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<kat no.50>

Lacerations 1-3 (2023): These pieces are largely a study on the deconstruction of linear sound sources via largely autonomous processes. The first two tracks are sources from rehearsal recordings made of the Tacet(i) Ensemble for my piece “Composition for Ensemble” while in residence at Cornell University as part of the 2022 Cornell Biennial. As the score was game-based and largely open to interpretation, each performance was remarkably different by design and written with the intention of the composer having a minimized role in the performance – or at the very least their role is superseded by the actions of the ensemble and the structure of the piece itself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMuMJGIaudE Looking to extend that concept into the recorded realm, the recordings were first passed through Rodrigo Constanzo’s Monolase software and then routed through a largely autonomous Eurorack patch largely featuring modules of my own design to further deconstruct the recordings, with my role once again being as hands-off as possible. The third piece uses the same process but utilizes a recording of improvised bass guitar recorded at the height of the 2020 lockdown.

Special thanks to the performers of Tacet(i) for their contribution to these tracks. Additional thanks to Piyawat Louilarpprasert for the invitation to write for this ensemble, Rodrigo Constanzo & Peter Blasser for their wonderful instruments, my loving, tolerant family for accommodating the sprawl of equipment throughout the house and the Tone Burst crew for the release.

Travis Johns is a sound artist residing in Ithaca, NY, whose work includes performance, installation and printmaking, often incorporating eco/bio-based themes and electronic instruments of his own design. As an improviser, he performs primarily on electric bass and electronics; with studies in the field conducted under the tutelage of Fred Frith, Joelle Leandre and Butch Morris, among others. Active in the San Francisco Bay Area experimental music scene for several years, Johns moved to Costa Rica in 2011 where he collaborated extensively with visual artist Paulina Velazquez-Solis on Raro, an immersive sound and sculpture installation that represented Costa Rica in the 2013 Biennial of the Central American Isthmus (BAVIC). Since returning to the states, first to Baltimore and later to Ithaca, he’s continued to apply his trade as a composer, educator and sound artist under the nom de plume of VauxFlores,

He holds a B.M. In Technology in Music and Related Arts from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studies conducted with Tom Lopez, as well as an MFA from Mills College in Electronic Music and Recording Media, studies conducted with Chris Brown, Les Stuck and Hilda Paredes. He has participated in residencies at such places as the Atlantic Center for the Arts and RPI’s Create @ iEar, and has had work featured by el Museo Centroamericano de Arte Video (MUCEVI), the Electronic Music Foundation, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), the Bienarte 8 Costa Rican Biennial, el Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, MAC Panama, The California Academy of Sciences, Alianza Francesa de Guatemala, The Lab (San Francisco), Battery Townsley (Marin County, Ca), el Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo de Costa Rica, and Rhizome DC.

www.vauxflores.com  

credits

released May 5, 2023