Programme Notes

Corporate media groups are among the most powerful organisations on the planet, framing and sculpting the information distributed across the globe. In Manufacturing Consent the 1994 publication by Noam Chomsky and Edward S Herman, the authors demonstrate that collusion and innate bias as inevitable products of a corporatised news media. 

Adapting the literary work, Print + Press is inspired by these themes, and attempts to depict a varied and fragmented dataset, which is inevitably unified by its central objective. The composition is composed entirely from sounds derived from printing and copying equipment and in doing so encapsulates soundtypes directly related to the thesis.

Print + Press

Rob Mackay is a composer, sound artist and performer. He gained a degree in Geology and Music at the University of Keele, studying composition there with Mike Vaughan, before going on to complete a Master’s and PhD with Andrew Lewis at the University of Wales, Bangor. Currently he is a Reader in Creative Music Technology at the University of Hull.

Recent projects have moved towards a cross-disciplinary approach, including theatre, audio/visual installation work, and human/computer interaction. Prizes and honours include: IMEB Bourges (1997 and 2001); EAR99 from Hungarian Radio (1999); Confluencias (2003); La Muse en Circuit (2004 and 2006). His work has received over 100 performances in 16 countries (including several performances on BBC Radio 3). Currently he is working with percussionist Evelyn Glennie on a composition project as part of Ruskin Rocks (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ruskinrocks/).

He has held composer residencies at Slovak Radio (Bratislava), La Muse en Circuit (Paris), and the Tyrone Guthre Arts Centre (Ireland).

He is an improvisor working across many genres, and for several years played with the improvisation ensemble 'Imp'. He has also enjoyed improvising with Rhodri Davies and Jez Riley French. He has played, written and produced in a number of bands and ensembles, including the Welsh Hip-Hop collective 'Tystion' with whom he collaborated alongside John Cale on the film ‘A Beautiful Mistake’, as well as recording two John Peel sessions on BBC Radio 1 and supporting PJ Harvey. More recently, he has done session work for Gowel Owen and Euros Childs as well as playing in the Welsh Afrofunk outfit 'Drymbago'.

6 CDs including his compositions are available. More information and pieces at: www.digital-music-archives.com and http://www2.hull.ac.uk/fass/dramamusicandscreen/ourstaff/musicstaff/robmackay.aspx

Print + Press

Nick Del'Nero