his interpretation:

“The whole piece was done entirely without me touching the strings except for one little slip where you might hear the slightest of touches with the Ebow. The breath was used to resonate the body of the Fender Jazz as I held it against my stomach and chest. From there the piezo bridge pickups were running into a Sansamp Bass D.I. and from there into Sony HiMD MZ-RH10. Then I came back to the laptop and pumped this sound file into speakers, while the bass set on top. All four strings of the Fender tuned within a half step of E, with none of the strings having the same tuning. It was like stoking a fire and it took three times of pumping it through the speaker to build up to the right volume for a consistent sound. At this point there was nothing touching the guitar except the balancing of it on top of the speaker. After it became nice and thick I began to play around with the Ebow on those same strings and was able to create a separate track that was finally mixed in.”

Michael Rhoades features untitled (mcalpine) CD release.

Michael Rhoades recently released a brilliant cd this November in which he transformed samples for untitled (mcalpine) into his cd length composition Multiverse. He also worked in colaberation with visual artist Sylvia Pengilly.

See, Hear, Inverurie Nov 22nd, sound Festival

See, Hear, Inverurie included as part of Aberdeen SOUND festival. by Adam Proctor, Pete Stollery, and Bill Thompson. Inverurie Town Hall, 7:30, free. [pix][mp3] Nov 22nd

Young artists of Inverurie work with Pete Stollery, Adam Proctor, and Bill Thompson to produce sonic and visual compositions of their impressions of Inverurie. Their works will be projected and performed on multiple speaker and visual turntables using cutting edge technology. Also on the bill are new works by the facilitators themselves (Adam Proctor, Pete Stollery, Bill Thompson, and James Wyness). tripartite collision [mp3]

Using sounds from malfunctioning electronics, computer drives, and electrical feedback, combined with amplified live sounds, mixed over 24 speakers and all within the presence of images mixed in real time from the chevrolet propaganda movie ‘The American Engineer’, Proctor, Stollery, and Thompson explore ideas of the the indeterminate, the serendipitous, and the sublime.

Experimental Music Showcase #4, Nov 19th,

Experimental Music Showcase #4 included as part of Aberdeen SOUND festival. Featuring Doug Ferguson from Austin Texas, Bill Thompson, and Andy la Kipp, Partrick Keenan, and Steve Morrison. Doors at 7pm, McRobert building (King/St Machar drive), University of Aberdeen. £5 suggested donation (£3 concessions). More information here (mp3’s and pix).

in/transience, sound Festival, Nov – Dec

in/transience explores the transient nature of public spaces, specifically the aberdeen train station. so much of our lives are spent tuning out the immediate environment while in transition, that we miss the beauty of the world around us. much of my work involves exploring sounds that often go unnoticed either because they are too quiet, or too obvious -and thus ignored – as we bustle about our busy day. in this work, as in others, i’m interested in tuning into these sounds and refocusing attention to hear them, as though for the first time.

Opening for FAUST with Mickel Mass at the tunnels in aberdeen. doors at 7pm, 15 pounds. Oct 28th

toward sublimity, Maritime Museum, Oct 21 – Nov 6

toward sublimity Oil and the City at the Maritime Museum Aberdeen. Opening 10/21, 6:30 to 8 pm (food, drink, artist talks, and more) [mp3 sample]

“For those personages, presenting themselves to us and inflaming our ardour and as it were illumining our path, will carry our minds in a mysterious way to the high standards of sublimity which are imaged within us.” Longinus, On the Sublime (tr. W. Rhys Roberts)

toward sublimity, a multiple speaker audio/visual installation that explores the sounds and images of an off shore oil rig. Since moving to Aberdeen and living off of the North Sea, I have been fascinated by these structures. The sounds and images experienced by the men and women who spend so much of their time on these rigs are indeed some of the most beautiful, intense, and unique in the world. This first piece, in a proposed series of installations, explores an abstracted reflection of these sounds drawn from a small video clip provided (gratefully) by Jake Molloy. the title is drawn from a treatise on the sublime by Longinus, in reference to the sublime beauty of both the sensory experiences found aboard these structures, as well as reflecting the spirit of the men and women who work upon them

Other artists presenting works include Duncan Hart (visual art and documentation relating his experiences exploring life without the use of petrol-chemicals), as well as the New Social Art School premiering a documentary focusing on the impact of the oil industry on Aberdeen. Email for more information.
Performing at AVP Festival Sept 16-18

Performing at AVP Festival Sept 16-18 in the South Derbyshire town of Melbourne. Other artists include Rhodri Davis, Mark Wastell, and others. Currated by Misha David.[mp3]

resonare/in absentia, May 12- Dec 01

resonare/in absentia included as part of Discoveries xxxiiii Spring Concert, University of Aberdeen, Marischal Museum.

[concert] [installation] [concert review] [curratorial review] [mp3 sample] (featured on bbc radio 4-mp3 clip)

In this piece, I was granted access to the museum’s collection of ancient Greek pottery. I wanted my work to somehow honor them without misappropriating their identity, as so often happens with museum artifacts. I decided to focus on the resonance that dwells within each vase, building a multiple cd/speaker installation that combines these delicate hums and whispers.

My intention was to metaphorically ‘leave no fingerprints’ in that I intended to focus on the untreated and un-manipulated resonances. By using miniature microphones carefully dipped within the center of each vase, I was able to keep my contact to a minimum.

Later when I edited the source recordings, miniscule unintentional sounds made by myself became apparent. Instead of editing these out, I decided to incorporate them into the installation to remind myself that even with the best intentions, it is impossible to not leave some trace when coming into contact with another culture.

‘Resonare’ means to sound and resound, and ‘in absentia’ means in the absence of, so this work attempts to give voice to the resonance that has quietly reflected the sounds around them since they came into existence.

Lunch time concert with Adam Procto on visuals at Inverurie Secondary School as part of workshop for upcoming See, Hear, Inverurie concert. Sept 23rd

Performing new work as part of Phill Harding’s exhibition ubiquitous in Southsquare Center in Bradford. Other artists include Phill Harding and Patrick McGinley (murmer). [pix] Aug 26th

untitled (mcalpine), Aug 26th

mcalpine construction site, Autumn Records, Aug 23rd

Footdee is a small Scottish fishing village off of the North Sea. Having just moved here a year ago from Texas, it’s still a novel experience for me to walk my dog along the beach each night. The sonic landscape is vastly different from that of Texas with its cicadas, crickets, frogs and the like. In Footdee, or ‘Fitee’ as the locals pronounce it, the most pervasive sound is that of wind and sea. You either notice the huge gusts and crashing waves, or you notice their absence on the occasional calm night. On this particular evening however, something remarkable was ringing out across the village. On the edge of the harbor, a new control tower is being constructed. As the wind was blowing through the structure and the various pipes of the scaffolding, it was causing them to resonate and literally ring out across the village. The sound carried by the wind was absolutely ethereal, and seemed to hang in the air. Returning that night and dodging the lights of ships coming in and out of the harbor, I scaled the fence to make the recording from which this selection is taken.

hogmanay on the north sea included on Dale Lloyd’s final (7th) cdr compilation for phonography.org. [mp3] Aug 15th

resonare featured on BBC 4 PM [mp3] Aug 10th

Young Urban Explorers workshop

Facilitating workshop with Mark Brennan and Chris Ganley. Young people will be led to explore and reflect on their urban surroundings visually and sonically. Email for details. July 09 – 15th [mp3 samples of the young artists’ work: 1 2 3 4 5]

hogmanay on the north sea broadcast in July on Fieldworks excellent radio/internet program . July 10th

Premiere of the Garioch Community Center Heartstone video shallow eyes in Invererie. July 1st

Limited cdr release from aberdeen available. June 26th

[To be featured on Symbiosis – Experimental Sound Textures and Rhythms, Aug 7th, 12am – 2am, 102.7 FM / www.rrr.org.au, Melbourne / Australia]

from aberdeen, June 24th

of aberdeen, Gangrel Bodies exhibition, July 9 – 15th

Bill Thompson of aberdeen, audio installation, 8 hours

This piece is an 8 hour soundwalk recorded binaurally during one long continuous exploration of Aberdeen. It is converted into an mp3 file and loops continuously. The idea for the work is very simple: throughout our day we filter out the sounds around us in order to focus on going where we’re going, doing what we need to do etc. As a result, we miss the beauty of our ambient surroundings. I wanted to create a work that would explore these surroundings but also encourage listeners to hear these sounds aesthetically as well. Due to the sheer length of the piece, it is hoped that listeners will get lost within the work and not be able to predict when or where they are within the soundwalk. In hearing these sounds out of context, listeners are encouraged to listen (and thus ‘hear’ them) as though for the first time. This soundwalk also traces my own exploration as I wandered around the city, led only by sounds that interested me, documented only by sounds I heard.

SOUNDSCAPEph, June 1 -17

Field recordings (hogmanay, country auction, and reflections) included in SOUNDSCAPEph, a street installation presented in conjunction with the Thre Rivers Arts Festival in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.

SOUNDSCAPEpgh is presenting soundworks from all over the world that relate to, address, contrast, or bring attention to the city/urban soundscape. the recordings will be played through several audio devices installed outside along a city block in downtown Pittsburgh, PA during the first two weeks of June.

Working with Sonic Arts Network as part of the Sonic Postcards project in local schools of Aberdeenshire (Fraserburgh North School and Ballater). May 26 – June 16

Added new featured download, reflections installation, to site. May 24th

feb’23rd, in Stop, Look, Listen exhibit at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. May 21st

Sound art workshop and performance at Grays School of Art. April 28th

The Create Studio: A Theme Park of Sound, University of Aberdeen, April 30th

The Create Studio is a unique opportunity for members of the public to explore the potential of sound – there and then – on state of the art technology. Composer Bill Thompson will lead the afternoon’s fun.

Participating in urbanNovember’s Oil and the City project, Mar 19th

Participated in A-N magazine artist field trip to Manchester. Mar 18-19

Experimental Music Showcase no. 3, featuring performances by local experimental musicians. 7:30 pm, student union, Hilton campus, building G . Email for details, Mar 17th

Performing in Varese’s Ionisation, Mar 7th

Added new featured download, Mar 5th

Phonography show aired on ResonanceFMfm at 20:30, 03/04. (mp3’s of show available here), Mar 4th

03/04/05 Added photos and video of Stop, Look, Listen event, Mar 4th

Working with Garioch youth group on sound to image project, Mar 1st

Performing as part of the stop, look, listen exhibit at Peacock Visual Arts Centre, 7:30 pm, Feb 23rd

Experimental Music Showcase no. 2, present’s the first annual Scotland (and uk) Phonography concert, 7:30 pm, student union, Hilton campus, building G. Email for details, Jan 27th

Interview by Ideasfactory.com published, Jan 26th

hogmanay on the north sea included in Aaron Ximm’s quiet american: one minute vacation, Jan 24th

Added ‘featured download’ to works page, Jan 3rd

Added hogmanay on the north sea mp3 to works page, Jan 2nd

2004

Added ‘my other life‘ to the gallery, Dec 30th

Started work on video project, homage to brakhage. [real player sample], Dec 21st

Submitted recording as part of Peter M. Wyer’s simultaneity project, Dec 20th

assemblage series 1 premiered as part of South Square Centre’s end of year show, Dec 4 – 21

Added mp3’s summer (exerpt) and windmill (exerpt) to works page, Dec 4th

Added pictures of reflection installation to gallery, Nov 25th

Added guestbook to site, Nov 24th

Participating as an artist within urbannovember to install a sound installation, as part of the Atlas of Urban Aberdeen project. several artists will participate over the course of the week. Nov 23 – 28

From urbannnovember’s site:
Over the course of a week, urbanNovember will develop an Atlas of Urban Aberdeen, as a (temporary) physical installation at Limousine Bull and an ongoing virtual presence on the Internet. Location: Limousine Bull, 36-48 Langstone Place, Aberdeen. Contact Peter Troxler, +44 (0) 7764-583586 for details.

Assisting Pete Stollery with a sonic art project working with children to record sounds and construct a short piece to be performed at the Discoveries Concert in Banchory. Nov 17 – 19

Added Experimental Music in Scotland page to the site, Nov 16th

Experimental Music Showcase no. 1, featuring performances by James Wyness, Bill Thompson, and Pete Stollery. Live electronics, sound diffusion, avant-glitch. 7:30 pm, student union, Hilton campus, building G. Email for details. Nov 11th