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SoundSurface
Date: April 17 2004
Duration: 14 min / 2 x 30 minutes
Venue: Tate Modern

Performance and Mix by Scanner and Stephen Vitiello
Introduced by Philip Sherburne

Sound is encoded in grooves on vinyl, particles on tape and pits in plastic; it travels as acoustic pressure, electromagnetic waves, scratching, hiss, and interference. But increasingly these familiar clicks and pops co-mingle in the aural landscape with new sounds and surfaces from both the everyday and the archive.

MP3 Download


SoundSurface MP3 by Scanner & Stephen Vitiello 14 min Download
     

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Scanner and Stephen Vitiello were commissioned by Tate Online Events, to remix and post produce samples from digital recordings of their performance at Tate Modern in April. Incorporating samples from the opening presentation by Sound Critic Philip Sherburne, and live performances by the two artists.

A compression of the words, ideas and structures arising out of the live event, SoundSurface. Conceptually exploring the surface noise of performance.

This not for profit, downloadable audio track is 14:00 minutes long.

Creative Commons License This mp3 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 License..

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Event Archive


SoundSurface Introduction by Philip Sherburne Play
SoundSurface Question & Answer Session Play

Please Note: These are audio only archives! These archives are available for 56k narrowband playback. Click the Play button to open the file in Real Player. Follow our Real Player Guide should you have any player problems.

After a brief introduction by Curators, Stuart Comer and Ben Borthwick, Sound Critic Philip Sherburne preludes live performances by Scanner and Vitiello with a detailed analysis of surface, depth, sound and space. During the Question and Answer session, Scanner and Vitiello describe details of their individual practice, collaboration and controller interfaces used during the live event. See further: Sampling and Controller Interfaces

The SoundSurface Introduction and Question & Answer sessions are available as Real Audio files encoded for 56k modem. You do not need to download these files. They will stream directly to your desktop and play back in the RealOne Player.

These Real Audio files are subject to copyright restrictions as outlined by the Tate Online Event copyright statement.

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Sampling & Controller Interfaces

During the live event, Vitiello used a light sensor, amplifying light sources on stage. Also, processing field recordings from Marfa, Texas, of insects, trains, wind and Donald Judd sculptures expanding and contracting in the summer heat.

Scanner used microscopic recordings of termites, flys and ants, processed shortwave radio broadcasts and interfaced them via an Alesis AirFX and Alesix AirSynth which are theremin type devices, where the sound is altered according to the movements of your hands across the invisible light beams around them.

The track also incorporates samples taken from Philip Sherburne's introduction, quiet, obscured and occasional, amidst the duet.

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Live Event & Artists' Links

Working in response to the Donald Judd exhibition at Tate Modern: mixing performance, talk and discussion, this sound forum featured New York artist Stephen Vitiello, whose work includes site-specific field recordings of Donald Judd sculptures in Marfa, Texas, and UK artist Scanner, whose recent projects include Warhol's Surfaces, an aural distillation of Warhol's persona through manipulation of the legendary Pop Artist's voice. Joined by sound critic Philip Sherburne.

Related Event Archive:

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d_cultuRe : d0wnloAd _ saMple + cuT - uP : cultuRe

29 January - 23 March 2005

New form in context of copyleft and copy rights. d_cultuRe is focused on audio production, distribution and discussion, seeking to explore the boundary between sound and music composition, in a cultural and political landscape.

Go to d_cultuRe re_Sources + re_Leases : Downloads / Archives + Links
Go to Panel Discussion : The Politics of Sound / The Cuture of Exchange
Go to Public Forum : d0wnloAd _ saMple + cuT - uP : cultuRe

Download mp3s, reference Resources, keep up to date with the Online Panel Discussion and make a contribution to the Public Forum.

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