Auger

Well June (Joon) melted into July melting into August.

Teo arrives next week and I can't wait.

Been ill for a sustained period now -but thankfully feeling better even as I type. Going to do a Lightning Technique course soon, so will report on its effects. Have noticed good quality of sleep really makes a positive difference. This year has been a slog, though, so far.

Degree Show has been and gone, but with a group of students continuing to show their work at the DegreeArt.com gallery, 30 Vyner Street, London from 6th to 16th August. Go and see some beautiful work.

Have had many more submissions from Consemblers including Ted Houghtaling, Emma Payne from fedbybirds, Steve Moshier (excerpts from his 'Brief Encounters'), Cem Gurney, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen and Dave Dellafiora: 'Hi Paul, you should get the cd in a few days as it was sent last week. As I said before please feel free to cut the music up. The method used was one I copied from one of the autistic guys I work with, playing youtube with a number of windows open, all playing at once and rolling back the sound almost like scratching effect.'

-and more, with more sounds promised!



Painting has focussed on exploring the effect of using different papers (often to make birthday cards for family and friends). Have recently been using gloss printing papers and matt card with cherry, raspberry, blackberry and strawberry salt solutions. In fact, I'm all ready to go with a prepared canvas this evening. In fact, the reason I am writing this blog is to escape from the noise of kids outside my flat so I can pass the time until they disperse. In fact, they're gone now...

Sat All Day

After a very full and tiring week at work, Saturday - time to rest and catch up.

Consemble Son count is very healthy with a couple of months to go:
Consemble C2 - 54
Consemble E - 35
Consemble F - 39
Consemble G - 31
(all out of a maximum of 60)
Quite a few of the recent ones are from composers via NetNewMusic.
I plan to add some wah guitar to E and some drawing sounds (the sound of stylus on papyrus) to G quite soon.
*
Finished the Bourriaud and enjoyed it, then discovered to my delight there is a book called 'Non-relational Aesthetics' by Charlie Gere (and others), who I knew at Middlesex and who has gone on to great, if unrelational, things. Not everyone is a fan of this response but I will certainly seek it out. Also found some interesting online perceptions of RA. One criminal omission is any real discussion of sound or music - it seems to me that an average, intelligent Rock concert fulfils many of Bourriaud's requirements for an art of contact. Should also mention that RA is no longer all that contemporary and the debate has moved on. A few more coffees and I may chase after it.
*
Small painting show now moved to early Sept. though the 'canvasses' continue to build up. It's recently occurred to me that a 'Fragaria' accompanying bookwork could contain some scans of sketches for work, as well as text and photos. Still thinking about how to represent it online (without being ripped off).

Spring Cleaning '09

After a fairly relaxing but poignant Easter I return to report on current developments.



Since I last blogged my painting practice has continued to flourish and grow, with my current work centering on the record and variations upon it (taking, for example, the idea of a label surrounded by a circular lake of sound). I need to confirm but I believe I am setting up a small show of work very soon, in the Scott Building in Plymouth University where I lecture. I want to use this as a spring board for a larger show this Summer, which will also include some form of bookwork. As I have been working with strawberries for some of these pieces, the tentative title of the Plymouth show is 'Fragaria - towards future variations'. As my friend Sarah commented (who teaches an MA Fine Art course) my recent work is complex, with apparently disparate strands being collided, but I feel an effective display of my work will lead the audience through the brambles to the fruit ;-)


I am still thinking how best to represent my work online and need to reflect further on how I want to structure paulramsay.co.uk so that I achieve a balance between old and new work. Rightly or wrongly I always feel I want to do justice to earlier material, particularly music, as the work didn't have much exposure at the time it was made and I think there are some good pieces there - things that I listen to as much as I listen to anything else. It is also coming up to the 30 year anniversary of 'Photographs of Sound' - an album recorded and released by PGRS, the first improvising band I was a member of - and so it would be appropriate to mark this with some form of interweb celebration I think...

This round of Consembles has been very productive, with a number of new participants getting involved, and the promise of sounds from many more. I am pleased in the way that this project has put me in touch with many interesting artists/musicians (and I intend to develop this further, possibly into the territory of 'Inlets' Daughter' and certainly for MAAKOF).


I am already collaborating with the delightful Carla Cryptic on a new PMusic Single and this is an exciting development for me, being able to work internationally across the web, with like-minded people.


Another encouraging sign has been the inclusion of an overview of PMusic and Consemble by Peter van Cooten in his blog 'DreamScenes'. Peter is also involved in Folio Radio - a radio show in the Netherlands and we are talking about the possibility of PMusic featuring in a half-hour slot on the programme in June or July of this year.

I still have several things I need to attend to:
'Inlets Daughter' and/or 'eTudes'
A bookwork on Parallel Music
MAAKOF
Beatrice Harrison project
'Red' painting project
my website (as mentioned)
and more...

Spring cleaning my art while time flies by...

New Licenses

Feb 1st soft launch for three new Consembles:
Consemble E: 'soul electric'
Consemble F: 'washed up on your island'
Consemble G: 'sky writing'

and a continuation (second licence):
Consemble C2: 'the idea of voice'



Please feel free to contribute your own sounds
'let's build some music together'

First in 2009

Hopefully, a multi-coloured year with the release of:
Albums,
Bookworks,
Consembles
and the
Development of
paintings and
other visual pieces

Consemble: End of First Year

The deadline of 31st August 2008 being duly reached, the music licences for Consembles A, B, C and D have now 'expired' (although the music never ends ;-)

http://www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble-A.html
http://www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble-B.html
http://www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble-C.html
http://www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble-D.html


A very successful first year conclusion to an expansive project. Over 30 people took part, with the spread of backgrounds I was looking for: sound artists, mail artists, amateurs, children, dilettantes, experts.

My next task is to write some mini-essays on the experience and then redesign and re-launch the Consemble pages. I'll blog when this is achieved.

There will also be three new open licences for 2008/9: Consembles E and F, and a second 'idea of voice' (as this was a popular choice) Consemble C2. Deadline 31st August 2009.

Consemble: construct, assemble, compose, ensemble

Dusk Letter/Dusk Disk

Been away for a break, visiting friends and family in and around Rochester, Kent. Pleasantly surprised today by a letter from David Dellafiora found on my doormat today just as I was about to do catch-up supermarket shopping.

The package also contained a disk for submission to Consemble B: 'Dusk' with several tracks of birdsong recorded in Australia, at dusk, by Dave and his partner and fellow artist Sue Hartigan.

It is refreshing to get a contribution that has been put together with such care and integrity. There is a kind of creative energy that is perpetuated by such activity and Dave, and Sue, always contribute fully to any project they're engaged in.

Said in my reply email:
'Thanks once again for participating - and it's refreshing to get a CD in the mail that has been so lovingly crafted: it will certainly go into my archive! ...I'm pleased with Consemble B as it has the rather introverted, purple sky feel I was hoping for. I've gained a lot from doing this project and particularly in terms of composition I feel I've also learned and developed a sensibility for PMusic and its potential'.

Current Consembles now have just a eight more days to run.


click on the above image to hear track 1 of the disk

also listen here to Consemble B: 'Dusk'

Consemble/Paint

Busy again sifting the web for people to invite to Consemble and emailing sound art project sites to request placement of Consemble on their links pages - there's a particularly good presentation at netEX which has resulted in quite a few visits.

Also received some more sounds from a musician from Chile so spent an enjoyable morning creating Sons from this material.

I've learned a great deal from this project and when this current round ends on the 31st August I shall place a mini essay on the site reflecting on the experience. One of the things that has surprised me is that people generally say 'here are my sounds - edit and use them accordingly'. I was expecting participants to be much more 'hands on' about their contributions, so the lightness of touch is refreshing. Having said this I'm not sure to what extent people are listening to the Consembles prior to sending the sounds they 'think ought to be included in the projects' - I'll have to consider this for future work. At the moment I think I will set up three new Consembles beginning on the first of September with a deadline of the 31st August 2009 (as this fits well with my timetable in relation to college work).


Painting is progressing well with the 'strawberry' canvas being prepared and another small square canvas primed for tests. That totals around 6 paintings in gestation. Have been very spoiled recently as we have had some very warm, sunny days perfect for drying canvasses quickly. It now feels as if a storm is brewing so we may be returning to cooler, English slower drying times.

I think providing a list of 'ingredients' for each painting will be a useful way of contextualising them; a small bookwork based on this idea may be appropriate.

I also think going to my kitchen for a break and refreshment will be useful; a biscuit and a cup of tea may be appropriate here. Must phone Geoff.

Paint/Consemble

After returning from a much needed and appreciated two week break in Rochester, Kent, my creative life has been invigorated and focussed on painting and the Consemble project. College is in recess for the summer and apart from some admin, thesis supervision and webwork, I have some breathing space in which to develop my practice.

The above image is of the underpainting for a raspberry/salt crystal canvas I'm currently working on; this is one of a planned series which will also include strawberries and, possibly, citrus fruits. In fact the reference to strawberries and the aesthetics of this work are reminding me of the time I worked woth William Morris's image 'Strawberry Thief' which generated both a re-worked watercolour and music for the gtr duo 4 point paint.

It feels very good to be painting again after being away from it for too long (mainly because of my music projects). I'm re-remembering all those small but essential techniques through which to generate the most effective work. I have a few other plans - one for a canvas utilising circular paints from a reworked children's painting kit and one for a canvas incorporating a gramophone record (and this should help me pick up the thread of my thinking from 'Works Of Friction' last year).


I'm also having a drive to publicise Consemble and get some more sounds submitted before the August 31st deadline - if you'd like to listen or take part please do: www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble.html

Had a very good day last Tuesday when I had three people respond with some excellent work: two submissions for 'the idea of voice' (currently the most populous Consemble with 42 sons) and one for 'Snapshot' which is taking on a rather pastoral feel. Prior to this artist Jockel Liess contributed to 'Dusk' and I'm hoping more people will be in contact soon after my sending emails to hertz lion, the Sonic Arts Network, generative.net (indirectly) and others this week. In fact Sunday will also be a Consemble email day (as well as a paint drying day).

Now where's that pear cider?...

Park and Record

Yesterday, after doing my Saturday shop at the supermarket, I unexpectedly came across an event in local Pinces park organised by Exeter's Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM). The weather was glorious, cream teas were on sale and it was good to see the park filled with people - a real community event. There was a Global Gardeners Touring Exhibition featured, with stalls and free-standing posters, and entertainment was provided courtesy of Wren Music. This event also sought to promote the livinghere.org.uk website which features a 'living history of the area West of the Exe' and has a space for members to add their own material documenting their lives in Exeter.

I returned to the park with my minidisc 'hoover' and gathered recordings for half and hour or so really enjoying what felt like my first real taste of Summer. The sounds of children, birds, folk music and ocassional overhead 'planes was a rich mix.

Today (Sunday) I digitised these recordings and made some summer Sons which I placed in Consemble A and Consemble C. Have a listen?

From Scratch

I will be premiering a new 'short' PMusic work etude 23 as part of the Sound and Film (Voices Festival) in Plymouth on Sunday 24th February 2008.

January Looks Forward

The beginning of a new year always gives a nice sense of rhythm to the wandering line that is my life (and yours?) - a chance to delineate a fresh mental space.

And so while I am planning to realise work based on ideas I've been developing over the past year or more, I also want to leave some room for spontaneity and surprise. Fish finger fox.

And so here are some things that'll be going into the Chameleon Lectra mix - as listed in the last CL Newsletter but with additional comments - bearing in mind I haven't gathered all of the ingredients yet:



• RMusic 003: work has already begun on a new Motile album to be titled 'Inlets' Daughter' and due for release in early-to-mid '08.

This album is emerging as an extension of the territory explored in 'Inlets', with contributions from other musicians; its main influences are sea and sky. ID will be available in a range of formats and the primary album cover will be in the form of a mug - a development from my rethinking of the album.



• The four ongoing Consemble projects are continuing to grow, with more projects planned for the coming year; your contributions are welcome.

Parallel Music eTude 23, based on my experience with Consembling, will be premiered as part of the Sound and Film (Voices Festival) on Sunday 24th 2008 in the Jill Craigie Cinema, Roland Levinsky Building, University of Plymouth. This strand of the event is being organised by John Matthias.

Amongst the various contributors to Consemble are composer John Matthias and mail artist Martha Aitchison [Consemble D: 'warm surroundings'], Martin (of headphonica) [Consemble B: 'Dusk'], Teofo M from Botswana [Consemble C: 'the idea of voice'] and Cyrus, who lives in Seoul, Korea [Consemble A: 'Snapshot'].



• Parallel Music releases, in the form of interactive Singles, are currently being developed for purchase and download (Mac and PC) - initially via lulu.com. The free, earlier Singles can be heard here.

A PMusic album is pencilled in (2HB) for a 2009 launch.

Working on releasing some new PMusic in the form of Singles will allow me to continue to develop the form and content of some relatively short PMusic pieces for this year while giving me time to complete and promote the RMusic 'Inlets' Daughter'. The experience of selling the Singles will also inform the distribution of the first PMusic album. I'm very much looking forward to creating this first Parallel Music collection - it's certainly been a long time coming! (over ten years!)



• Bookworks, paper and pixel, on a range of subjects including sex, music, the sea, insect life and salt crystal painting etc. are being prepared for publication.

I released a number of publications (with some collaborative works) on my own imprint 'Alembic Books' in the early '90s and these proved to be very popular. My intention is to re-present some of this material - and also develop some new bookworks - for sale via the web, both as paperbacks and computer-based pieces (lectra). This will also fulfill my intention of extending the range of artistic activity within Chameleon Lectra.


• Work will also continue on the collaboration with Steve Thorpe (Rockworks and Soundworks), the updating of paulramsay.co.uk and the recomposing of the music of Miss Beatrice Harrison...

'the map is not the territory'

Consemble: 'Let's Build An Album'

After the positive experience of working on 'The Sound Of The Field', I realised that an ongoing project, in which people submitted sounds to be placed within indeterminate compositions, would be a very interesting proposition - not least because it fulfills some of the aspirations around at the moment for music to be constructed communally.

The success of what is currently termed Web 2.0 - sites such as YouTube, MySpace, Flickr - points to the idea that clusters of people can assemble material drawing on the resources of what may be understood as a group mind. My thinking on this has been further influenced by the notion of open source, the practice of mail art and ideas of the global village.

I find the phrase 'Let's Build an Album' a particularly delicious one as it suggest a music venture akin to an architectural project.

www.chameleonlectra.co.uk/Consemble.html


And I'll return to this again...

Consemble: Open Compositions PMusic Project

The open compositions 'Consemble' project was launched on July 14th 2007 after my paper 'Parallel Music – Towards a Utopian Compositional Form' was given on the final day of the Utopia 2007 conference.

The inspiration for open compositions comes from the idea of open source and how this has been applied to various arenas, including music. Consemble, in particular, has also been informed by the success of The Sound Of The Field project which allowed me to see the potential of opening up PMusic to participation from a wider audience (in fact audience is too passive a term - participants are just that i.e. active contributors).

The description of Consemble on the CL website is as follows:

'Consemble is a new Open Compositions venture launched by Chameleon Lectra on the 14th July 2007.

To take part, you are invited to listen to the current open Consembles and then email your own sounds - the ones you think ought to be included in the project - to build ongoing, indeterminate PMusic compositions. Every contributor will be credited and the work will be available, for free, from this site. Anyone may take part - amateurs, professional composers, sound artists, non-musicians etc. - there is no age limit. You may, of course, just want to listen to the pieces as they progress.

There are a series of project licences (Consemble: A, Consemble: B etc.) - each with its own brief and specifications to guide you; the intention however is to be broad, welcoming and inclusive. Consemble can be understood as a sound art or music project.

Please bear in mind that this work will be available for free to all, including children (so no pornographic sounds etc.) and no copyrighted material. Email details are provided on each Consemble page.

The project will last for at least 1 year and may well continue beyond.

Consemble is a licence for you to be a composer.'


Open Consembles:
Consemble: A
Consemble: B
Consemble: C
Consemble: D


If you would like to take part, please visit Consemble.

Sounds of an Imagined New Arts Building

'In September 2007 the University of Plymouth's Fine Art course will be moving from Exeter to Plymouth. One of the new locations to be used by the course will be the New Cooperage Building, Royal William Yard - also the venue for the Sonic Arts Network's Expo 2007 (22nd - 25th June).

To inaugurate the move, Chameleon Lectra has created a special licence within its Consemble 'Open Compositions' project'.

The above description is taken from the 'Consemble: Plymouth' page on the CL website and is the first manifestation of my soon to be launched 'Consemble' project (which I shall be writing about in more detail soon).

'Consemble: Plymouth' was exhibited online for the Sonic Arts Network's EXPO 2007 in Plymouth (22nd - 25th June), as part of the 'Distributed City' strand.

   

This indeterminate sound work features 60 sounds contributed by the Fine Art team at Exeter (University of Plymouth) guided by the theme: 'Plymouth New Build - Building the Sounds of the Art School We Want to Live In'. (I chose this theme to provide an opportunity to create a building in sound to represent an aspiration, a critique, a refuge etc.)

The audience experience this piece through an interactive player - they have the opportunity to both hear the work in its entirety (as much as an indeterminate piece allows) and to select particular sounds for inclusion in a 'mix area' (see image below).



'Consemble: Plymouth' premiered 22nd June 2007 and is now live.