Thanks to everyone who attended Robot Opera as part of Performance Space Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art. We got great critical feedback on the show and it was a resounding success.
And that’s a wrap
Robot Opera tickets on sale
We’re counting down to the opening night of Robot Opera at Bay 17 in Carriageworks in Sydney. Presented by Performance Space as part of the Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art, we have one final development week next week before it opens on October 22, running until November 1. This is a creatively and technically ambitious performance work for 8 non-humanoid robot performers which promises to be really something.
http://performancespace.com.au/events/liveworks-robot-opera/
CREATIVE TEAM
Artist Wade Marynowsky
Music and Sound Design Julian Knowles
Lighting Design Mirabelle Wouters
Dramaturgy Lee Wilson
TECHNICAL TEAM
Electrical Design Ben Nash
Programmer Imran Khan
Programmer Adam Hinshaw
You can see the whole program for the Liveworks festival below
http://issuu.com/performancespace/docs/liveworks_brochure_web_singles/1?e=2989306/30124008
Robot Opera Creative Development
I’m currently working on the music and sound design for a major new robotic performance work by Wade Marynowsky called ‘Robot Opera’. The project is funded by a Creative Australia grant from the Australia Council for the Arts. We’ve just completed a 3 week creative development period at The Red Box in Lilyfield, Sydney.
Developed in collaboration with contemporary performance group Branch Nebula, Robot Opera features eight larger than life-sized rectangular robot performers in a one hour work co-presented by Carriageworks and Performance Space at Carriageworks Bay 17 in October 2015
http://performancespace.com.au/events/robot-opera/
CREATIVE TEAM
Artist: Wade Marynowsky
Music and Sound Design: Julian Knowles
Lighting Design: Mirabelle Wouters
Dramaturgy: Lee Wilson
Electrical Design: Ben Nash
Programmer: Imran Khan
Programmer: Adam Hinshaw
You can read more about this project here
Vivid Ideas talk: The Making of the Future of Performance
Vivid Ideas: The Making of the Future of Performance
Speakers: Patrick Nolan, Julian Knowles, Donna Hewitt, Timothy Ohl
Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia
6 June. 9:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tickets:
General – $20.00
Industry – $15.00
Student/Educator – $10.00
In late 2012 the artist collective Macrophonics visited internationally-recognised physical theatre company, Legs On The Wall, to experiment with sensor-based technology and how it can be adapted specifically for live performances. What emerged was a tool for creating live art, one that uses both the body of a performer and the space they move through. Now Macrophonics and Legs On The Wall offer audiences a glimpse into what comes next – the creation of a new work that transforms the dancer into the conductor, the musician into the actor, and the stage into the interface.
This presentation will feature Professor Julian Knowles of Macquarie University’s Department of Media, Music, Communication and Cultural Studies and Patrick Nolan, Artistic Director of Legs On The Wall, and a demonstration of the Macrophonic’s technology with performer Tim Ohl.
THE MAKING OF…
In a series of fast-paced, one-hour tag-team sessions, creative teams from the worlds of television, gaming, music, and animation take us behind-the-scenes to introduce us to the people and processes that make huge creative projects a reality.
These sessions explore strategies for making international real-time collaborations work, find out what tools are essential for co-ordinating multi-part projects, and meet some of the world’s most interesting companies and creatives.
http://www.vividsydney.com/events/the-making-of-the-future-of-performance/
Radio Interview with Julian Knowles – 2SER Sydney, Australia (from 17:20 onwards)
[mixcloud width=”600″ height=”100″ iframe=”true”]http://www.mixcloud.com/stages-twoser-fm/stages-2ser-fm-june-5th-2013/[/mixcloud]
Even As We Speak – FBi Radio Interview. Peel Session Preview
Here is a recent interview and live to air performance from the studio of FBi Radio in Sydney on November 3, 2012 – immediately before our 20 year reunion gig at The Red Rattler. We speak about the experience of basing the band in the UK in the early 1990s, the independent scene at that time and the experience of working with John Peel. The show previews two previously unreleased tracks ‘Falling Down the Stairs (ft. Younger Youth)’ and ‘Best Kept Secret’ recorded for the BBC in 1993, and soon to be released on the forthcoming Even As We Speak Peel/Goodier sessions release ‘Yellow Food’. We also play a stripped back in-studio live version of a further unreleased Peel Session track ‘Everywhere I Go’.
Even As We Speak live at The Red Rattler. Sydney Nov 3, 2012
To celebrate the imminent release of our John Peel and Mark Goodier BBC Sessions, Even As We Speak played a special one-off show at The Red Rattler Theatre in Sydney Australia on November 3.
This marked the first time the band had played together since 1993 when we returned to the Australia from the UK, following the release of our final ‘Blue Eyes Deceiving Me‘ EP on the legendary Bristol/UK label Sarah Records.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of-KfBFsUiI
Joined by supports Alannah Russack (ex The Hummingbirds), and Living with Robert, the night brought out a bunch of die hard fans, with people even taking international flights to get to the show. Now that’s serious dedication…
Mary Wyer, Matt Love and I did an interview for FBi Radio the afternoon before the show. We talked about the experience of recording sessions for John Peel and previewed two of the tracks from the impending release. We also did a seat-of-the-pants live to air from the radio studio of the otherwise unreleased Peel Session song ‘Everywhere I Go’. Stay tuned for updates on this brand new release, which should be announced in the next fortnight or so, as soon as contracts are finalised with the BBC.
The Flashcard Sequences Part 1
Just presented the first performance of The Flashcard Sequences Part 1: Amsterdam 14.12.10 last night. I’ve uploaded a copy to Vimeo. Switch to High Definition and view in full screen for the full experience.
Since mobile phone video has been improving at such an alarming rate, I’ve renewed my interest in field/environmental a/v work, which was a strong focus for me through the 1990s, both in my solo work and with the group Social Interiors. I’ve found myself capturing moments or locations from the every day or my travels and have started making a series of short works based on these moments in time and place. The focus is on capturing the moment or a perspective with very modest means – nothing but a tiny hand held iphone. There are challenges, such as image stability due to lack of tripod and, as will be seen in the first work, clumsy/cold hands in the snow. I have tried to work with these instabilities as an aesthetic element and make them feel part of the work.
The Flashcard Sequences has thus made its way into the world.
The Flashcard Sequences comprises a series of short semi-improvisatory works produced with handheld mobile phone video and portable laptop production technologies. The production process is intentionally swift and the works are produced (often in hotel rooms) as quickly as possible following the image capture. These pieces function as snapshots which attempt to capture an underlying essence of a moment or place.
Amsterdam 14.12.10 is the first piece in the series, and was created during a residency at STEIM, Holland in December 2010. The harsh European winter of 2010/11 gave rise to heavy snowfalls, closing roads and bringing many essential transport services to a halt. The visual material consists of a series of static video shots containing patterns of snow falling from the sky. In this piece, the video source is digitally analysed and used to affect processing parameters in the audio domain. Such an approach attempts to find, and compositionally engage with, the direct structural relationships between the visual and sound materials whilst stopping short of direct and literal sonification. Such an approach aims to take transductive visual/sound mapping processes and bring them into creative dialogue with freely interpretive compositional processes.
You can read more about this work here.
The development of The Flashcard Sequences has been supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts QLD and STEIM (Holland)
US College Radio Play for 100 Songs Tracks
Good news just in from Stephen Green at SGC New Media Marketing. The Twelve compilation from 100 Songs 2011 is starting to make its mark on the US college radio network
Station adds from the last week include
WGLS, New York NY
WPSC New York, NY
KMHD2, Portland OR
WXLV, Philly PA
WOUB-AM, Columbus OH
WRUW, Cleveland OH
KBRP, Tucson AZ
Osprey Radio, Jacksonville FL
The most played tracks so far are from Cold and Need, Desert Ghost and Lion Island. They’re all pretty different tracks from a genre perspective. I actually had the pleasure of producing all three of these tracks, so am really happy that they’re doing well out there in the wild and finding support from radio.
Desert Ghost – Count Them
Produced by Julian Knowles.
Engineered by Peet Gardner and Julian Knowles.
Recorded at Gasworks Studios
Mixed by Julian Knowles at Different Fur Studios, San Francisco
Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound New York City
[soundcloud id=’49311298′]
There’s a little glimpse of me mixing this over here at Different Fur Studios in December 2011 on their wonderful SSL4056 E series console. Thanks to Lindsey and my main man and super assistant Jorge Hernandez for keeping me in good humour while mixing after 14 hours of flying.
Cold and Need – Give up the Fight
Produced by Julian Knowles.
Engineered Julian Knowles.
Mixed by Julian Knowles
Recorded and mixed at Gasworks Studios, Brisbane
Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound New York City
[soundcloud id=’49308930′]
Lion Island – 16 Days
Produced by Julian Knowles.
Engineered Julian Knowles.
Mixed by Julian Knowles
Recorded and mixed at Gasworks Studios, Brisbane
Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound New York City
[soundcloud id=’49310567′]
Macrophonics – project video
Anthony Salsone has produced a nice video of the Macrophonics Project we mounted at the Brisbane Festival in September last year. This was a great collab with Donna Hewitt, Wade Marynowsky and Tim Bruniges. We have further plans for this project, so stay tuned.
You can find out more about this project here