SENSOR WIRED SOUND PERFORMANCES Wiring of the surroundings through sensors to instruments. Sound hunting. Backtrack mixing. Direct journey reflections.

About the Project

SOUND NOMADS is comprised of a combination of sound art, music, public art, performance, interactive installations as well as video. The constant search for noises, sounds and rhythms lies as central to SOUND NOMADS as the creation of ephemeral interactive sensor based playgrounds.



SOUND NOMADS actions mainly consists of three steps:

COLLECT	site specific sound huntings/field recordings on and off the nomad way
PROCESS	creation of sound/music scores, programming, hardware settings
REFLECT	backtrack compositions, art performances/video.

Entire squares, hotspots, fields, meadows, ponds and patterns from day to day life are instrumentalized, and played. Surrounding objects get networked. Manholes become recording studios; hot tubs, resonating objects; the movements of persons, time bases; lampposts or mailboxes take the place of instrument strings and keys. The actual noises of objects lose their meaning and get replaced by triggered melodies/samples or generated tones. Contrasts, oppositions, and irritations are being created.

Complex high-tech settings and precise triggering of sensors lead to SOUND NOMADS performances. Their realtime generated sounds are part of the resulting videos. The technical equipment mainly consists of sensors, midi/audio interfaces, laptops, software, microphones, props, photo and video gear.

SOUND NOMADS ventures to artistically reflect on situations of everyday life and site-specific impressions as directly as possible; acoustically, aesthetically, and in respect of content. This project should not be an influenced work AFTER a trip but rather should facilitate a constant and direct/authentic/emotional artistic flow with change of location as a direct source of inspiration. Nomadism as an essential and driving element.

to detailed project description

The Performances

Original, live, not fake: These videos document the actual process of the performances. Allowed is only a minimum of video editing, image enhancements, audio restoration. No audio editing, no additional sound fx or instruments, no music compositions in post production AFTER a performance took place. Also, video and audio recordings stay in sync in post production.

AUG 2007: Bale [Puyvalador/FRANCE]

JUN 2007: Lights Out [Berlin/GERMANY]

SEP 2006: Lantern Dogs [Los Angeles/CA]

SEP 2006: Sound Pets LA [Los Angeles/CA]

SEP 2006: Victor's Desert Party [Goffs/CA]

SEP 2006: Luxor 22.145 [Las Vegas/NV]

SEP 2006: Play! [Cedar City/UT]

SEP 2006: What the Fuck [Kanab/UT]

SEP 2006: Sound Pets [San Francisco/CA]

AUG 2006: Black Balloons [Joshua Tree NP/CA]

AUG 2006: Shoot Down Out [Palm Springs/CA]

JUL 2006: Viva la Hetch [Yosemite/CA]

Backtracks

Audio works from calm moments between further trips and performances.

Backtrack Composition	Download	Duration
Aufstieg/Up! Yosemite/CA	MP3 192 kbps	01:26

Sound Huntings

Recordings and documentary materials from the hunt of noises on and off the nomad way.

Sound Hunting	Documentary	Success
City/Beach Barcelona/Spain	Blog Entry/Gallery
Crickets Provence/France	Blog Entry/Gallery
City Milano/Italy	Blog Entry/Gallery
Wurstelprater Ride Vienna/Austria	Blog Entry/Gallery
Blutwurstritter Butcher Berlin/Germany	Blog Entry/Gallery
BSR Cleaning Cars Berlin/Germany	Blog Entry/Gallery
Railway Bridge Berlin/Germany	Blog Entry/Gallery
Manholes Los Angeles/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Drive-Thru Los Angeles/CA	n/a
Victor the Car Las Vegas/NV	n/a
Rodeo Cedar City/UT	Blog Entry/Gallery
Quietschlapp Kingman/AZ	n/a
Streets San Francisco/CA	n/a
Fitness Room Quality Inn Palm Springs/CA	n/a
Elephant Car Wash Rancho Mirage/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Splash Hunting Palm Springs/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Camping Dinner Anza-Borrego/CA	n/a
Motel JAM Electric Noise Escondido/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
AMF Bay Shore Lanes Santa Monica/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
The Tube Yosemite/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Upper Yosemite Fall Yosemite/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Cows, They Don't Moo US Highway 99/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Oil Refineries Bakersfield/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Wildlife Mojave Desert/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
I Am Napolean US Route 40/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery
Red Roof Inn Victorville/CA	n/a
The Kitchen Kings Road, Los Angeles/CA	Blog Entry/Gallery

Travel Journal/Blog

A journal is maintained during the trips, which offers a multifaceted look of the daily workings of SOUND NOMADS. The route.

Sponsors

MaxBotix, Native Instruments, Sony Creative Software, Cycling '74, Celemony, Reise Know-How/Grundmann

Acknowledgments

Cletus Dalglish, Daniel Massey, Dave Poltorak, Elephant Car Wash Rancho M., Iris Thalhammer, Manfred Schwoiger, Party City San Diego, Seso Media Group