Project notes: Approaching The Object

Some typed notes for a project on making sounds with objects.

"The initial idea was that I would do something that is a part of my current practice and would help me understand more about my own fascination with making sounds with objects and find some cultural context for that as part of an artistic practice. I would take the thing that I feel is at the centre of what I do as an artist -making sounds with objects- and strip away everything else to examine it close-up. It would be a relatively simple and pragmatic exercise. Of course when we examine something close-up a world of complexities and detail within the thing itself become apparent… and more possibilities."

The notes are from the early stages of the final project for my MA in Sound Art. This is a development of the Object/Action/Sound idea in a previous post and show the kind of things I'm thinking about or doing with this project. The 'Further Thinking' part shows how within the apparently scientific and pragmatic original idea is a far more complex and philosophical web of themes, questions and directions.

The image is taken directly from an A4 word file.

Drawings for tape loop installation

Drawings for a site-specific tape loop installation at The London College of Communication.

Felt pen on A4 monochrome prints from digital photos showing ideas for a site-specific installation with a small reel-to reel tape recorder running a loop of tape along the length of a set of metal railings playing back a continuos loop of the sound of my hand running along the railings once from one end to the other. The action is performed and recorded once with the rest of the tape containing silence. The actual sound would not take up the same length of tape as the length of the railing though the tape moving along the full length of the railing and the visual association with the sound, it's source and the movement of the tape may create that impression.

"OBJECT / ACTION / SOUND" Proposal

Notes for project on making sounds with objects.

Today I made a proposal to my MA group for the final project of the course. The focus of the project is to look at what is at the core of my interests as an artist- making sounds with objects-  and make some detailed studies of particular objects while exploring their sound-making possibilities. This will be an attempt to get to the heart of what it is that I am trying to do with my work by stripping away all the many and various elements that go into and come out of the work and focus on the one that is most important to me. I am working towards a series of performances with objects and instruments that are about exploring the 'basic' idea of performing actions with objects with the intention of creating sounds. Of course this idea is not so basic as by giving myself restrictions and boundaries to work within and taking a hyper-focussed approach highlights the potential complexity and possibilities of going from the general to the specific. Also there are many questions raised about the focus on myself as the  artist and performer and why this work must result in a live performance. I feel this project is a very personal one as it is important that I am bringing my own approach, idiosyncrasies, measure and sensitivity to the objects and the fact that it is a performance allows this to be seen and heard first hand. The audience will see the artist making decisions, deciding how, when and when not to act and hear the resulting sound. One thing I want to avoid is the focus on the artist as the 'master of ceremonies' the magician who is performing mystical acts. I want no illusions. One challenge is how to make the work interesting and engaging if it is apparently so simple in concept and execution without it becoming self -indulgent noodling or a dry demonstration exercise.

Random Record Mash-ups ⌗1

Random Record Mash-ups 1

25/5/14

One turntable, four records. Live sampling and looping random parts of each record.

Records used in order:

"Garden Bird Songs" (RSPB 1976)

"One Man In His Time: Sir John Gielgud Reads Shakespeare" (CBS 1960)

"How To Give Yourself A Stereo Checkout" (DECCA 1967)

"Bass Guitar" (Consolidated Music Publishers 1973)

Filmed on a webcam with direct audio line through a USB sound card.

Sonic Review- David Lynch: The Factory Photographs

"I love industry. Pipes. I love fluid and smoke. I love man-made things. I like to see people hard at work, and I like to see sludge and man-made waste." David Lynch

A short piece based on tape-recorded field recordings made at The Photographer’s Gallery, London at an exhibition of David Lynch’s Factory Photographs. The exhibition is black and white photographs of slightly bleak and foreboding industrial landscapes from around th e world. This is my response to a brief asking to make a ‘review’ of something artistic or cultural I had seen recently. I took a tape recorder along to the exhibition and recorded sounds of people talking while viewing the work, using the elevator, opening and closing doors, the sound of myself walking around the exhibition and the dark, ambient tones of Lynch’s own sound installation accompanying the exhibition. The tape recordings were then processed through digital delay, while stop-starting the tape causing the sounds of the tape recorder and the recordings to repeat and overlap to create new sounds. The piece was re-mixed in real-time while being copied between two tape recorders. Some low synth tones were added in response to Lynch’s own sounds. Quite how this constitutes a review I don’t know but there it is.

David Lynch, Untitled (England) late 1980s early 1990s

www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk/david-lynch-the-factory-photographs

NOISE ABOVE NOISE IN WIRE Feb 2013

Issue 360

February 2014

"Noise Above Noise 
The high rise studio housing Manchester’s sonic arts underground. By Frances Morgan"

The Penthouse NQs Noise Above Noise sound performance series is featured in the latest issue of Wire. I was artist in residence at The Penthouse and played at the first Noise Above Noise in 2013.

WIRE Issue 360

THE PENTHOUSE

NOISE ABOVE NOISE

XMAS AT THE MILL, DECEMBER 7 2013.

Terminal Cheesecake LIVE at Islington Mill with Gnod, Bong, Die Hexen and more!!!

What better way to begin the festive period than being immersed in a heady world of music, art, noise, performance... and mince pies? All at your fave venue; Islington Mill.

You'd have a bit of a job topping this line-up...

Concretecock and Fat Out Til You Pass Out bring you Islington Mill's Xmas Xtravaganza!



Clubspace:
TERMINAL CHEESECAKE
GNOD
BONG
DIE HEXEN
TRANARCHY
RAIKES PARADE
BRATAN
DREAM EYES
RIVER SLAUGHTER
(more TBA)

DJs:
Lucy Ironmonger & Chew Disco
VULJ

PLUS DJ sets from performers.

1st Floor:
ROSANNE ROBERTSON
DEBBIE SHARP
AULO'S FIRST REED
GARY FISHER
MATT DALBY
2 KOI KARP

Visual Stimulation:
KHOM
WOODCOCK&GRUNDSTROM
MARK O'SHEA

TICKETS:
£7 ADV. http://www.wegottickets.com/event/246675
£9 OTD

https://www.facebook.com/events/232104690279940/

"THE PEN IS A RECORDING DEVICE" LONDON 19/10/13

During the Sluice Art Fair in London - where I was invited by The Penthouse who I did a residency with early in 2013- I was loaned a pen which contained a secret MP3 recorder and left the it in different locations around the venue to record whatever was going on. Some people did wonder why I was photographing a pen. I am not yet in possession of the recordings but have been told they contain mainly inaudible noise though no doubt interesting noise. These photos were taken with my mobile phone.

Pen MP3 recorder on location. Sluice Art Fair, London, 19/10/13.

SLUICE ART FAIR, LONDON 18/10 - 20/10/13

Some pictures from the Sluice Art Fair in London.

Tabletop sound making.

Performance at the closing event.

 I was invited to the Sluice Art Fair by THE PENTHOUSE, Manchester where I was on the artist residency program for five weeks early in 2013.

Along with fellow artists and Penthouse directors Rosanne Robertson and Debbie Sharp and Invited artist Benny McChrystal Plimmer I spent almost the whole time on the stall collaborating and improvising with sound and making on-the-spot works responding to the immediate environment including spontaneous sound making around the venue with a found metal object which got a few confused looks from people who probably couldn't tell if I was making art or just a slightly strange person, particularly when I threw the object out onto a metal fire escape. To close the event 2 KOI KARP joined myself, Debbie and Rosanne in line-up of improvised, experimental sound perfromances. From a personal perspective it was one of the performances I've enjoyed playing the most since I'd had two days of warming up it was one of the more disjointed and louder sets I've done as well as the longest so far. Travelling to London meant I had to strip down my set-up so went for the lap guitar, book, and pocket radio for my most minimal set-up so far, which forced me to concentrate more getting different sounds from each instrument and made for a more raw and immediate sound.

"COMPILATION" CD-R VERSION

GARY FISHER "COMPILATION" CD-R

SELECTED HOME AND STUDIO RECORDINGS 2007-2013

Limited 10 track physical version of the free MP3 download album self-released through the 

FOUND IN A SKIP label

Covered with single folded sheet of monochrome laser printed A4 paper and includes printed card.

Available to buy at gigs and soon at the website GARY-FISHER.COM

NOISE ABOVE NOISE AT THE PENTHOUSE 19/9/13

I'll be taking part in this experimental noise/sound art/improv extravaganza with some friends and fellow noise makers. A great opportunity for trying new things, collaborations and live experiments.

From The Penthouse website:

NOISE ABOVE NOISE |||

An evening of experimental sound and improvisation. 

This event is one of a pair of ongoing (possibly monthly) nights joined with The Basement and 2 Koi Karp (Louise Woodcock and Neil VG). 

Artists

Rosanne Robertson

Debbie Sharp

Louise Woodcock

Neil VG

Gary Fisher 

Matt Dalby

Together these artists will create new work, invite guest artists to work with and invite an audience to experience it. 

Details on individual artists to follow. 

NOISE ABOVE NOISE is hosted by The Penthouse- a new artist led work space- a place for making, doing, sharing and showing. The Penthouse was recently featured on The Manchester Culture Show as a new and exciting side step to the Manchester cultural scene and favoured most fondly in the HOT 100 list by Kevin Hunt for a-n magazine’s Signpost publication. 

NOISE ABOVE NOISE is about making and sharing new sound art. 

Our ideas and sounds fly from the rooftops.

http://thepenthousenq.com/events

Dunning x Testrack x Fisher - Triangle

New collaborative release: Triangle

"Sound artists Graham Dunning and Gary Fisher with producer and electronic musician Testrack improvising three tracks of bass-heavy drone at the Penthouse artist space in Manchester, April 2013."

Stream/download here

Artist links:

Graham Dunning

Testrack

Gary Fisher

Gary Fisher Compilation. 2007-2013 compilation release. Free download.

NEW RELEASE:
Gary Fisher Compilation. Imaginatively titled compilation release. Free download.

Selected home and studio recordings from 2007-2013 spanning the various approaches, phases experiments in sound composition (not in date order). Prevalent through the recordings is a fascination with amplifying textures and surfaces and the use of loops to build layered compositions of sounds. Some of the tracks are from previous releases and some have been officially released for the first time.

Stream below, download all files and cover (ZIP) or go to Gary Fisher Compilation at the Internet Archive.

Compilation is made up of recordings from 2007 to 2013 including the short Piano and Objects one of my first recorded attempts at improvising with sound and is unique that it features no electronic effects or instruments and was recorded on a real piano.  An approach I intend to investigate more in future especially after a recent performance at The Penthouse, Manchester, using just 3 cymbals, objects and amplification, which I really enjoyed. Some of the tracks on Compilation are selected from my previous releases and some are made available here for the first time. They span various stages in my development as an artist and the many approaches, techniques, instruments, objects, electronics, mistakes and experiments including the ever present fascinations with amplifying textures and surfaces; using found objects and and found sounds; loops and delays and self -imposed restrictions. No live recordings are included as they are often about 20-30 minutes in length and are currently being located to be uploaded individually to the Live Music Archive.

Collage / Objects / Tape Loop

 

A wider view of one corner of the room showing the relationship between a few different elements of the work. The triangular tape loop has had one corner pulled in and hooked over the clear bottle causing the tape to follow the shape of the room rather than cut across it. Recently I have been randomly and spontaneously recording sounds onto the tape regardless of it's position or the relationship to the other sounds causing a purely accidental composition from spontaneous yet deliberate acts.

Objects on The Windowsill

A couple of card record sleeves and a Polaroid photo of the record sleeve cymbal drawings arranged on the windowsill. One of the sleeves has a verse of poetry from The Wasteland by T.S Eliott typed onto it. Part of my practice is about simply arranging or grouping objects instinctively.

Temporary Wall Collage.

During the residency I have arranged and rearranged the different elements of this collage on the floor over several days, making changes instinctively. It has been transferred to the wall and again re-ordered. The collage is made up of found images, images from my work and actual pieces of previous work including smaller collages, drawings and photographs dating from now back to 2007.

Objects On Paper Sleeves

Some objects placed on paper record sleeves. They are kind of like drawings and have a lot on common with my own drawing style though these are temporary and the objects are not stuck down and can be re-arranged. The photograph is a document of a spontaneous idea and is now a new part of the work itself. All the documentation of my work immediately becomes part of the work.

Record Sleeve Cymbal Drawings

Drawings from tracing the edge 3 different sized cymbals with marker pens. The record sleeves with holes in the centre were placed on top of the others making two drawings when separated. One of the drawings is on brown paper bag, for some reason it felt right to break the pattern.

Amplified Cymbals and Objects

Some broken cymbals, hand-made contact mic's, objects and electronic bits for noise making. Been sporadically and casually making sounds with these for few days. Soon I will be recording some more structured approaches and recording a collection of sounds for an online release. Also I will be performing with these at the Open House event on 1st of March.

At last some decent pictures with a proper digital camera rather than a phone. The rest of the photos from the residency will be like this.

Short Cassette Loop

Short phone video. A self contained tape loop inside a cassette with the sound of room noise from the residency suite: a mixture of the heater, room tone and the tape recorder its self. There is a slight glitch where the loop overlaps.

Room Reflected in Window

Phone picture of some of my work in the the residency suite reflected on the window.

Food Cans.

Collected food cans with nails and bottle tops for sound making. They look good as a collection of objects too.

Collage Work in Progress

Some collage work in progress at The Penthouse residency. Found images, drawings, photographs, words and images from my own work are arranged on the floor, adding rearranging the parts and composing sporadically in an improvised way over a few days.

Triangular Tape Loop 10/2/13

A long triangular tape loop across one corner of the room and over some record sleeves laid out for drawing and collage. The reel-to-reel tape recorder has recorded the sound of itself through a hand-made contact mic', parts of the loop still contain some accidental noise from a previous recording. The recorded sound information on the tape is traveling around the room in a continuous cycle and the sound reproduced by the tape recorder is the sound of itself recording itself. The casing for the contact mic' is a bottle top but the connection to the beer bottles holding the tape up was not noticed at the time but is a nice touch. Loops, cycles, patterns, self-referencing and self producing sounds have been an important feature in my work for many years. Sounds coming soon. (And proper non-blurred photos.)

Polaroids and Tapes 10/2/13

First two in a Series of Polaroid photos both of windows in The Penthouse- one of the same window it is sitting on- and a tape recorder to capture the sounds of various actions in the space. The plan is for a series of recordings from the space to use in an improvised performance.

Work starts at The Penthouse.

A few photos from 8/2/13. Arranged some things to start me off on some new work.

Record sleeves ready for collage, drawing etc. Makes a nice piece like this, too.

Quick drawing on a plastic sheet against the window.

Started collage of ideas and research. This wall will be used throughout the residency for photos, drawings, found images, texts.

Photos from The Penthouse

A few phone pictures from some spaces around The Penthouse. There will be plenty of these taken during the residency. A really interesting building.

The Penthouse Residency 7/2/13 - 7/3/13

Just started a residency at The Penthouse- a new not for profit artists' space in Manchester's Northern Quarter. I am taking over a room reserved for residencies by invited artists who's work has methods and values in common to the vision for The Penthouse of it's creators and curators- artists Rosanne Robertson and Debbie Sharp.

From my initial proposal:
"Sounds will be recorded, drawings made, photographs taken, experiments performed, texts written. The residency space will become a working studio: a place to collate and organize research, a place to plan, a place to bring objects, sounds, and images together. The space, the Penthouse, the building and its surroundings will provide a basis to create new works as as response to that environment and context."

More phone pictures of the residency space before work began, taken 6/2/12: