Bathysphere is about exploring the deep and discovering treasures.. Beyond the depths of water, or the depths of sound, this journey may reflect other metaphors of our existence: the inner self, the soul, the hidden universe… or any depth we wish to explore and submerse to, through listening.
The composition is based on recordings of water, combined and transformed: a river, a cave, a waterfall. The idea came from an underwater recording/performance, which was used as the basic material: while swimming in river waters on the mountains of Epirus, I thought of recording the experience of submersion through an air container, like a little “submarine” carrying my ears below the water. For this purpose I constructed a glass case, waterproof , placed a handheld recorder inside and experimented with the sound effects produced by drifting the device below water surface, or by moving it in and out of the water. At a later stage, I visited a cave and a waterfall on the island of Corfu, where I recorded different sounds: water dripping into the reverberant cave, and granular noise produced by the intense flux of the waterfall. At the stage of composition I chose the basic recordings to combine, and simultaneously brought together the inspirational experiences and memories of the spaces in which the recordings were made, and created a musical environment of the deep... This work was created as part of the Erasmus+ programme "the soundscape we live in" in 2019.

Apostolos Loufopoulos studied music at the Ionian University, Greece (Music Degree) and at City University, London (PhD in Music). His work is mainly focused on the composition of electroacoustic music and nature, but also in the inter -contextual approach to music and the convergence of musical genres. His music has been performed internationally in renown festivals of contemporary music (such as ICMC, Synthese, L’Espace Du Son and others) and has received a number of awards at international competitions such as Αrs Electronica (Austria), Bourges (France), Noroit (France), Metamorphoses (Belgium), Space of Sound (Belgium), Franco Evangelisti (Italy), Musica Nova (Czech Republic). Discography includes collections by INA-GRM, Musiques & Recherches, Ionian University, CyberArts, Touch Records and a personal release (CD-baby). His scores have been published by S. Zerboni (Milano) and Just Flutes (London). At a research level, he has participated in international programmes related to the study of the natural environment (Pythagoras, optic-acoustic ecology), at a post doctora level, materializing essays and papers on the artistic exploration and utilizarion of the natural world. He has been organizing member for national and international conferences and festivals on contemporary music and technology (ICMC, Days of Electroacoustic Music, conference on acoustic ecology, audiovisual arts festival and others). Since 2014 he is Assistant Professor at the Ionian University, Department of Audio & Visual Arts. He has also taught at the TEI of Ionian Islands (2006-2014) and the TEI of Epirus. He is a founding member of HELMCA (Greek Union of Composers of Electroacoustic Music) and the Greek Society for Acoustic Ecology. In parallel, he is music producer and director at Studio RED (Athens), specializing in the areas of recording, sampling orchestration and mixing, on various musical styles. 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU5Pfg1dOiOnz6hSVfs918g,       https://soundcloud.com/apostolosloufopoulos https://ionio.academia.edu/ApostolosLoufopoulo, https://ionio.academia.edu/ApostolosLoufopoulos

Apostolos Loufopoulos - Bathysphere (2019)

This work was created during the 2020-2021 lockdown due to CoVid 19 pandemic, and it reflects the ideas of human isolation and imprisonment, literally and metaphorically, perhaps in aiming to unlock different perspectives on these ideas.
It utilises whispers-words taken from Thureos (Greek literature of the 19th century on freedom and the greek revolution against Ottoman rule) like ‘captivity, freedom, death, prison’ (used in Greek), and other words like ‘exodus, escape’ and transformed phonemes, together with ambiguous sound shapes, spaces, sound climaxes and tranquillities, somehow representing human psychology in an condition of quarantine: agony, suffocation, stagnation, acceptance, security… 
Within the sounding content, a huge internal space is revealed, dark and infinite, being repulsive but also being familiar at the same time. A space from where anyone would want to escape, however cannot easily part from.
Is it the internal space of our psyche? is it human loneliness and lack of communication? or is it just the familiar space of our home, transformed into a secure prison during a quarantine?
The work was composed by recording some everyday objects found in a room, and some weather phenomena heard from the window. 


Short Biography

Apostolos Loufopoulos is a composer, sound designer and music producer, Associate Professor at the Department of AudioVisual Arts.  He writes electroacoustic music, music for theatre and sound art for visual arts. His artistic contribution includes 18 international awards (Αrs Electronica, Bourges , Noroit, Metamorphoses, Space of Sound, Franco Evangelisti, Musica Nova , SCRIME, I. Xenakis, D. Dragatakis. etc), 15 discography publications (INA-GRM, Musiques & Recherches, Ionian University, CyberArts, Touch Records) and numerous appearances at important art events worldwide. He is a founding member of HELMCA and the Greek Society fro Acoustic Ecology.

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Το έργο δημιουργήθηκε κατά την περίοδο του lockdown και αντανακλά την ανθρώπινη απομόνωση και τον εγκλεισμό, κυριολεκτικά αλλά και μεταφορικά, θέλοντας ίσως να ξεκλειδώσει ελεύθερες ερμηνείες ως προς τις έννοιες αυτές.
Χρησιμοποιεί ψιθύρους-λέξεις από τον Θούριο (αιχμαλωσία, ελευθερία, θάνατος, φυλακή) αλλά και άλλες λέξεις (έξοδος, φυγή) και επεξεργασμένα φωνήματα, μαζί με αμφίσημα ηχητικά σχήματα, τοπία, ηχητικές εξάρσεις και ηρεμίες, παρουσιάζοντας τον ανθρώπινο ψυχισμό σε μια κατάσταση εγκλεισμού: αγωνία, ασφυξία, τέλμα, αποδοχή, ασφάλεια…  στο έργο αποκαλύπτεται ηχητικά ένας τεράστιος εσωτερικός χώρος, σκοτεινός και απέραντος, άλλοτε αποκρουστικός και άλλοτε οικείος. Ένας χώρος απ’ όπου ο καθένας θέλει να ξεφύγει, αλλά συνάμα δεν μπορεί να αποχωριστεί. Είναι ο εσωτερικός χώρος της ψυχής; η ανθρώπινη μοναξιά και η έλλειψη επικοινωνίας; ή ο οικείος χώρος ενός σπιτιού, μεταμορφωμένος σε μια ασφαλή φυλακή κατά τη διάρκεια της καραντίνας; 
Το έργο δημιουργήθηκε ηχογραφώντας κάποια καθημερινά, συνηθισμένα αντικείμενα ενός δωματίου, και τα καιρικά φαινόμενα που έφταναν σε αυτό, ανοίγοντας το παράθυρο.

Dystopia

DYSTOPIA

Εγώ. Στην ακτή τούτη -αδύνατο σημείο- εγώ/
Πώς βρέθηκα μόνος; Εγώ /
Κι εσείς απέναντι -απάντηση καμία-/
Περιμένοντας -εγώ διψώ- /
Πέρασαν χρόνοι -διψώ-/
Της θάλασσας τα κύματα/
νερό καθάριο που δεν πίνεται-αδύνατο σημείο-/
-Εγώ αδύνατο σημείο-περιμένοντας/
Εγώ, αρμενίζοντας/
Εγώ, λέω και ξαναλέω/
-Εγώ, αδύνατο σημείο-στην τρικυμία να ξεδιψάσω

(κείμενο: Βασιλική Μάκου)
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Me. On this coast -a weak spot-. Me
How did I find myself alone? Me
All you, on the opposite coast -no answer-
Waiting - me I'm thirsty-
Years have gone by - I'm thirsty -
Sea's waves
Clearwater no drinkable-weak spot-
-Me, a weak spot- waiting
Me, I say again and again
-Me a weak spot- the storm to quench my thirst.

(text by Vasiliki Makou)
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Μυστική Ακτή: ηχοτοπίο - ηλεκτροακουστική μουσική (ηχητικό μέρος οπτικοακουστικής παράστασης, σωματική κίνηση: Βασιλική Μάκου, video effects: Μάρθα Γωγάκου)

η "Μυστική Ακτή", ως ηχητικός κόσμος, είναι μία συνεχής μετάβαση από το πραγματικό στο μη πραγματικό και αντίστροφα, μία "υπνωτική" κατάσταση μεταξύ ονείρου και πραγματικότητας, μία αλληλουχία διαφορετικών τόπων και χρονικών στιγμών. Η έννοια της "ακτής" είναι μεταφορική: είναι η διαχωριστική γραμμή μεταξύ του πραγματικού (γη) και του ονειρικού / μη πραγματικού (θάλασσα/βυθός) κόσμου, το σημείο όπου σταματά η πραγματικότητα και ξεκινά η φαντασία.
Στη Μυστική Ακτή -όπως και στην ανθρώπινη φαντασία-πολλά είναι πιθανά: Τοπία της φύσης αποκαλύπτονται και σταδιακά μεταμορφώνονται σε εξωπραγματικά, αφηρημένα περιβάλλοντα, κατακλυσμένα από άγνωστες, ανεξήγητες συμπεριφορές, αρμονίες μυστήριο, συναισθήματα. Μέσα στο παραπάνω ηχητικό περιβάλλον συχνά εμφανίζεται ο παράγοντας "άνθρωπος" άλλοτε ως παρατηρητής του φυσικού κόσμου και άλλοτε ως υποκινητής της ηχητικής δράσης.

Δημιουργηθηκε στα πλαισια μεταδιδακτορικης ερευνας για το ερευνητικό προγραμμα: ΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝ ΠΥΘΑΓΟΡΑΣ ΙΙ –  Μελετη και αποτυπωση Επιλεγμενων Ελληνικων Ηχοτοπιων - Ιόνιο Πανεπιστήμιο - Υπουργείο Παιδείας, Δια Βίου Μάθησης και Θρησκευμάτων.

Διακριθηκε με Ευφημο Μνεια στον διεθνη διαγωνισμο σύνθεσης BOURGES 2009, Bourges, Γαλλια

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Secret Coast: soundscape - electroacoustic music (standalone work, and part of audiovisual performance with vasiliki Makou, physical theatre, and Martha Gogakou, video effects)

"Secret Coast", as a sound world, is a continuous transition from real to unreal and vice versa, a "hypnotic" state between dream and reality, a sequence of different places and times. The concept of "coast" is metaphorical: it is the dividing line between the real (earth) and the dream / non-real (sea / seabed) world, the point where reality stops and the imagination starts.
In Secret Coast - as in human imagination - there are many possibilities: Natural landscapes that are revealed and gradually are transformed into unreal, abstract environments flooded by unknown, unexplained behaviors, mystery harmonies, emotions. In the above sound environment, the human factor often appears as an observer of the physical world and sometimes as a promoter of sound action.

Composed as part of a research project (Pythagoras II - Ionian University - Ministry of Education - Study and recording of selected Greek Soundscapes).

Awarded a honorary Mention @ Bourges 2009 International Composition Competition, Bourges, France

Secret Coast (Μυστική Ακτή)

Apostolos Loufopoulos

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