GradCAM presents De Machinis (Violations), a workshop/event with John Richards of Dirty Electronics investigating materialism of sound objects and the potential flux between mediums such as analogue sound and microprocessor code. Richards’ work pushes the boundaries between music, performance art, electronics, and graphic design and is transdisciplinary as well as having a socio-political dimension. He has collaborated and performed with, amongst others, Japanese noise artist Merzbow, Pauline Oliveros, Howard Skempton (founder member of the Scratch Orchestra), Gabriel Prokofiev, Nicholas Bullen (ex-Napalm Death and Scorn) and Yan Jun. Other notable collaborations include working with Rolf Gehlhaar (original Stockhausen group), Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Keith Rowe, Anat Ben-David (Chicks on Speed), choreographer Saburo Teshigawara and STEIM (Amsterdam).
This event is imited to 15 places at a cost of €35 per person. Please reserve a place here
Disruption, intervention, transference, halfway-ness, violation – the conversion of data/sound from one medium to another results in a new material phenomena, trans-media, found in the hidden corners of esoteric technological processes … A feedback system is designed where audio of a sequenced pattern is used to re-program itself.
De Machinis (Violations) is on-going investigation into materialism of sound objects and the potential flux between mediums such as analogue sound and microprocessor code. The workshop/event involves the construction of a Dirty Electronics printed circuit board artwork that takes inspiration from Arjun Appadurai’s book The Social Life of Things, and the exploded-view illustrations of fifteenth century artist-engineer Mariano Taccola found in his De Machinis (Concerning Machines). De Machinis (Violations) is extended research relating to the Dirty Electronics’ Violations event for Sounding D.i.Y. at Café Oto, London, May 2017.
John Richards explores the idea of Dirty Electronics that focuses on shared experiences, ritual, gesture, touch and social interaction. In Dirty Electronics process and performance are inseparably bound. The ‘performance’ begins on the workbench devising instruments and is extended onto the stage through playing and exploring these instruments. Richards is primarily concerned with the performance of large-group electronic music and DIY electronics, and the idea of composing inside electronics. His work also pushes the boundaries between music, performance art, electronics, and graphic design and is transdisciplinary as well as having a socio-political dimension. Richards has been commissioned to create sound devices for various arts organisations and festivals and has released a series of hand-held synths on Mute Records and through Bleep. He has collaborated and performed with, amongst others, Japanese noise artists Merzbow, Pauline Oliveros, Howard Skempton (founder member of the Scratch Orchestra), Gabriel Prokofiev, Nicholas Bullen (ex-Napalm Death and Scorn) and Yan Jun. Other notable collaborations include working with Rolf Gehlhaar (original Stockhausen group), Chris Carter from Throbbing Gristle, Keith Rowe, Anat Ben-David (Chicks on Speed), choreographer Saburo Teshigawara and STEIM (Amsterdam).