Mixed Electroacoustic Music

momentum "I": death & escape (2019)
for bass flute and live electronics 

Live recording
20th Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik
April 26th, 2019
Weimar, Germany 

The piece was written for and heartily dedicated to Carin Levine.

momentum "I": death & escape, for bass flute and live electronics (2019)

"au sujet de fusion: la genèse d'un(e) . . ." (2019-21)
for amplified ensemble - flute, saxophone, percussion, piano and electronics

Live recording

OPUS 22.1 Jeune Génération

Thursday, March 10, 2022
Le Rocher De Palmer

Proxima Centauri

Marie-Bernadette Charrier, saxophone
Sylvain Millepied, flute
Benoit Poly, percussion
Hilomi Sakaguchi, piano
Christophe Havel, electronics

"au sujet de fusion: la genèse d'un(e) . . .", for amplified ensemble and electronics (2019-20)

NOUVELLES AVENTURES CICLE – KONZERTHAUS WIEN

Berio-Saal
Wiener Konzerthaus
Friday, April 22, 2022

Schallfeld Ensemble
Leonhard Garms, Conductor

The octet version of "les instances" is projecting an electrified sound world emerging from the musical synergies and the coexistence of an amplified ensemble with a synthesized, electronic soundscape. A continuum of interchangeable drives it, phrasal collages comprised of distinct sonic and rhythmical structures, both in the acoustic and the electronic parts. The structure is formulated by repetitive blocks and timbral constructs that engage horizontally and vertically (harmonically) and eventually forge the behavior and the dramaturgy of the music. At the core of my creative thinking lies the notion of repetitive exhaustion and dissolution of sonic material in frameworks of organic sound complexity. I am deeply interested in the impact of recursion on our perception of details and musical events at a micro and macro time level. The piece is heartily dedicated to George E. Lewis.

Les instances - octet version, for amplified ensemble and diffused, synthesised sounds (2019/20)

in dysto (2023)
for amplified trio: saxophone(s), percussion, piano - and midi keyboard - and electronics 

Ex Sentia Ensemble
Miguel Fernández (saxophone)
Jacob Mason (piano)
Santiago Villar (percussion)

Live recording:
Theater Pavillon Luzern – Switzerland
November 14, 2023

"in dysto" is an extended, mixed electroacoustic composition that explores the concept of sonic hybridity through recursive processes of structural de/re-construction. Drawing inspiration from the resonance profiles of both natural materials and synthesized resonances, the work delves into the realm of unpredictable resonant behaviors. By merging resonance and behavior, a unified concept is formed that mirrors the aesthetic and technical characteristics inherent in the electroacoustic elements, thereby resulting in an electrifying sonic experience.

Through meticulous construction and dissolution, conducted at both micro and macro levels, self-referential blocks of sonic action are harmoniously reconciled, ultimately giving rise to a dystopian landscape characterized by emergence and collision. The deliberate utilization of recursion and repetition serves to push the boundaries of the electro-acoustic material and the synergies observed during performance, while subjectively alluding to a transformative shift from utopia to dystopia.

Premiere performance:
Impuls Festival 2023
Ex-Sentia ensemble
MUMUTH – György-Ligeti-Saal
August 3, 2023, Graz, Austria

Other performances:
the “METABIOME” project, concert series:
Benr Aula Progr, Bern – Switzerland, November 15, 2023.
Theater Pavillon Luzern – Switzerland, November 14, 2023.
Centre Le Phénix, Fribourg – Switzerland, October 20, 2023.
Basel Ackermannshof, Basel – Switzerland, October 19, 2023.

The piece was commissioned by the ex-Sentia ensemble

in dysto, for amplified saxophone(s), percussion, piano - & midi - and electronics (2023)

Stylianos Dimou
électro-folie (2020)
l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018)for electric violin and live, diffused electronics

Alicja Pilarczyk - e-violin
Piotr Peszat - audio recording, production
Stylianos Dimou - electronics design and audio mixing

Performance "non-lieux:nie-miejsca"
24.10.2020 
Trafostacja Sztuki w Szczecinie

électro-folie (2020) • l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018) , is a piece for electric violin and live, diffused electronics. It is governed by the idea of percussive fragility and sliding instability. The main sound archetype is the organic interaction between wooden bow attacks and metallic thimble attacks on the strings of the e-violin. The piece gradually introduces multiple “glissando” gestures, slithers on the strings, in various speeds projecting a hidden world of granular subtleties that occur during the interaction of the thimbles on the strings. This becomes the central goal of the musical discourse while the structure is evolving.

The e-violin is one character within a virtual quadraphonic space (4 loudspeakers). The role of the electronics, primarily live, is to grasp the percussive density and transform it in the frequency and time domain. One of the roles of the live electronics is to generate a kind of “glue” that surrounds the instrumental gestures transforming them into a robust, thick and dense construction. In addition to that, the computer is responsible for the generation of multiple “e-violin identities”, instances that interact in a continuous counterpoint. One of the goals of the project is the disorientation of the audience by placing the e-violin, in unpredictable places, within the virtual quadraphonic space and blending it with the generated electronics.

électro-folie (2020) l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018)

Stylianos Dimou is a distinguished Greek composer renowned for his expertise in acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. In addition to his compositional work, he is an accomplished conductor, accordionist, and electronic music improviser. Dimou’s contributions to the field have earned him numerous awards and recognitions, supported by prestigious international organizations such as the Fulbright Program, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative, Ernst Mach weltweit, Federal Ministry of Culture and Media of Austria, SWR Experimentalstudio, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Cité Internationale des Arts.

Dimou's musical education began with advanced studies in Music Composition at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where he completed his BMus and MMus under the guidance of Prof. Christos Samaras. He further developed his compositional skills at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, earning an MA in Composition while studying with notable composers Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, and David Liptak, and exploring advanced electronic music with Allan Schindler "(deceased)".

In 2017-18, Dimou participated in the prestigious Cursus program at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, where he received professional training in Composition and advanced Electronic Music, under the mentorship of Mikhail Malt. He subsequently served as a Composer and Music Researcher at the OeAD organization, affiliated with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria.

Dimou’s dedication to artistic excellence led to his selection as Composer in Residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris during the fall of 2019, an opportunity extended by The Embassy of Greece. He earned his Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, where he conducted advanced artistic research and pursued graduate studies as a Dean’s Fellow. His doctoral studies were guided by Prof. George Lewis, Prof. Fred Lerdahl, Prof. Georg Friedrich Haas, and Prof. Brad Garton, specializing in Composition, Music Theory, and Computer Music.

Stylianos Dimou is a tenured Associate Professor of Composition at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen, Norway, within the Faculty of Fine Art, Music, and Design. He specializes in both acoustic and electroacoustic music, with teaching interests that encompass Composition (acoustic, mixed electroacoustic, and acousmatic), Music Technology, Music Theory, and Analysis. Dimou teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs, fostering students' exploration of contemporary compositional practices.

Dimou's research explores the creative symbiosis between human performers and technological systems across various artistic mediums and performance practices. His work emphasizes sonic hybridity and spatial immersion, with a focus on the integration of interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and multichannel audio. His research delves into the complex structural relationships between chromatic and microtonal aggregations in intricate sonic architectures, with a particular focus on the music of Georges Aperghis. By investigating the intersections of instrumental and electroacoustic elements, Dimou seeks to create cohesive artistic frameworks that expand the boundaries of contemporary music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Bergen, Dimou served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Peloponnese, Greece - Spring 2024 -, where he taught sound design, interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and immersive audio. He also held the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Academy of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University - Spring 2021 to Fall 2024 -, where he taught Composition, Music Technology, and Electroacoustic music. His work at these institutions emphasized the integration of technology into music performance, with a particular focus on live interactivity and the creative possibilities offered by technological innovation in the compositional process.

Among Dimou’s most distinguished accolades are the Ulysses Network / IRCAM Award for Artistic Excellence (2018-2019), 1st Prize at the 2nd International Composition Competition "Amici della Musica di Cagliari," and 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition "Luigi Nono" (3rd edition). He also won 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, 1st Prize with the Audience’s Prize at the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik (2012), and the Prize for orchestral music at the 5th [‘tactus] Young Composers Forum (2013). Dimou was a finalist for the Roche Young Commissions at the Lucerne Festival Academy (2013), judged by Pierre Boulez. His academic achievements include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2029) from Columbia University and the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize from the Eastman School of Music.

https://stylianosdimou.com/biography

Les instances - octet version, for amplified ensemble and diffused, synthesised sounds (2019/20)

Stylianós Dimou