In this research project I attempted to arrange rebetika songs from the guitar repertoire of “tsimpita” or plucked rebetika for electric guitar, voice, electronics, and samples from field recordings in Glasgow and in Cyprus. The specific repertoire has an immigration and sociocultural background and was developed in the 1930s in America from Greek immigrants. My approach to this research focuses on the idea of contextualisation of the music elements from Asia Minor to Greece and from Greece to America such as the capture of makam as “dromoi” or roads and an adaptation to equal temperament system instruments such as the bouzouki, the guitar and the mandolin. In America, the bouzouki is capture as the guitar which is tuned in the same way. Another example of adaptability is the use of the taqsim, the free improvisation that is also used in rebetika, adopting a specific style and a way of Middle eastern improvisation. Moreover, the adaptability of these folk musicians leads to the technique of African- American blues, where musicians adopted special tunings that they found in America and thus they create an original way of performing. Considering the above, this research focuses to examine if there is still space for contextualisation and adaptation in tsimpita. Moreover, this project deals with how the electric sound can reshape sounds of the past and escapes the fact that the last years, the folk guitar became electric in bouzoukia (or clubs) and in paniyiria (or festivals) as a rhythmic accompaniment. The choice of this particular research is based on my research for my musical identity through a collection of memories of sounds from the past, my current influences of a contemporary context and my correlation to my expatriation.

sound map: earth.google.com/earth/d/12XMNmlg…EBjg?usp=sharing

many thanks to performers: 
Antonis Hadjiantonis - voice, electric guitar 
Fidias Ferekidis - drums 

Antonia Kattou - composition, voice, electronics, sampling 

produced in Nicosia, Athens, Glasgow
*This research project was part of my Master's research and portfolio. 

read more about the project: https://www.kattouantonia.com/electronic 

gear used: jampedals - Red Muck vol.2, Korg MicroKorg Vocoder
 
Happy listening!

4. at the basement- Excerpt

'The Birds; they stare at me from the window' for solo soprano and live electronics

Written for and performed by Stephanie Lamprea (http://www.stephanielamprea.com/)

Premiered in the Ledger Recital Room at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on Monday 21st March 2022 in the 'Mondays at One' concert.

The Birds; they stare at me from the window (Stephanie Lamprea)

Instruction Manual (10/7/22)

Despite being essential to life on Earth, the magnetic field isn’t something we can actually see in itself, or ever hear. But, remarkably, scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have taken magnetic signals measured by ESA’s Swarm satellite mission and converted them into sound – and for something that protects us, the result is pretty scary.
Sound design & concept: Klaus Nielsen (https://soundcloud.com/maplepools) and Nikolai Linden-Vörnle (https://soundcloud.com/kamikaze_vildsvin)
Image by Crimson Sound (https://soundcloud.com/crimson-sound-483379629)
Read the full story: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm/The_scary_sound_of_Earth_s_magnetic_field

The scary sound of Earth’s magnetic field

ALYSIDEZ WITH "ANDROULA" EP 025 (SEASON 2) - 07/04/2023

Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Andrew Gourlay

Sirens - for Symphony Orchestra

Seek-LindaBuckley-Tape

A piece composed in 2013 for an experimental short film directed by Adam Greves for the Waterloo Festival Film Score Competition. The piece is a constant but steady progression and shifts between genres, blending them together. The mix includes sounds specially recorded for this piece, such as glass lamps and coins falling. Can you hear it?

 If you want to see the film, check our my Insta profile! 

https://www.instagram.com/themistocli_composer/

Constantly Shifting

'strange walks' illustrates the migration and contextualisation of indigenous people due to climate change. The piece is heavily influenced by the Sámi People and their joik. The joik is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sapmi in Northern Europe. Traditionally, joiks have short lyrics or no lyrics at all. It is traditionally chanted a cappella, but in modern times may be accompanied by a drum or other musical instruments. The tonality of the joik is mostly pentatonic. The composer attempts to illustrate the joiks by using vowels and no lyrics and by using the piano as a percussive instrument.

'strange walks' was composed for Anastasia Karaviti- Schurer, who also expressed how she was interested in applying ethnomusicological aspects into a contemporary compositional context.

Performed by Anastasia Karaviti- Schurer (voice), Enzo Buttazzoni (piano) and composer by Antonia Kattou, all undergraduate students at Royal Holloway University of London. 

Submitted as part of Festival, Interrupted 2020.

Antonia Kattou: strange walks

Performed by Zakia Fawcett (viola) and Ollie Hawker (electronics), 19/11/2020, RCS

An instructional text score for any sustaining instrument and live electronics.

I made a Max MSP patch to analyse the first two notes of the piece and send data on the eight most resonant frequencies within them to several electronic chimes, along with very narrow EQ filters which are applied to the live instrument, creating a unique set of resonant 'strings' for it.

The piece begins meditatively, with the resonances reacting quickly to the live input. But with each of Dr Willie Ong's tips, the strings are increasingly delayed to create a textural frame for the player, who is encouraged to become more gestural and to explore the resonances that are swirling around them.

The original video I got the audio from can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbpA46TIsd4

Seven Tips for Anxiety and Nervousness

Loom

Antonia Kattou aka kattouxo is experimenting with nostalgia and she’s blending distorted electronic sounds, with field recordings and with classical contemporary music.

view more at: https://www.kattouantonia.com/biography

@ichomagneticthoughts

4. at the basement- Excerpt

kattouxo

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