Kaffe Matthews Georges Azzaria Magali Babin John Oswald Sonic Bed_Québec – version 2

Date(s): Apr 24 to May 29 2010

Exhibition

Kaffe Matthews, 2007

Renowned electroacoustic artist Kaffe Matthews brings us music for bodies. With Sonic Bed_Quebec, Matthews invites spectators to experience music on a sensory level by lying on a catalogne-covered mattress in a large wooden bed and letting themselves be lulled by the vibrations and pulsations of sound. With its bark-covered side panels, six concealed subwoofers and eight surroundsound speakers, this recent Quebecois version of the Sonic Bed provides an opportunity to explore multi-channel music created not only for the ears, but also the body.

Sonic Bed started in London in 2006, spawning local versions of beds in different cities such as Shanghai, Taipei, Mexico and Marfa. This version of the resonant bed is infused with commissioned soundtracks by Canadian sound artists Magali Babin, John Oswald and Georges Azzaria.

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Further readings:

Kaffe Matthews, 2007

Since 1990, Kaffe Matthews has been one of the most active artists on the new electronic music scene. She uses custom designed software as well as a mic, a theremin, and feedback. She shifted to sonic furniture building with Sonic Bed_London (2005), which has led to the creation of a substantial ongoing venture: the worldwide Bed Project, an operation led by the research project music for bodies, directed by Matthews, of which she plans to create twelve versions internationally.

http://www.kaffematthews.net/

Georges Azzaria is a sound artist who, drawn by radio experimentation in the mid-1980s, later became involved in the creation of sound objects. Law professor at Laval University, Georges Azzaria was a member of the group Bruit TTV (1987-1993), has given numerous performances and recorded two CDs. Aside from exhibits of his instruments and his sound performances in Quebec and Europe, he has produced a number of soundtracks for film and the theatre.

Magali Babin is an interdisciplinary artist with a practice in sound art. Exploring space as sound material, Babin draws her materials from haptic proximities, acoustic landscapes, and real-life contexts to create environments composed of sequences, textures, and perspectives. Her works explore imperceptible aspects that create alertness and attention through listening. In recent projects, Babin has examined perception and memory by investigating the ways we identify sounds. Babin has performed in international festivals in Canada, USA, and Europe.

http://www.magalibabin.com/

John Oswald is a saxophonist, composer, dancer, media artist, and among the most remarkable Canadian artists on the current music scene. Active on a number of fronts since the 1970s, he is renowned worldwide, especially for his album Plunderphonics (1990), a sonic patchwork of existing music. His arrangements belong to the repertoire of major orchestras, for example the Kronos Quartet, and several national ballets. In 2004, he won the Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts.