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SCHUMACHER, MICHAEL J. - Five Sound Installations

Format: DVD Label & Cat.Number: XI Records XI 133 Release Year: 2008 Note: ..contains 5 sound compositions generated in real time by a computer algorithm, must be installed on a computer to be heard; each time you play it it will sound different! Comes in DVD box Price (incl. 19% VAT): €15.00 More Info "Five Sound Installations is a DVD-ROM (for MAC and PC) that contains 5 sound compositions generated in real time by a computer algorithm. The works are: 'Room Piece Twenty-Four'; 'Noema'; 'Steiner Suite'; 'Unintending'; 'Scene'. 'Sound Art, algorithmic composition, chance operations, multi-channel sound systems, immersive installations, computer music; these terms all intersect at a point defined by the new XI release 5SI by MJS. Shumacher is a composer, curator (he runs Diapason, NY's only 'sound art' gallery), and performer, and has been creating computer-generated installations for close to 20 years. His output includes 5 solo cds, but these were by necessity adaptations of works designed for more or less permanent listening situations, in which auditors could explore various modes of listening within sound environments. These works were composed with installation settings in mind, they had no 'beginning-middle-end' (even out of order) in the traditional sense. For the cd releases, the pieces needed to be manipulated in various ways to accommodate the medium. A better way needed to be found. Schumacher has always been interested in creating algorithmic works that extend the boundaries of the genre, investing them with 100s of constituent parts that form sonic mobiles in space and time. Now he presents the ambitious (and technically savvy) listener with a means to experience Schumacher's installations in the home, through up to 8 separate speaker channels and for as long as the computer keeps running. No question, this is not an iPod experience! For some, just understanding the reason for such a project will be difficult. But the composer and XI believe that the time is apt for challenging a complacent public and industry. This release, more than anything else, is a challenge to break boundaries in both content and distribution, a call for a new way of thinking about sound in the home, which is more than ever the predominant place for listening.' NOTE: These compositions must be installed on a computer to be heard. Instructions are enclosed." [label info] "This is not a DVD with musical compositions in any sort of traditional manner. It doesn't 'play' in a conventional way. One has to copy all the information to the harddisc (watch your system requirements, and there is both Mac and Windows available) and then you will have five pieces of music that are made in real time. Every time you play one of the five it will sound different. It's the work of Micheal J. Schumacher who has explored before sound installations and his releases were often 'just' the musical component of it, not the spatial side. But now you can set it up, stereo or surround sound (unavailable in the HQ here). Still not quite interactive: one can't load sounds yourself to the pieces, an Schumacher has set the parameters of the pieces, but there is, obviously, more freedom than a regular. This is music that plays until you stop it or if your computer shuts down. Definitely the first release ever in Vital Weekly that you can't download on a blog! I played every installation for about fifteen minutes to get the drift of it. My favorite was 'Room Piece Twenty-four': it had continuos gliding sounds which filled my space with elegance - certainly work to have playing for some time. The other four pieces more cut and paste pieces that arrive a bit louder than the first one, thus making a bigger 'presence' in your space. They were fine too, but I choose to play them at a somewhat lower volume but there is certainly sense in having these pieces play for a long time and see what it creates for you (unfortunately time is not something the average reviewer has too much at hand). Next step would be something to incorporate ones own sounds I guess. " [FdW / Vital Weekly] label website: www.xirecords.org