Sonic Boom

Another public appearance coming up, this time discussing technology and the future of music with Matthew Herbert (who recently recomposed Mahler, see mini documentary below) and Subeena (if you haven't heard her Neurotic yet, what are you doing) at Future Human's 'Sonic Boom' event (click here for details and booking). 7pm on Wednesday 9th of March at the Book Club, Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 4RH.


From the website's blurb:

At Sonic Boom, March's Future Human Live event, we will explore how new instruments and musical tools are helping contemporary musicians produce unprecented sounds, and challenge the very nature of musical composition and consumption.

Technology, digital or otherwise, has broken down traditional ideas of notated music over the years, and invented new timbres and pitches. But how are producers and songwriters incorporating these innovations into their work? And how will this change the way the rest of us experience music?

Intuitive apps like Bloom are putting music-making in the hands of the layman and the sonification of data and other inputs is becoming more sophisticated: generative music programs, which allow computer algorithms to compose music with a minimum of human interference, are practically giving music its own agency.

Meanwhile, modern music software mashes these tools with a range of other pioneering techniques. These include: replicating any previous digitally or organically produced sound with easy-to-use computer synthesisers, and manipulating samples; software that helps amateurs compose music using interactive visual elements; and futuristic physical instruments such us Yamaha's Tenori-on.

With all of these developments, we're starting to see a rich musical language emerge, in which an almost infinitely varied pool of potential timbres, pitches, rhythms and tempos are at our fingertips. Furthermore, the democratic distribution of these tools is leading to the greatest explosion of musical innovations since man carved a flute from mammoth bone 45,000 years ago.

The results be heard everywhere, from Christian Fennesz's clouds of distortion, to the delirious melodies and scattering rhythms of the Night Slugs crew and the rich, glossy fantasies of Kanye West. So join us at Sonic Boom, where, with a panel of music producers, writers and thinkers, and live audience musical improvisation, we'll explore how modern musicians are opening up entirely new worlds of sound.

Appearing on our panel debate will be:

Matthew Herbert – Matthew is one of the UK’s most forward-thinking musicians and producers, making everything from big-band tunes to dancefloor tracks, and a series of records made from unexpected sound sources. Bodily Functions was composed from the sounds made from the human body, inside and out; Plat Du Jour from food and drink; his recent One Club and forthcoming One Pig albums are made from sounds collated from Berlin’s Robert Johnson nightclub and pig butchery respectively. He also runs Accidental Records, and has produced records by Roisin Murphy, Micachu and The Shapes, and the Mercury-nominated debut from The Invisible.

Adam Harper – Adam is the author of the forthcoming Infinite Music, which aims to reclassify the concept of modernism for an age of boundary-pushing electronic music; he argues that producers like Burial, Hudson Mohawke and Actress, by deploying new instruments and new technologies, are opening up previously untapped worlds of sound. He is currently studying a PhD in Musicology at Oxford University, and writes for The Wire magazine and his own blog, Rouge’s Foam.

Subeena – Sabina Plamenova (aka Subeena) is an Italian producer living and working in London, creating tracks using only a laptop and microphone; her music occupies the (thankfully as yet unlabelled) space between techno, dubstep and UK garage that is currently proving so fertile for dance producers. She has trained at the Red Bull Music Academy where she collaborated with Jamie Woon and Sa-Ra, has seen her work released by Planet Mu and remixed by Egyptrixx, and runs her own label, Opit Recordings.

Also joining us will be Nu Desine, a sound engineering team from Bristol, who will be showcasing their brand new instrument, AlphaSphere. A glowing blue orb punctuated by a series of circles, music is made in a tactile and hugely affecting way by programming and manipulating sound via the touch-sensitive circular pads. A huge variety of pitches, volumes and timbres are literally at your fingertips, and the Nu Desine team will be showing how to compose music on this beautiful and innovative creation.