Gaia Suíte é uma faixa que fala sobre os desmandos que o nosso planeta e seus habitantes sofrem constantemente. Uma seqüência de textos e sons compostos por João Diniz freqüentemente mostrada nas apresentações ao vivo do projeto Pterodata.

GAIA SUITE

Pterodtata is a collective project coordinated by brazilian architect João Diniz which explores, through digital sounds, acoustic interventions, poetry and images the idea of a polyphonic transArchitecture.

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Within a reflection which aims to expand the architectural, urban and environmental boundaries of thinking and doing, the architect João Diniz - who works in Belo Horizonte and has built his work related to contemporary architecture and is also professor on universities of architecture – proposed, after the year of 2000, the transArquitetura (transArchitecture) (in?) discipline, which adds to the background of architecture, urbanism and design experiments in the fields of poetry / literature, photography, video art, drawing, painting, stage design, sculpture, critical consciousness / body / spiritual and the exploration of sonic environments and music.

In this context of multiple reflections Pterodata project is born, new word that combines the idea of ptero, or kite flying, and also the prehistoric bird, the pterosaur, the concept of data, files, nowadays information files, ie an extra time and space adventure, pan-historical, seeking to link to the past, present and future.

The Pterodata project takes advantage of current communication networks and virtual analog and digital resources to conduct and disseminate their research and findings, which mostly comes from the idea of the existence of spaces to be re-created into sonic environments, filmic or photographic.

The working method of the experimentation comes from evolutionary concepts and integrated ideas where sounds, textures, melodic and rhythmic cells and various sound samplers are combined with singing, spoken texts, voices and sounds collected in daily life and contributions of several musicians. 

In the project Pterodata, this sonic universe of instruments, voices and sounds of everyday's life is always related to the notion of space and structure. The time of the tracks is divided into modules, offering different discourses, narrative or abstract, linking those environments and using the graphics / visual programs for editing and compositing the results with suggestions of sound / music obtained. 

New features allow the participants to take chance and improvise often involved in the ongoing process. The input data can be done via mouse, keyboard / controller, spontaneous speech, open environmental recording or acoustic or electronic participation of the musicians and artists in charge.

With such independence of formal musical knowledge enabled by technology and access to various softwares, Pterodata uses procedures to create and produce random results, thus transforming mathematical sequences, such as the Fibonacci series, or architectural drawings and sketches in aural "interpreted" sounds, not only by musicians but also by digital generative audio programs.

In later or parallels stages of creation, the phonograms in progress can join several photographic cells, pictures or videos edited together to create the hybrid element where sound and image files are integrated resulting in languages that coexist with the video clip, video-art, documentary, photo essay and temporalized and animation. 

These pieces are usually released on www or participate in performances where into them are linked new layers connected to the presentation's moment. Some phonograms and videos can be considered as open works, the technical resources used allow new contributions, remote or not, and because they aren't closed files, they enable overlays and subsequent editions by many collaborators from audio and video expertise. These contributions are always welcome, even resulting in varying versions for the same root composed.

The knowledge for these achievements in a wide universe, discontinuous and intuitive, of observations. The modal music, serial and electro-acoustic, jazz, progressive rock and ethnic music; oral poetry, theater performances, prayers, mantras and speeches; urban environmental noises, sounds of machines, animals and nature, which combined with 3D digital animation, photography, incidental videos, evolution graphics or digital calligraphic form a spectrum of combinatorial possibilities.

Part of this universe of references is on the works of creators such as Brian Eno, Uakti, Robert Fripp, Tycho, Dahfer Youssef, Rob Rich, Edgar Froese, Juan Agreta, Cláudia Cimbleris, Steve Reich and others. Partnerships and dialogues with artists such as Marco Antonio Guimarães, Paulo Santos, Eder Santos, Fabio Carvalho, Isabel Lacerda, Alexandre Cavalcante, LamieLa, Gilfranco Alves, Rick Bolina, Arnaldo Dias Baptista, Marcio Diniz, Dirceu, Lincoln e Ricardo Cheib, Jorge dos Anjos, Lô Borges, Eliza Gazzinelli, Daniella Zupo, Maria Bragança, Graziela Mello Vianna and Daniel D’Olivier, all those names have greatly helped in many ways the evolution of Pterodata thought the production of new results.

The non-frontiers of the Internet is important for the development and dissemination of the project. It's on the www, through specialized web sites and digital radios, that come the listeners, reviews, critiques and partnerships from several parts of the planet. The main tags for the identification of these sounds and images: experimental, minimal, sound design, spoken word, psicodelia, jazz, progressive, soundscape, chillout, meditation, among othes.

Pterodata released in 2009, two works Foz and Welt, compositions and performances of Joao Diniz in the computer and with the participation of musicians like Daniel D’Olivier, Lincoln Cheib, Ricardo Cheib, Rick Bolina, Gilfranco Alves, João Marcelo Diniz, te German artist Thomas Schöenauer and the Franco-Moroccan singer LamieLa. 

Foz presents sounds more related to the concept of execution with the performers, while Welt deals with more experimental environments and climates. These discs have been mixed and mastered, and largely, recorded by Dirceu Cheib in the knowns Bemol Studio, in Belo Horizonte. 

These two CDs were introduced in the show in Belo Horizonte ‘Suítes Foz do Mundo’ where João Diniz has shared the stage with multi-instrumentalist Daniel D’Olivier. This event epitomizes the experience in previous presentations, where they developed the possibilities of live performances combining sounds, images and spoken text.

in 2012 Pterodata presented the 'Ábaco' cd a sonic translation of the poetry book of the same name released by Joao Diniz in 2011. Book and record are integrated in a sum of senses where reading / writing and listening / playing complement each other in search of an expanded and integrated composition. The record was presented in the so called 'Ábaco: multimidia suite' where music, poetry and video where presented by Joao Diniz, Leri Faria, Rick Bolina, Joao Marcelo, Marilene Clara, Renata da Matta e Bel Diniz.

Based on the insertions of the project Pterodata in different productions, such as in the movie Ed. JK of 2008 directed by Eliza Gazzinelli about utopian mega-residential condominium JK, Oscar Niemeyer's 1954 project in Belo Horizonte, and the soundtrack of the short film ‘Olhocinefoto’ of 2009 directed by director Fábio Carvalho and edited by Isabel Lacerda, proposes an interdisciplinary link connecting architecture, photography, cinema, music and poetry.

The experience of this interdisciplinary project – more then productively investigate the possibilities of an architectural and environmental thinking beyond the tradicional reflexions of the academies and/or a complementary know-how of space production – seeks to link discourse and ideology on concepts related to a new environmental and social consciousness, and aspects of sustainability, or should be said durability, of the planet.

Thus, the project Pterodata - through the so-called new media , communication networks and access to various computerized means of production and dissemination - joins groups and paths that seem to indicate the possibility of a new digital cultural renaissance at the moment where it is up to individuals and communities to actively position themselves facing the challenges of this new era and languages.

(text partially taken from 'V!rus 4' eletronic magazine from USP São Carlos)

Some of the Pterodata's tracks from the cds 'Octopus' and 'Pterodata' released in 2001 can be heard at:
http://soundcloud.com/pterodata-proto

GAIA SUITE

PTERODATA