Idea of South
Contrapuntal Radiophonic Broadcast
Inspired by resonances of location and memory, Idea of South sets out to explore, provoke and question our sense of place in the southern hemisphere. Combining networked terrestrial radio and Internet streaming, the work is composed as three individual audio tracks, comprising live music, field recordings, and spoken word. The three audio streams are broadcast simultaneously and experienced by listeners tuning their radios into both radio stations, and a home computer or iPhone for the Internet stream.
As the program moves through hot dry deserts or icy antarctic waters, the sense of location is enhanced through the diffusion of sound over a multi-channel broadcast. Taking radio out of the singular domain that it normally inhabits, into an immersive radiophonic experience. Exploring the notion or quintessence of southerness though sound, Idea of South is a music and sound journey integrating live processed trumpet, violin and location recordings, contributed by sound artists and phonographers throughout the southern hemisphere.
Idea of South was broadcast simultaneously between Sydney radio stations 2SER and FBI, with concurrent Internet stream shoutcast from University Technology, Sydney on the 14th June 2009. To experience the work, listeners tuned their devices (radios and/or mobile phones, iphones) into both radio station frequencies as well as picking up a Shoutcast Internet stream from the site.
Idea of South seeks to push the boundaries of experimental radio by engaging listeners to become actively involved with the interactive decision making part of the entertainment. Listeners are encouraged to experiment with the position of their radio's, guaranteeing a unique and immersive experience, which will unsettle as much as it will sooth.
Radio as a Shared Experience
The performance was also sponsored by Don't Look Gallery, Sydney, as a BYO radio event where the work could be experienced in a multi player environment. Through an open invitation to bring a radio along, listeners tuned into either one of the terrestrial broadcasts, and the Internet stream was amplified through the venues sound system.
Idea of South Graphic Score
A graphic score was produced from the web map data base of latitude and longitude coordinates, by printing the raw data as points on a grid. Removing the grid, the data points were then given parameters in timbre, rhythm and structure. It has now been recorded and performed by percussionist Damian Castaldi and forms and interesting collage of tones and rhythm within the soundtrack.
Download Graphic Score based on latitude and longitude coordinates of submitted location recordings.
Live presentation @ Golden Eye Awards- featuring live Internet visual mix by Neil Jenkins.
For ongoing research and updates see Idea
of South Blog.
Idea of South was suported by University Technology, Radio SER, FBi Radio, Utility Fog and Don't Look Gallery.
Speacial thanks to contributing sound artists
Interactive audio visual internet installation by Roger Mills and Neil Jenkins at Loop Space Gallery, Newcastle, NSW, Australia.
Idea of South is an evolving Internet based sound map which allows you to hear and mix locational recordings from all over the southern hemisphere in a contrapuntal collage of sound. Click to play online version.
Inspired by our relocation from the United Kingdom to Australia twelve months ago, Idea of South explores the quintessence of southern sentience through sound.
Part phonography and part psycogeography, Idea of South maps an evolving collage of sound events through a web map interface supplied by contributions of recordings from sound artists throughout the southern hemisphere. As a work in progress, this impressionist soundscape will evolve as more sounds are added and there is an ongoing call for submissions. Click for details on how to submit recordings please follow link.
Sound of Failure Q&A…Interuption Performance @ University of Technology Sydney Studio. August 27th, 2008.
Sonic interpretation of graphic scores projected onto a central screen at UTS Studio theatre. Scores were a mixture of manipulated film, abstract textural collages, celluloid manipulations and graphic patterns. Orchestration consisted of live processed trumpet, lap top manipulations and analogue synth.
Performers
Shannon O’Neill
Jessica Tyrrell & Chris Caines
Peter Newman
Roger Mills
Curated by Greg Shapely
Thanks to Brendan Lloyd at UTS
for facilitating it all.
Listen
to performance
Audio Visual Internet Performance
by Roger Mills and Neil Jenkins.
Plac.Art.X headphones Festival,
Regensburg, Germany in August 2007.
Istanbul was a live internet audio visual performance by Roger
Mills and Neil Jenkins for Plac.Art.X
headphones festival, Regensburg, Germany in August 2007.
It was performed live on the internet (nicecast) from Bristol UK, mixing
field recordings, analog synth and live processed trumpet with live VJ mix
in real time through the A/V platform visitorsstudio.org.
After visiting Istanbul in the weeks prior to the performance, we were captivated
by the beauty and diversity of the city, but also the disparate cities within
the city.
It was a week after the election of Abdullah Gul, and the various topics of
the election were still being hotly debated. It appeared to us as visitors,
that no one seemed sure where the country was heading, but all agreed that
a definite change had taken place.
Istanbul A/V performance highlights the beauty, joy, innocence and melancholy
of this great city, while wondering where it's future lies. A transitory sound
journey composed by Roger Mills with visual mix by Neil Jenkins.
A season of live internet performances hosted by Furthernoise.org
As part of the Month of Sundays season, Roger Mills and Furtherfield artist Neil Jenkins performed a live A/V mix at the Watershed (Bristol) in June 2006. This was the first in a series of four live internet A/V performances by international artists and was also screened at The Point CDC Theatre (New York) and E:vent (London).
MULTI-AV Cross Continental Internet A/V Jam
Friday September 10th, 2004
Sonic Circuits DC Festival @ Flashpoint
Washington DC
Cross continental audio visual net jam featuring Mikroknytes (USA), Sawtooth (aka Roger Mills) (UK) and Darren Zeising aka Stalker (AUS). A live international mix / performance on file mixing platform Visitors Studio. The event was mixed in real time from all three continents and projected to the audience at Flashpoint (Washington DC).
for further information see the Sonic Curcuits website
A transatlantic collaborative multimedia protest jam
August/September 2004
Coinciding with the Republican Convention in New York, Roger Mills & Neil Jenkins along side 20 other international net and digital artists broadcast a new collaborative art-polemic with a focus on how Bush and the US Republicans negatively influence every locality around the world.
All multimedia performances were performed live, in online net mixing platform Visitors Studio. They were also projected at Postmasters Gallery's RNC NODE, a way-station, which served as a physical node of an ad-hock public broadcasting, a system of online, real time protest performances and alternative news actions. All online streams were also output in local bars and projections from windows.
Millennium Square GPS Public Sound Installation
Sound design for GPS / wearable technology project Millennium Square Bristol, commissioned by the University of Bristol and Hewlett Packard Invent. Conception and production of spatialized sound design as an immersive experience in a public space with designed bespoke jacket, housing a mobile interface and headphones.
Working in collaboration with multimedia artist Annie Lovejoy and the here nor there collective, Millennium Square is based on ideas of location and the spaces between borders as a platform for our work with artists from Bristol's twin cities of Tblisi and Hanover.
See the ...here
nor there... web site for further details about the project
River Avon - Sonata for Cello & Flute
Live performance as part of Here Nor There in Dialogue, July 13 2003.
This composition was inspired by the winding Avon River, which runs from the mouth of the Severn passing through the Cities of Bristol, Bath and throughout the West Country as it divides into various tributaries. It's key and rhythm structures were developed through a Musique Concrete composition composed from manipulated field recordings taken from locations along the Avon & Kennet Canal.
It was performed at Netham Lock as part of the Here Nor There collectives 'where r u ?' ferry trip for the Dialogue Festival at 9.20pm on Sunday the 13th of July 2003.
Video
excerpt from the performance (QuickTime, 1.8Mb)
Here Nor There at Kibla Media Centre, Maribor, Slovenia.
Two week exhibition by here nor there artists, which featured a live sound system event with Roger Mills (UK), Natalie Deseke (DE) and mixed visual projections by the here nor there crew. The event was web cast by London’s Resonance FM and Watershed Media Centre, Bristol.
Here Nor There Radio @ Radio Flora, Hanover, DE
Featuring here nor there artists Roger Mills, Neil Jenkins, Mac Dunlop, Annie Lovejoy and Natalie Deseke.
21 June 2000
Here nor there radio / web broadcast at Radio Flora, Hanover, Germany as part of the Expo 2000 festival. This featured music from the collectives collaborations and sound art pieces. It was also web cast into the café bar at Watershed, Bristol.
For further information, see the ...here
nor there... website
Live conceptual music and sound performance by Roger Mills.
Walls Have Ears - Live at Exeter Phoenix. September 2001
Commissioned as musician in residence by Dorset arts organisation PVA to compose a soundtrack as an epitaph to the Literary and Scientific Institute in which they are housed. The resulting soundtrack 'Walls Have Ears' was showcased as a live performance at the Swipe 2000 digital arts festival held in December 2000 at Bridport Arts centre, Dorset.
In collaboration with digital/video artist Neil Jenkins 'Walls Have Ears' was subsequently developed into a touring show and was performed at Exeter Phoenix and Prema Arts Centre, Gloucester, UK in 2002.
Walls Have Ears website