Steve Bates corps_sonores Stephen Beaupré Kara-Lis Coverdale Sarah Davachi Emilie Roby Stéphane Claude corps_sonores Philippe-Aubert Gauthier corps_sonores sounding_bodies
© AJ. Cornell, 2015
A MUTEK satellite event
Motivated by the audio research conducted by OBORO in the installation and spatialization of hybrid broadcasting devices related to modular synthesis, sounding_bodies invites four sound artists to create work in a dedicated space, whose acoustic scenography was conceived based on the artists’ specific needs.
Over the course of one week, Steve Bates, Stephen Beaupré, Kara-Lis Coverdale with Sarah Davachi and Emilie Roby will focus on and transform their relation to space and sound in a context set up by Stéphane Claude and Philippe-Aubert Gauthier in concert with each artist. The public will be able to hear the outcome of their explorations and see their respective creation spaces on June 4 and 5, 2016, at 5 pm, by going from one space to the next during a “circulatory” performance.
Sounding_bodies builds on the Audio Art / Modular Synthesis workshop held at the New Media Lab from November 7 to 21, 2015. The workshop’s aim was to initiate a migration—already begun by several sound artists and electronic musicians—from purely computer-based environments to physical, analog, tactile and haptic approaches to sound composition, installation, and performance.
The methods and practical applications of the Audio Art / Modular Synthesis workshop were documented in a text written by Philippe-Aubert Gauthier and Stéphane Claude and published in issue 17.4—which focused on analogue and modular synthesis—of eContact!, the online journal of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC).
© AJ. Cornell, 2015
Steve Bates is an artist and musician living in Montréal. The sonic is the starting point for his work and through it he listens to boundaries and borders, points of contact and conflict. Thresholds are explored, stretched and, at times, completely broken. He is currently developing a multi-year project investigating historical and contemporary aspects of auditory hallucination. His work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, Europe and Senegal. He works in the field, on the air, in museological/gallery and performance contexts.
Montreal has been home for Stephen Beaupré‘s distinct and exhilarating musical production for 2 decades. Attracting early attention as part of the techno duo Crackhaus, Stephen gained further recognition as a solo artist with releases on Montreal label Musique Risquée, particularly his 2006 album, the skillful Foe Destroyer. Since, Stephen has released music on acclaimed labels such as Circus Company, and Perlon. Through his particular musical approach, he constructs rich forms of spirited rhythms, lush melodies and wistful vocals.
Heralded as “one of the most exciting young composers in North America” by the Guardian, Kara-Lis Coverdale is a fiercely independent voice in new music that champions omnivorous approach to sound. With a dynamic sense of play and conceptual dichotomy, her pieces are shimmering pieces of digital ether that evolve out of polymorphous arrangements of synthesized samples and keyboards processed in surreal and ornate ways. In addition to her solo music, she is known for collaborations with Tim Hecker, LXV, and production work for How To Dress Well.
As a composer of electronic and electroacoustic music, Sarah Davachi engages in practices of analog synthesis and psychoacoustic manipulations. Her work focuses on the experience of enveloped sonic dwelling, often utilizing extended durations, gradual transformations in texture, and simple harmonic structures that emphasize overtone complexity and natural phasing patterns.
Emilie Roby is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Montreal. Using the body as her raw material, she has previously worked in performance, in tattooing as a form of expression, and more recently in relation with the sound medium. She initiated the framework of her phonic vocabulary in 2012 during an artist residency at Axe Neo-7. She currently composes in the spectrum of experimental electronic music and has enrolled in electroacoustic studies at UdM for the Automn of 2016.
Stéphane Claude is an electronic/acoustic composer and sound engineer. His research integrates conceptual and physiological frameworks for sound installations and performances. He is interested in the communication of physical and formal æsthetics as transductive experiences through the exploration of modular synthesis and signal processing, parameters of acoustics, and sound in spaces. His work has been published by ATAK, LINE, ORAL and Dragon’s Eye Recordings.
Philippe-Aubert Gauthier is a sound and digital artist, junior mechanical engineer and a researcher in acoustics (spatial sound reproduction). He holds an MSc and PhD in acoustics, and is currently a researcher for the Groupe d’Acoustique de l’Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). His artist’s statement is at the crossroads of the arts, sciences, technology and culture.
