Transience is a piece born of a two weeks residency in East Street Art's  Convention House, Leeds, UK. Constructed entirely from experience-led acoustic measurement, sound recording, and DSP, the material of the work has been generated through a set of complex filters that trace the changing acoustic of the building along a corridor. Written for a set of 6 speakers, each filtered sound object elicits a sympathetic response from the space and interacts with its resonances and produces complex distributions of sound. Convention House, with a history surrounding the later installation of a short motorway directly outside, is subjected to a continuous stream of traffic noise. At first, this seemed like an immovable obstacle to the experiential and compositional process, but quickly found the filtered tones of the road became soothing rhythms of modern life.

Transience

Bramble Brook

Turbine explores the atmospheric interface between nature and machinery. Mechanically interconnected, the rotary action of the blades and the irregular pulses of wind are rhythmically discordant. Comprising of a selection of field recordings taken onsite at Carsington Windfarm, Turbine reveals the intense and raw power of the wind.

Turbine - Carsington Wind Farm

Similar to test piece 3 and 4 this piece explores how modulating the timbre of an FM synthesiser, using just sine waves, can excite the IR feedback chain. The result bares resemblance to a ring modulator whilst adding spatial depth to the stereo mix down. In situ, the piece would be spatialised through the layout of the speakers and diffused into the space by the archway. The mix down gives a good impression of how this might sound in the space. I will be posting room recordings of the piece as and when I gain access.

CCCH - Circular Reverb Feedback - Test Piece 5

A sound design piece exploring the use of acoustic measurement as a compositional tool. The Bank, Armley, Leeds, UK is an early 19th century bank with vault still in place. The acoustics in the space are bizarre, with a sitting room like area, small service booth and vault all connected in one strip. Sound leaves one area and excites another, getting trapped in the vault. 5 speakers were placed in the space to fill the entire room with sound and the piece was written to utilise the spatiality created with this set-up. 

The piece is designed around the acoustic characteristics of each speaker position and explores the wide variety of textures that can be created to excite those particular areas.

Armley Bank

Phragma - A Binaural Biography of the Acheloos River is a sound recording project which followed the Acheloos River from its source in the Pindus Mountain Range to the Delta near Katochi. Since the 1920s the river has been subject to proposed plans to divert its stream, 20km through tunnels to feed an industrial cotton plantation in Thessaly. Leaving 10% of the current flow, the plans would devastate much of Greece's mainland valleys, flood a over 700 year old monastery, and starve unimaginably large areas of habitat for wildlife.  

Lacking essential rights, the river is waiting for the Greek government to push their plans forward to the European Council and will continue till they get their way or the river is protected. This project sought to give the river a voice and to document the incredible life that follows its journey. 

The installation is first going to be held at the Social Arts Festival on the 12th,19th and 26th Oct in London.

Phragma pt. 3 - Farmland and Dream - A Binaural Biography of the Acheloos River

Phragma pt. 2 - Stratos Dam - A Binaural Biography of the Acheloos River

Phragma pt. 1 - Formation - A Binaural Biography of the Acheloos River

Partial Decay

Completing his PhD in 2022, Stuart is dedicated to the pursuit of accessible, environmentally conscientious, and engaging art. His work has been exhibited at several major UK events. Combining hardware, apps, and server infrastructure, Stuart has a breadth of knowledge in the creation of complex, real-time, offline and online, and highly technical projects for art and sound installation, education, and exhibition.

Stuart Mellor