Hello
I’m freshly returned from a truly inspiring trip to Helsinki. It was my first visit there in about twenty years and it was absolutely packed with activities, from dinners, meetings, as well as visits to the Helsinki Art Biennial and other museums and galleries.
My show at WHS Teatteri Union had been sold out for two weeks and it was such a pleasure to share my work with such an attentive audience, some of whom had attended my workshop in the afternoon. I feel certain I shall be returning again sooner as there are still so many opportunities to explore and new friends to engage with.
The Joy of Old Friends
Travel offers a chance to reconnect with old friends too, so it was a real pleasure to catch up with Tommi Grönlund, head honcho of the influential Finnish record label, Sähkö, whilst there. He remembered how we’d met at These Records in London in the very early 1990s, and remained friends since then. I was even responsible for helping to produce the debut show of Pan Sonic in London at the Quirky club night in 1994. You can read the full story here.
Un’immagine in Turin, a 360 degree installation
I’ve been busy this month preparing materials for this very special installation in Turin at Gallerie d’Italia, which opens to the public on 11 September.
“Un’immagine” is a video installation by the Dutch artist Erik Kessels, which is composed of thousands of images from the Gallerie d’Italia’s photo archive, all stitched and transformed to form a single, continuously moving photograph.
The archive itself is a collection of 7-million analogue photographs taken between the 1930s and 1990s by the Publifoto photojournalistic agency. The images capture the most significant moments from over half a century of news, customs, society, sports, entertainment, and culture, in Italy and around the world.
With this work, Erik Kessels merges an entire archive, creating a metamorphic blob from which emerges a fluid portrait of Italy in which the faces of people, images of news, war, workers, politics, sports, and historical fragments interpenetrate one another in space.
In this unique 360-degree visual and audio experience, the audience will experience the ever-changing content of the entire archive and the opportunity to immerse themselves in a human archive projected in a monumental format. Viewers will be able to move around the room to capture details of a multifocal narrative.
I’ve been working on the original score with the incredible Italian musician, my friend Stefano Pilia, which takes themes from choral music and classical music and expands upon them in this rich multi-sensory experience.
The installation runs until 7 October and more details can be found on their website. We are currently in conversation regarding a way in which to make the one-hour original score available to listeners too, so stay tuned for details on that. Full details on the show here.
My First Magazine Column
My first feature in the American magazine Waveform was published this month too. The magazine itself focuses on sound synthesis and electronic music gear. So, by way of an extension of my Instagram channel, which seeks to celebrate those figures in the world who shape and inspire others with their art, I chose to write about artists who might not be otherwise so familiar with readers, so in my debut column I enthused about the work of American composer Tod Dockstader.
Name-checked by both Autechre and Aphex Twin as an inspiration, Dockstader was a recording engineer who created sound effects for Tom and Jerry and Mr. Magoo cartoons in his daylight hours. When his work colleagues left at the end of the day, he would remain in the studio, “organising sound,” as he called it, experimenting with magnetic tape and tone generators.
Issue15 also features interviews with Lorre Mill, AJH Synth, Andrew Ikenberry, and ADDAC System, as well as gear reviews, music reviews, DIY spotlight, and more.You can find out more here. And if you want to discover more about creative souls in the arts, music, film, literature world, then follow my Instagram channel, playfully known by some as the School of Scanner.
The Rarest of the Rare 7″ Singles
Something rather special awaits attendees of my very intimate London show on 23 September. There will be just FOUR copies of this unique 7” single available on the night. Each is a unique, one-off object, handmade, with each sleeve different. No two are alike. The only place to buy one of these four records is at the show itself. The music will not be released anywhere else.
And yes, they won’t be cheap, but there will be only be four of these ever in the world! These aren’t just limited editions, that are one-off works of art finishing two exclusive unreleased pieces of music. Tickets for the show can be booked here. And let me remind you, this is a very intimate show, so tickets are also extremely limited. Time to get up front and personal!
A word of warning to those of you intending on coming to the Castles in Space show in Biggleswade this month, but unfortunately, it’s been cancelled. I just don’t want you making the effort to get there, only to find closed doors awaiting you.
Electronic Music of the Past, Present & Future
EarSpace continues to expand the sonic airwaves, with another two hours of inspiring sounds from the past, present and future of electronic music available for your delight.
In Episode 27 there’s new music from Madeleine Cocolas, Sa Pa, Rivet, Bartholomew and Slikback. We get downright weird and wonderful with Jan Jelinek, Aki Onda and Cherrystones x Demdike Stare, and all dreamy with John Also Bennett, Michael Brook & Pieter Nooten and O Yuki Conjugate.
And, in between, there’s still time for some trance music to hypnotise you. Listen back in full here, and to all the previous shows.
So, back to recording, editing, mixing, mastering for new projects. As ever, your support means the world to me!
Warmest wishes
Professor Scanner
::: listen :::
Mika Vainio: Sysivalo (Sähkö)
John Also Bennett: Στoν Eλaιώνa / Ston Elaióna (Shelter Press)
Susumu Yokota: Skintone Edition – Vol.1 (Lo Recordings)
Various: The Alien Territory Archives (Nyahh Records)
::: read :::
Nicolas Collins: Semi-Conducting: Rambles Through the Post-Cagean Thicket (Bloomsbury)
American Photography (Rijks Museum)
Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting (NPG)
Pat Thomas: Evergreen Review (Fantagraphics)
::: watch :::
La ragazza del lago: Andrea Molaioli
Nobody 2: Timo Tjahjanto
The Towering Inferno: John Gullermin
Caught Stealing: Darren Aronofsky
