Esofonia is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017).
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential.
Nevertheless, the term was used because, in the structural conception of all the compositions, a work of pronounced decharacterization of the used sound sources as raw material is notorious.
The creative use of silence, the interest in exploring unusual timbres, the intensive exploration of dynamics and gestures, the use of experimental compositional methods are qualities that stand out in João Castro Pinto’s music.

I dedicate this anthology, with friendship and deep admiration, to the Composer, Poet & Performer Miguel Azguime, whose noble example of commitment, dedication and quality should inspire and guide us towards the exponential development of our Artistic and Human potential.

special thanks: Miguel e Paula Azguime, Rogério Pinto, Maria João Pinto, Sofia A. Carvalho, Paulo Urbano Carvalho, Joana Serrão e Pedro Romano.
.............................................

for the synopsis of the pieces visit https://www.discogs.com/Jo%C3%A3o-Castro-Pinto-Esofonia-obras-acusm%C3%A1ticas-1999-2017/release/10999641

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 (MISO RECORDS_MRP037_2017)

VI - Rugitus v.02 - 09:22 (2016) 

composed in a private studio. premiered at the Música Viva 2016 Festival; selected and presented under the international competition BANC D'ESSAI 2016, INA-GRM - Paris | France; 
also circulated in the following festivals in 2016: Visiones Sonoras (Mexico), Audio Art Festival (Poland) and DME (Portugal). 

Rugitus v.02 - synopsis

Since the inception of musique concrète and elektronische music, more than 6 decades ago, and due to the extraordinary developing and democratization of DSP technology, the academic electroacoustic community has developed tools of great potentiality that allow fascinating sonic manipulations, especially, and more recently, in the spectral domain. Various aesthetic schools have emerged since the early days and one can generally and historically speak of the French school of musique électroacoustique (GRM and other centers), of the Canadian school of electroacoustic music and soundscape composition, the computer music school of North America, etc.... With the technical advancements achieved also resulted what one can entitle as “sonic trails / footprints”, for in some pieces one cannot fail to rapidly grasp / identify certain processes / parameters of GRM tools (be it the doppler effect, the freeze, the pitch shifter, the delays, etc....) or from other software, as Metasynth, for example. This sonic trail compromises, to a certain extent, the experience of the reception of the piece, for it encapsulates the listener (in particular whom is also a composer) in the technical medium, turning the listening into a non-acousmatic situation (not considering the source of the sounds but, in this case, the provenience of the manipulation). Nowadays, some acousmatic music pieces seem to be valued in favor of technical virtuosity that tends to valorize more the musical gestures in their spectral complexity and causality, then the experimental musical potentialities of textural and timbre creative conjunctions. Brilliant spectral and granulated organic abstracted sounds, squishing watery like sounds, wondering around in the stereo or 8 speakers acoustic  eld are often heard in contemporary pieces. Harsh, “degraded”, noisy and / or clean sounds (meaning without processing) are not consensual or abundant in most pieces. Long gone are also the early techniques, at least in an extensive use, which Schaeffer presented in pieces as “Etude aux chemins de fer”; or Henry in “Variations pour une porte et un soupir”. 

Rugitus is a latin word that denotes, among other things, noises, it recalls the idea of roars and strident sounds. The present piece is made essentially with a series of sounds derived from three main sources: a door, a metal sphere and a balloon. These sound objects were recorded and then manipulated by a conjunction of “old and new techniques”. One intended to integrate both the recent dsp techniques with the original métier of musique concrète, i.e., horizontal splice-collage, loop usage, juxtaposition of sounds, variation of envelops, speed, pitch, reverses, simple delays,  ltering, reverb, crescendos / diminuendos, ostinatos, etc... Rugitus presents loud and quiet sonic events, intense musical gestures and imbricated textures / sound masses, towards a varied and whimsical listening experience. 

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RUGITUS is part of Esofonia, which is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017), released by MISO RECORDS, on October 7th 2017.
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential.

More info @ https://www.misomusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597:novos-lancamentos-miso-records&catid=70&Itemid=665&lang=en&iframe=1

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 - RUGITUS V.02 (excerpt 1)MISO RECORDS

VI - Rugitus v.02 - 09:22 (2016)

composed in a private studio. premiered at the Música Viva 2016 Festival; selected and presented under the international competition BANC D'ESSAI 2016, INA-GRM - Paris | France; 
also circulated in the following festivals in 2016: Visiones Sonoras (Mexico), Audio Art Festival (Poland) and DME (Portugal).

Rugitus v.02 - synopsis

Since the inception of musique concrète and elektronische music, more than 6 decades ago, and due to the extraordinary developing and democratization of DSP technology, the academic electroacoustic community has developed tools of great potentiality that allow fascinating sonic manipulations, especially, and more recently, in the spectral domain. Various aesthetic schools have emerged since the early days and one can generally and historically speak of the French school of musique électroacoustique (GRM and other centers), of the Canadian school of electroacoustic music and soundscape composition, the computer music school of North America, etc.... With the technical advancements achieved also resulted what one can entitle as “sonic trails / footprints”, for in some pieces one cannot fail to rapidly grasp / identify certain processes / parameters of GRM tools (be it the doppler effect, the freeze, the pitch shifter, the delays, etc....) or from other software, as Metasynth, for example. This sonic trail compromises, to a certain extent, the experience of the reception of the piece, for it encapsulates the listener (in particular whom is also a composer) in the technical medium, turning the listening into a non-acousmatic situation (not considering the source of the sounds but, in this case, the provenience of the manipulation). Nowadays, some acousmatic music pieces seem to be valued in favor of technical virtuosity that tends to valorize more the musical gestures in their spectral complexity and causality, then the experimental musical potentialities of textural and timbre creative conjunctions. Brilliant spectral and granulated organic abstracted sounds, squishing watery like sounds, wondering around in the stereo or 8 speakers acoustic eld are often heard in contemporary pieces. Harsh, “degraded”, noisy and / or clean sounds (meaning without processing) are not consensual or abundant in most pieces. Long gone are also the early techniques, at least in an extensive use, which Schaeffer presented in pieces as “Etude aux chemins de fer”; or Henry in “Variations pour une porte et un soupir”.

Rugitus is a latin word that denotes, among other things, noises, it recalls the idea of roars and strident sounds. The present piece is made essentially with a series of sounds derived from three main sources: a door, a metal sphere and a balloon. These sound objects were recorded and then manipulated by a conjunction of “old and new techniques”. One intended to integrate both the recent dsp techniques with the original métier of musique concrète, i.e., horizontal splice-collage, loop usage, juxtaposition of sounds, variation of envelops, speed, pitch, reverses, simple delays, ltering, reverb, crescendos / diminuendos, ostinatos, etc... Rugitus presents loud and quiet sonic events, intense musical gestures and imbricated textures / sound masses, towards a varied and whimsical listening experience.

-----------

RUGITUS is part of Esofonia, which is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017), released by MISO RECORDS, on October 7th 2017.
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential.

More info @ www.misomusic.com/index.php?option…lang=en&iframe=1

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 - RUGITUS V.02 (excerpt 2)MISO RECORDS

V - Pareidolia, or of the dreamt gardens - 14:06 (2014) *

8 channels piece composed in a residency at Miso Music's LEC between October 2013 and January 2014. premiered at the Música Viva 2014 Festival selected and presented at MUSLAB 2015 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and at the 41st I.C.M.C. - International Computer Music Conference 2015, in Denton,Texas | U.S.A.  * [stereo reduction] 


V - Pareidolia, or of the dreamt gardens - synopsis

Dedicated to Bernard Parmegiani

1 – Intro (falling asleep) 00:00 to 02:47
2 – Alektorophobia (despair) 02:48 to 04:53
3 – Exterior-Hortus (action-will) 04:54 to 7:12
4 – Interior-Hortus (tension) 07:13 to 09:33
5 – Trans-Hortus (distension-release) 09:34 to 14:06


Pareidolia (from the Greek, [παρά] – that which is alongside, or instead of; and Eidolon [εἴδωλον] - figure, image) denotes the psychological phenomenon of involuntary nature in which the subject assigns meaning to random sound and/or visual stimuli, which do not hold, in themselves, any significance (e.g.: interpreting figures in the clouds or other objects [man-made or natural origin]; to see anthropomorphic forms where there are none). 

The experience of Pareidolia happens during wakefulness but it is in the sleep state and, in particular, during the act of dreaming, which reveals its most problematic dimensions. During the dream, the "misleading" character of the pareidolia may have unusual meanings, allowing polysemous interpretations, often experienced more emotionally than mentally, more trans-rationally than rationally. Hence, significant cleavages burst between the represented sound images and its potential or virtual meanings. At stake here is the mystery of the border between the real and the imaginal planes, between meanings that can participate and / or pervade both levels, implying contradictions of ontological nature. The conceptual purpose of this piece is to musically narrate a series of recurring dreams that illustrate the search for meaning, portrayed through an erratic wandering through an enigmatic garden (Hortus), a place with no defined borders, an utopian garden where the physical laws of the world which we inhabit do not verify, resulting thus more of in a psychic-sonic garden (full of potential pareidolias) than an actual garden. Used sounds include field recordings from the soundscape’s biophony, geophony and anthrophony (eg.: wind, water, earth, leaves, twigs and other natural origin debris, a lawn mower, the sweeping of the garden, the clucking of chickens and, finally, dozens of Christmas music boxes exposed a Christmas fair in Vienna, Austria). The piece is divided into 5 parts, corresponding to contrasting approaches of the contained pareidolias within the recurring dreams (see titles above for more information). 
Between appearance and apprehension, aesthetic experience and its significant implications are situated these sonic Pareidolias.
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Pareidolia, or of the dreamt gardens is part of Esofonia, which is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017), released by MISO RECORDS, on October 7th 2017.
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential. 

More info @ https://www.misomusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597:novos-lancamentos-miso-records&catid=70&Itemid=665&lang=en&iframe=1

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 - PAREIDOLIA, or of the dreamt gardens (excerpt) MISO RECORDS

Obsidia – dos sons invisíveis ou das imagens audiveís - 09:14 (2017) 

One of the connotations of the term obsidiar (to obsess) is the idea of obsessive pursuit, of insistent focus. This idea of insistence is musically employed in the sense of the exploration of sound aspects that, throughout the piece, are heard. One of these aspects is the repeated focus on the spectral degradation of sounds, that is, the detailed work of subtraction, addition, multiplication, etc... of spectra of various sonic families. 

Another aspect that qualifies this piece is that, in terms of compositional methodology, it focuses on quasi-granular timbral exploitation, making extensive use of the doppler effect, animating sound objects with pronounced gestures and movements. 

The sources of this composition consist of sounds from various objects, manipulated and recorded at the ORF studios in Vienna, Austria, on the occasion of João Castro Pinto's radio art piece: "The No Land Soundscape Project" on April 30th 2017 (more info @ http://kunstradio.at/2017A/30_04_17en.html), and sounds of machinery dedicated to the printing of paper and currency coinage at the Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda. 

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Obsidia – dos sons invisíveis ou das imagens audiveís is part of Esofonia, which is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017), released by MISO RECORDS, on October 7th 2017.
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential. 

More info @ https://www.misomusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597:novos-lancamentos-miso-records&catid=70&Itemid=665&lang=en&iframe=1

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 - OBSIDIA (excerpt) MISO RECORDS

VIII - Re-Ciclo - 09:44
composed  in a private studio, premiered at O'Culto da Ajuda, on Esofonia's release concert, on October 7th 2017.


Re-Ciclo (re-cycle in english) focuses on the musical exploration of two fundamental ideas: the recurrence of phenomena, evident in the cyclical nature of reality (eg: spatio-temporal instantiations in the form of seasons, day and night, birth and death, etc...), and re-composition / reformulation. 

Like Obsidia, and in terms of techniques, Re-Ciclo explores the extensive work of the spectrum of sound objects, but also in another approach, which focuses on the recomposition of materials from previous pieces. Thus, along the development of the piece are presented, along with the unpublished sounds crafted for the present composition, phrases and sounds from previous pieces, but portrayed in such a way, that it is no longer possible to  nd the musical meaning that they previously had. 

This piece also represents an enhanced focus of a compositional methodology that is quite common and perceptible in the music of João Castro Pinto, we refer to the temporal juxtaposition of a minimal approach (eg: drones, extended sounds that evoke the idea of staticity and slow development) and another of organic and dynamic nature, in which the sound objects metamorphose in a free way, that is, not being hostages of the potentialities of the minimal approach. 

-----------

Re-Ciclo is part of Esofonia, which is an anthology of acousmatic pieces that illustrates part of the musical journey of João Castro Pinto (from 1999 to 2017), released by MISO RECORDS, on October 7th 2017.
Although they are referred to as acousmatic, the works that appear here are, more precisely, of a hybrid nature, i.e., they vary drastically, in terms of quantity and quality, between the maximally acousmatic and the totally referential. 

More info @ https://www.misomusic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597:novos-lancamentos-miso-records&catid=70&Itemid=665&lang=en&iframe=1

ESOFONIA - acousmatic works 1999-2017 - RE-CICLO (excerpt)MISO RECORDS

João Castro Pinto is a Portuguese sound artist, composer and sound designer interested in the art of composing silence with sounds.
    
He has graduated in Philosophy at the New University of Lisbon (F.C.S.H.) and is currently finishing a Ph.D. in Computer Music @ U.C.P. / C.I.T.A.R. - Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts.

João Castro Pinto is a composer released and endorsed by MISO MUSIC PORTUGAL's - MIC.PT (Portuguese Music Research & Information Centre) & MISO RECORDS.

João Castro Pinto’s sound work ranges between: field recordings / soundscape composition, dense droning, noise, electroacoustic, acousmatic & experimental electronic genres. 

J. Castro Pinto attended masterclasses in electroacoustic music composition with Francis Dhomont, François Bayle, Barry Truax, John Chowning, Simmon Emmerson, Trevor Wishart, Morton Subotnick, Annette Vande Gorne, Adrian Moore, etc...

Castro Pinto presented his work, regularly, since the mid 90´s, in performances / concerts / appearances, all over Europe, the U.S.A., South America and Asia, in cities such as: N.Y.C., IOWA, PHILADELPHIA, WASHINGTON D.C., MOSCOW, SAINT PETERSBURG, BUENOS AIRES, MORELIA, SEOUL, PARIS, LONDON, BERLIN, COLOGNE, DORTMUND, MANCHESTER, MUNCHEN, VIENNA, KLOSTERNEUBURG, GRAZ, KRAKÓW, BOLOGNANO, ATHENS, UDEN, LEEDS, BIRMINGHAM, ČESKÉ B., etc... and in festivals and venues such as: INA-GRM MULTIPHONIES / BANC D'ESSAI (FRANCE), L'ESPACE DU SON FESTIVAL (BELGIUM), INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER MUSIC CONFERENCE (USA), Phill Niblock's EXPERIMENTAL INTERMEDIA FOUNDATION (USA), SOUND - IMAGE (UK), MANTIS ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL (UK), VISIONES SONORAS (MEXICO), AUDIO ART FESTIVAL (POLAND), WIEN MODERN (AUSTRIA), ORF (AUSTRIAN NATIONAL RADIO : KUNSTRADIO RADIOKUNST), SAMMLUNG ESSL MUSEUM (AUSTRIA), PNEM SOUND ART FESTIVAL (NETHERLANDS), MUSLAB - INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC (ARGENTINA), SEOUL INTERNATIONAL COMPUTER MUSIC FESTIVAL (SOUTH KOREA), The U.I.M.A. - UNIVERSITY of IOWA MUSEUM of ART (USA), FEASt (Florida Electro-Acoustic Student) Festival (USA), MÚSICA VIVA ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL (PORTUGAL), AVEIRO SÍNTESE ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC FESTIVAL (PORTUGAL), CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN CENTER FOR MODERN ART (PORTUGAL), CENTRO CULTURAL DE BELÉM (PORTUGAL), CASA DA MÚSICA (PORTUGAL), FUNDAÇÃO SERRALVES - CASA DE SERRALVES (PORTUGAL), etc...

Conceived    and    directed    the "Hertzoscópio - Experimental & Transdisciplinary Arts Festival", dedicated to the divulgation of contemporary experimental music, video-art and intermedia (2003/ 2004). Was the Artistic Commissaire for HERTZ_extend#1 - Encounters of Experimental & Transdisciplinary Art, in 2005, in Barcelos.

Collaborates frequently with renowned Portuguese and foreign artists from the sound art / experimental and improv. music scenes such as: Hanna Hartman (SE), Tom Hamilton (USA), Dr. Karlheinz Essl (AT), Koji Asano (JP), Bernhard Loibner (AT), Michael Fischer (AT), Vienna Improvisers Orchestra (AT), Roel Meelkop (NL), Jos Smolders (NL), Jorge Sánchez-Chiong (VE), Philippe Lamy (FR), Gilles Aubry (CH), Thollem Mcdonas (USA), O.Blaat (JP), Nathan Fuhr (USA), Sei Miguel (PT), Carlos Zíngaro (PT), Rafael Toral (PT), Coti (GR.), D’Incise (CH), John Grzinich (EE), Anastasis Grivas (GR), Red Trio (PT), Blaise Siwula (USA), Jeremy Bernstein (USA), Kurt Ralske (USA), etc.

Released several recordings [solo pieces / albums, collaborations and compilations] by: MISO RECORDS (PT), Influx / Musiques et Recherches (Belgium), Unfathomless (Belgium), Hemisphäreの空虚 (Australia), Grimaces Éditions (Switzerland), OtO (Japan), Triple Bath (Greece), Sirr-ecords (PT), Creative Sources Recordings (PT), Cronica Electrónica (PT), Grain Of Sound (PT), Variz (PT) and Useless Poorductions (PT).

+ info - personal site - @ http://www.agnosia.me | MIC PROFILE - bit.ly/MIC-PT-PROFILE-ENGLISH _ contact - agnosiia@gmail.com
MIC.PT LARGE INTERVIEW : https://nx12092.your-storageshare.de/s/minapSsW4anzCyk