Binaural production - listen with headphones to enjoy the 3D sound! Soundscape by Karlheinz Essl, poem by Erwin Uhrmann. A track from the audio book K.O.P.F. (Limbus 2021). https://essl.at/kopf/

Ein Portrait von Lunz und dem gleichnamigen See bei Gewitter.

Mittels Kunstkopf-Stereophonie hat der Komponist Karlheinz Essl Soundscapes aufgenommen, die sich auf einen konkreten Ort oder eine besondere Situation beziehen. Erwin Uhrmann hat zu diesen Klangstücken lyrische Texte verfasst und selbst eingesprochen. Die Titel bezeichnen den Ort und sind gleichzeitig Akronyme, die die Fantasie des Zuhörers herausfordern. Durch den 3D-Sound werden sie unmittelbar erfahrbar.

K.O.P.F. - Kartografisch Orientierte Passagen Fragmente

G.R.A.Z.

L.U.N.Z. (Lazy Unicorns Nibble Zealously) - BINAURAL

Free improvisation on a MakeNoise 0-COAST. Performed live at Studio kHz on Feb 27, 2024. No MIDI, no sequencer, no overdubs, no edits.
Part of the work-in-progress "Coastlines" (2020 ff.):
https://essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Coastlines

Coastline #59

Info

Coastline #59 (The Tempest) - modular synth performance

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth, patched as a generative non-linear system. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time!
Recorded live at Studio kHz on 7 Mar 2024 in preparation to my solo performance at Alte Schmiede the next day.

Coastline #62

Coastline #62 (Desert Storm) - modular synth performance

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Monte (Madeira) on February 20th, 2024:
    1) Kids playing Futebol
    2) Monte Toboggan sleigh ride
    3) Japanese pond in the Monte Palace Tropical Garden 
    4) Gardener at work in the park
Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

H.E.A.D.

M.O.N.T. (Madeirans Obviously Need Thrills) - BINAURAL

The Maelstrom is a gigantic vortex in the North Sea, described by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story "A Descent into the Maelstrom" (published in 1841). Its power is so great that it can suck in even large ships and crush them to pulp.

For my piece, I constructed a kind of Maelstrom mechanism with Granular Synthesis, written in MaxMSP. It pulverizes sounds and recombines them into new sonic structures that can be controlled during a live performance. The underlying sound material comes from an improvisation on my MakeNoise 0-COAST modular synth, which is also used as a sound device in this piece.

https://essl.at/works/maelstrom.html

The premiere took place on March 22, 2024 during my portrait concert at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, performed by myself.

mælstrøm (2024) - sound performance for granular and modular synth

Binaural production - listen with headphones!

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Gars/Kamp between July 5th and 6th, 2024:
1) the audience at the opening of the "Temple of Sound" in Gars, the first museum for electroacoustic music
2) Karlheinz Essl's "Gesualdo-Fragmente", performed there
3) forest next to a country road
4) the river Kamp flowing through the city of Gars       

Released: July 7th, 2024
Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

G.A.R.S.

G.A.R.S. (Getting Attention Requires Silence) - BINAURAL

i experimented with OpenAI's Text-To-Speech-Playground. i entered nonsensical phrases that contained a lot of repeating charachters and vowels. this are some results. it sounds really crazy and sometimes completely unexpected. the track names reflect the prompt.

Aeiou1

Sound performance with a MakeNoise MATH function generator controlling the VCO and VCF of a Doepfer DARK ENERGY synthesizer. Performed live at Studio kHz on July 25th, 2024. Have a look at at the video: https://youtu.be/M-QavH4j5xk

Doing MATH

Doing MATH Nr. 4

Doing MATH Nr. 4 (2024) for function generator and modular synth

Improvised piece using the Make Noise 0-coast , Triple Expresso expression pedal interface, micro cassette recorder, reverb and delays pedals, Alimba resonator, and Sniff-EM electromagnetic pickup. Recorded live in one take.

Encounter with The Krell

Binaural production - listen with headphones!

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Krems, Horn and Gars/Kamp between August 31st and September 1st, 2024. Dedicated to my friend Gerhard Eckel:

    1) At the Taffa creek near Horn
    2) Gerhard Eckel and Jack Hauser performing under a resonant bridge
    3) A train ride along the river Kamp
    4) Sound from MONOCOLOR's audio-visual installation SCREEN—SPACE at the NÖ Landesgalerie Krems        

Released: Sep 2nd, 2024
https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

G.U.R.X.

G.U.R.X. (Gerhard's Unique Resonating Xylophone) - BINAURAL

Binaural production - listen with headphones!
In tempore belli...

Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Mantua, Italy between September 10-14, 2024:
    1) A walk through the historical center of Mantua
    2) A gelataria with the best ice cream in town
    3) Inside the Basilica di Sant'Andrea
    4) A rehearsal of the ensemble "nova ars cantandi" in the Basilica Palatina di Santa Barbara, singing "Dona Nobis Pacem" from an unknown mass by Antonio Nola (1642-1715).
Released: Sep 23rd, 2024
Info: https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

M.A.N.T.

M.A.N.T. (Most Answers Never Translate) - BINAURAL

Born 1960 in Vienna. Austrian composer, improviser and performer. He studied composition with Friedrich Cerha and musicology in Vienna. Besides writing experimental instrumental music, he performs on his own electronic instrument m@ze°2, develops software environments for computer-aided composition and creates generative sound and video environments. Since 2007 professor of composition for electro-acoustic and experimental music at the University of Music in Vienna.

Karlheinz Essl performs on a laptop computer that he has transformed into a live electronic musical instrument. The result is exciting and musical. You just won't hear these sounds anywhere else. He performs solo and in duets and trios, responding with sensitivity to fellow musicians, producing fascinating sound transformations, creating spontaneous surprises, and moving quickly from loops to cacophony to tiny clips of vocal sounds to all kinds of textures and ideas. He does all this with his m@ze°2(Modular Algorithmic Zound Environment) performance software. (Joel Chadabe, CDeMusic, Januar 2002)


L.U.N.Z. (Lazy Unicorns Nibble Zealously) - BINAURAL

Karlheinz Essl

Related tracks