Don't let Art hold you back'
Quick and steady into the underground Art scene of Queenstown. Cow Lane Carnival & Simon Deaker
27 May 2005
.. I just wanted to write in about what did happen here in Queenstown on the weekend.
Yes Queenstown does have an Art & Culture Scene that involves music and technology in weird and wonderful ways.
So Simon Morris Deaker was exhibiting his new work on Friday at Vesta design store which is a 100 year old cottage complete with peeling wall paper from the 1920's.
I was on deck to present as the flyer stated a 'soundscape' !
Which involved was the following:
2 x CD player
1 x turntable
1 x Redsound infader
1 x SP202 Sampler
2 x Powered Mackie
.the systems was proposed to be bigger, but find out about that soon.
The event was an amazing experience for me, I was playing Techno and glicth sounds, from dub scale to ambient swiches and mildly cranking moodfloor. (see a speakeasy play list on www.psurkit.net for detail)
The audience was a terrific mix of aged and young. I gained immense pleasure to find a little group of 3 to 4 years olds beating the foldback mounted speakers in time to the rhythm, next to a group of grandparents deep in conversation.
Never in my time presenting music have a ever played to such a broad age spectrum with as much success. I contribute much of this to the fantastic art of and the venue. These elements combined to create an atmosphere of appreciation and awareness.
Simon's art is based upon layers of text. I utilized the text to create spoken samples on the SP202. Phrases like 'Milk & Honey' 'Land' and 'Classification' .. these phrases or words were mixed into and featured in the audio soundscape, providing contextual feedback for the exhibition.
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Onto Saturday Night. Cow Lane Carnival Meeting !!
For starters please read . www.cowlane.co.nz
In a domestic home we set up the following:
2 x CD player
2 x turntable
1 x Redsound infader
1 x SP202 Sampler
2 x Powered Mackie
4 x SX300
1 x Yamaha Powered Mixer
1 x Omin-directional Mic
1 x Delay Unit
8 x Home Audio Surround Speakers
1 x Home Audio Amp
++
1 x PC workstation
2 X Data Projectors
1 x Cannon mini DV
++
2 x 300watt CMYR Colour Changers
In brief I was playing music from typical DJ setup. The Omni-directional mic was feed via the delay into the Surround speakers and then onto the main sound system. The Dj system was also feed into the surround speakers.
(There was also a secret mic in the pantry feed into the surround system)
The surround speakers were spread around the house, specifically to places like the front and back door, the pantry and other dead spaces.
While its all staring to sound like a mushy blur, the effect was simply outstanding in an audio sense. The subtle layer of live delayed feedback of the party created a constant buzz. In real-time people discovered and discussed the system, then experienced this in delay. Knock-out!
To accompany this the video mix to the projector was blend of real-time video and captured roaming camera.
The combination of the whole environment, audio and visual feedback with a Dj type presentation of music to support it, created a brilliant event for the goals and aims of the Cow Lane Community Trust.
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The Cow Lane Community Trust is seeking quotes from artists who what to
perform in a multi media environment. Get in touch if you want more detail.
..
Anyway that's QT for this weekend! Probably not alot for a wee while, but expect more contorted audio environments for real-time cultural development. Thanks you very much to Matthew Ayton for the conceptual support and technical input.
Looking forward to getting up onto the snow and providing distributed audio systems for Half pipe competitions. (Call me !!)
Don't let Art hold you back, let sound take you forward!
