A selection of live performances at IKLECTIK from 2014 to 2022.

Live at IKLECTIK

CONNEXION (Free Improvisation)
HIDEKI HASHIMOTO (Japan) Trumpet
LUIS SIRIMARCO (Argentina) Vibes

CONNEXION- HASHIMOTO SIRIMARCO

My three hours in the Sonic Garden of the @iklectikartlab on a Sunday night. Thank you @avsluta and @dvka for the invite!

Luca @ Sonic Garden – 26.06.2022

Jonathan Powell plays my piece 10.10.10 in Oxford on 17.1.14

10.10.10 (Jonathan Powell, piano)

Live at the Algorave at IKLECTIK on December 3rd 2022 https://iklectikartlab.com/algorave/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XH3ahXkDGo

Live At IKLECTIK

vocals: Tara Solar
https://soundcloud.com/tara-solar

music & lyrics: Evajeanne
https://soundcloud.com/evajeanne

arrangement & mix: Jérôme Vion

BOP - Le Flot Coherent [SKMX]

Organ Grinder was commissioned by Orkest de ereprijs who perform on this recording. The work is for ensemble and the Sauer midi organ of the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. The organ is programmed and plays itself (the ensemble synchronise with a click). Apparently it was the first work to be composed for this instrument combined with ensemble.

Organ Grinder - orkest de ereprijs

Improvisation. Bb clarinet + live electronics.
3.7.2015 ECA Alison House LRA, University of Edinburgh.

This 15-minute exploratory improvisation explores a live processing effects rack put together in Ableton Live. It includes digital distortion, harmoniser, looper, granulation & stereo delay. I use a very simple 3-part harmoniser and see if it can stretch over a few minutes without getting tired. There is one change here, from a kind of 7th chord at the start to parallel major 3rds in the 2nd part.

Again, I use just the K1X pick-up mic mounted inside the clarinet, which doesn't pick up the accompanying seagulls and traffic noise in the room at the time... very useful for recording in a less than quiet environment!

The 'virtual rack' has the following audio effects:

All tracks:
EQ Eight — 8-band parametric EQ

Track 1
MaxSpectralHarm — a Max for Live object that allows for up to 2 parallell harmonisations, with configurable pitch, panning and delay times. I fine-tuned the intervals to a chosen chord (-6 /+3 semitones) and adjusted mid-flight to -4/+4 (creates an augmented triad).

Track 2
Glue Compressor — mapping the pre-compression (make-up) gain to an expression pedal (0 to +18dB) allows me to go in very close to extremely quiet sounds such as breath, spit and key noise. With the output compressed, it's not going to blow anyone's ears out if a louder sound is released (eg. at 11:33 ). I've been using this for a couple of months instead of a simple volume pedal and its quality of 'magnification' is proving very effective. 

Ping-pong Delay – variable here by mapping the global tempo in Live to a foot control button. Adds layering and a sense of dimension to a solo track.

Redux — bit-reduction distortion. A kind of 'pixelating' of the sampled sound... here in 12-bit (CD quality is 16-bit+), with variable downsampling mapped via MIDI to an expression pedal). Comes into its own at a healthy listening volume on responsive listening gear. Not to everyone's taste. Still experimenting with this... to be honest I cut some of it out in mixing, but at the opening and final sections I'm happy with what I was finding. I like its uniquely digital quality, and the unpredictability of response that produces a very full-spectrum (if occasionally over-dominant) result. 
Work-in-progress.

Convolution Reverb Pro - a Max for Live object that allows me to play into a virtual space (here it's in fact York Minster). Very nice reverb with a very long (7sec+) tail — useful for creating space & time and offers rich texturing of breath and other textural sounds. 

Track 3
Looper — I'm not so interested in straight, locked down, 4 in a bar looping. What I'm doing here is taking a 7-bar continually overdubbing loop with a gradual fade (c.30% feedback). Ableton's Looper is tricky to learn, perhaps because I'm trying to get it to create a loop that doesn't sound overtly 'looped'. I'm still working with it, but it allows me to create layers of texture, and with the 7-bar (variable tempo) distance, it provides spectres of previous material which can be responded to or left alone, providing time to rest / reset etc. This feels quite important when planning longer improvised sets, where physical stamina is a consideration.

Grain Delay – my understanding of granular synthesis is pretty minimal, but Ableton's objects allow for a process of learning-by-doing/listening. Just drop an audio effect into a track and tweak the settings until something sounds interesting. It's possible to then refer the manual or an external source of information about the theory after hearing the effects. 

Full specification:
—Rumberger K1X mic
www.thomann.de/gb/rumberger_k1x_…ckup_clarinet.htm
—RME Fireface UCX audio interface
—Macbook Pro 15" 2.3 GHz/i7/16GB RAM (OS10.9.5)
—Ableton Live Suite 9.1.8
—mixed in Reaper v4.721
—Buffet Crampon RC Prestige Bb clarinet
—Portnoy BP3 mouthpiece, hand-finished by Ramón Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com

re:duke (2015)

This song is the final release in my 10in10 project.

You Are My Music

Full Title of the composition:

Wo Lippen die Blätter zu Zeichen bewegen (1997/2011)
by Reinhard Fuchs.

Performed by Rowland Sutherland on flute and Reinhard Fuchs on live electronics.

The original was written for solo flute in 1997.

The version for Flute and Live Electronics was written in 2011 of which Rowland Sutherland gave the premiere performance with the composer Reinhard Fuchs on live electronics, which is this actual recording .

Performed at Kings Place, London.

Wo Lippen die Blätter... for Flute and Live Electronics by Reinhard Fuchs

This is my unconventional version of a troubadour song, called "Bryd One Brere" (Bird On A Briar). The song dates from the 13th century and its author is unknown. What is more, one source claims this is the oldest ever found English love song. The original manuscript contains only the melody and the lyrics. Usually, troubadour songs have been performed with a simple accompaniment on a lyre or a capella. Here I wanted to explore how voice and flutes would sound together; the "forbidden" intervals and ornamentation have been added on purpose.

Lyrics in Middle English:
v1: Bryd one breere, briht bryd one trewe, kynd is come, of love love to crave: blithful bird, on me, on me thu rewe; or greith, leef, greith thu me, thu me my grave. 
v2: Ich am so blithe so briht bryd one breere whan i see that hende, hendest in halle. yhe is whit of lim, of lim and leere; yhe is fayr, and flur, and flur of alle. 
v3: Mihte ich hire, hir at wille have, stedefast of love, loveli, trewe, of mi sorw yhe may, yhe may me save, joy and bliss wer er, wer er me newe. 

Modern English translation:
Bird on a briar, bright bird on a tree, (man)kind has come to beg for love. "Gracious lady, on me have pity; or prepare for me my grave." I am as happy as a bright bird on a briar when I see that gracious one. She is white of limb and face; she is fair, and the flower of all. If I could have her at will, steadfast in love, lovely, true - from my sorrow she can cure me - joy and bliss for me would be ever renewed.


(Arranged, performed and recorded by myself, May 2016)

Bryd One Brere

Led by Rowland Sutherland (flutes) and Jackie Walduck (vibes), with Cath Roberts (baritone sax), Ntshuks Bonga (soprano and alto sax), Dominic Lash (bass) and special guest Ansuman Biswas (percussion).
Live at the I’klectik Art Lab, London.  Recorded and mastered by Saint Austral Sound

Ethereal World at I'klectik, July 2016.  Sextet improvisation with Ansuman Biswas (percussion)

What keeps you awake at night? Money worries? Your conscience? Traffic? Dogs barking? Or the shrill sound of a stressed robin forced to sing at night to find a mate?

This composed feature for BBC Radio 4 by Nina Perry explores the problem of sleeplessness and the crucial relationship between sound and sleep, all set within a soundscape of noises heard during a sleepless night interwoven with specially composed music.

Tinnitus sufferer Helen takes us on a journey through a sleepless night of thought and sounds of ticking clocks, snoring, a restless child, mysterious footsteps and a neighbour's late night party. How are these sounds perceived in a state of sleeplessness? How do we respond to sound emotionally, physiologically and hormonally. Are the sounds of the night changing? Are silent nights a thing of the past?

Answering these questions and elucidating the relationship between sound and sleep are: Professor of Acoustics and Dynamics Andy Moorhouse and Senior Lecturer in Acoustics Bill Davies, from Salford University; David Baguley, Head of Audiology at Cambridge University Hospitals, who discusses sound perception, the meaning of sound and the reaction to sound as elements within Tinnitus treatment; Dr Ken Hume, a sleep researcher specializing in sound and sleep, discussing the physiology and psychology of sleep and sound disturbance; and Rupert Marshall, Lecturer in Animal Behaviour at Aberystwyth University, describing how urban wildlife is changing its behaviour to cope with modern life (for example, robins nesting in urban areas who struggle to be heard during the day are more likely to sing at night than their country cousins).

Produced and Composed by Nina Perry 
Musicians: Roland Sutherland - Flute

Sleepless Night

Performance recorded from the desk, live at Iklectik Art Lab (London), on 21st May 2016.

Now available in full on Touch Radio: http://touchradio.org.uk/touch-radio-134-pascal-savy.html

With thanks to Eduard Solaz and Mike Harding.

Touch Radio 134 - Live At Iklectik [excerpt]

Established in 2014, IKLECTIK is a nonprofit independent creative space supporting live experimental sound, art and technology.

Ethereal World at I'klectik, July 2016. Sextet improvisation with Ansuman Biswas (percussion)

Ethereal World music

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