On this tape you will hear a series of examples intended to assist you in your journey. The examples on this tape are designed for you to run trials prior to your attempt to join. The 11 pieces will give basic directions and illustrate disruptions and interference experienced by the traveller on their journey.
The waymarkers are made using an FM transmitter these will play a continuous loop tuned to an agreed frequency. The traveller using a radio tuned to the frequency can then pick up the signal. Each loop can be used to impart information covertly, giving directions, warnings and other information. The pieces included here are simply the beginnings of the loops needed to traverse the land safely.
Ltd. cassette with die cut cover, 2 inserts, vinyl sticker & Prince of Peace ginger chew. (J-Card – Gmund Heidi Soft Kraft 330 gsm backed with handmade citrus paper. Insert – 100% Wild Ginger paper by The Paper Mill, New Zealand. Both scented with Primavera Ingwer Essential Oil???)
The sailors make fast the loose ends to ensure the boat is shipshape.
“Tying Up Loose Ends” is a nautically themed project split into 2 segments. The first, titled “Noise Forecast”, is heavily inspired by BBC shipping forecasts, the rhythm of their delivery and the alien yet comprehensible language used within them. The compositional framework for this part of the project is a text-based score which was written in a way that aimed to allow each participant a unique translation. To further contrast the finished pieces, careful attention is made in approaching different artists with varying sonic palettes.
The score for this first installment of the project reads as follows:
The second project segment, titled “Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan & Derelict”, is an exploration of how new life can be given to short pieces of sound that perhaps could get lost somewhere in a timeline. To achieve this, audio is salvaged from one person and recycled by another, although organised in such a way that ‘who is collaborating with who’ remains unknown. Artist and equipment information are intentionally removed as to hopefully have no influence over the finished works. Guidelines for FJL&D are: “SALVAGE You have received some salvaged audio from another participant involved. Use these sounds as a starting point. RECYCLE Please use both files, although they don’t have to be used in their entirety. One shot or single cycle samples are fine. You are free to edit & treat these in any way you see fit. Chop, Sample, Granularize & Mangle. Unrecognisable is good. Additional instrumentation is allowed and encouraged. This is not a remix project. COLLABORATION Audio discovered amongst your posts has been shared with another participant to carry out the same process.” Loose Ends #1 is focused around the fictional land, and surrounding coast, of “Culport”. The tracklisting is as follows;
NOISE FORECAST
1. Claude & Ola – Culport
2. Sw1n Hunter – FOAM_DRIFT(2vids)
3. Shane Latimer – Deluges: Clustered
4. Una Lee – 1 fib or no
5. BJC – Torrential Data v4_2
6. Scy1e – Racing the dawn
7. Mysterioso – Unapproved Beliefs
8. Vivienne Griffin – The Fake Haven
9. Hadi Bastani – nines am(o)ur ai
FLOTSAM, JETSAM, LAGAN & DERELICT
1. T.Jervell – Fanfare of Spring (Initials M.C.)
2. sweetearthflying – prismatic wounds
3. Sqrtsigil – nontitle
4. Morn Valley – Solar Transmission
5. Expanding Foam – saxa vord
6. Wimming Spools – flotsum & jetsum
7. Disxiple 113 – fiesta, forever
8. Subfusc – Batons With some sprinkles of sea sounds recorded by Matilde Meireles, Lisbon, 2020. Many thanks to all who took part for their incredible work.Barry & Phil – Tone Burst
The starting point for this album was the suit of Diamonds. In Norway we call this suit “ruter”. Ruter refers to the geometric shape found on the cards, but the word can also mean windows. This led to the idea that these 12 tracks should not only represent the 12 cards in the suit, but also have a narrative connected to 12 windows in my house. Windows are also interesting in terms of the fact that they are see-through, but also able to reflect. Considering this I decided that every track should describe events both inside and outside of each window. So, this is an album with a narrative. Instrumental (art) music that attempts to describe a narrative musically, is often called program music. The narrative might be presented as a text (program notes), through the piece’s title etc. In light of this, I decided that this would be an album of program music. I am sure there are people who will argue that this isn’t proper program music, in regards to it not being “classical I am sure there are people who will argue that this isn’t proper program music, in regards to it not being “classical music”/art music. I could of course make an argument and discuss this, but I will not. You just have to accept that the music you are about to hear, and the accompanying text is composed according to my interpretations of what the term program music contains.
credits
releases September 3, 2021
Design + Artwork – Phil/Tone Burst Mastering: Jørgen Kirksæther @Transistor Mastering All tracks written & produced by T. Jervell Track 2 contains a sample from ChromaDots «Nebel sei dies Leben» Track 13 lyrics written by Arne C. Jervell
For all the love, inspiration, advice, help, co-operation/creation and conversations, Thank you: Guro and the kids, Arne, Rune Opdahl, Kristoffer Aars, Phil, Barry, Friends and family, Mr. Bosanquet, Bjørn Andor Drage, Bodvar Drotninghaug Mœ & Jørgen Kirksæther.
Digging through almost 20 years of previously unheard documents. A Barry Joseph Cullen Retrospective.
The title is inspired by Seamus Heaney’s poem Digging. What we do, how we make. The value of an archive, the power of reflection. History is never truly past, its ability to influence us continues to be felt in the present.
Original: “Between my finger and my thumb The squat pen rests. I’ll dig with it.”
Remix: “Between my finger and my thumb The soldering iron rests. I’ll make with it.”
A – 190614 edit Live recording from a week-long mini festival at PS2 gallery, Belfast. Round Buttons Square Tones co-curated with Min Hyong Kim. An instrument/system was built using reclaimed metal dishes, solenoids activated by a 555 timer circuit (taken from D. Holzer’s Tonewheels project) with piezo transducers fed into DIY distortion effects; Fuzz Face, Tone Bender MKII, Little Big Muff. A short performance gaining complexity & intensity.
2 – 240419 04 edit One of several takes. An improvisation using DIY eurorack modules. Learning to use Turing Machine through play. VCFs as generators and LFOs as clocks & modulators. Swaying from melodic to dissonant and back.
3 – guitar tuner bow fan eavesdropping (outro edit v1) This piece was made by combining a number of materials that were available for play at the time. An early example of ‘Drone’ in my practice. The guitar was still central to my instrumentation but extended approaches were becoming more important. The guitar was later stolen in a burglary and attention turned to other methods of making music.
4 – 3KFCN able v2 A short study showing the 3KFCN circuit as a feedback tone generator. A multi track recording with tuning by ear. A stack of improvisation. Slow. The result of cumulative play and listening practice.
5 – newton’s cat One of several pieces made using the Newton’s 12 Mins Companion Box with a Copycat tape echo. Noise bursts and rhythm created by layering improvisations. No editing was required.
6 – moving 1 improv One of several recordings made exploring Jasuto Pro, an iPhone app which facilitates dynamic tone play via gesture. A synth patch for live manipulation, to facilitate a new performance routine. This recording was captured from rehearsals for a performance using bass guitar through multiple DIY fuzz boxes (M.I.A).
7 – newt FKE mod v1 Companion Box (Newton’s 12 Mins) and Koma Field Kit Effects. Improvisation around a patch made to test & learn the Field Kit’s capabilities.
8 – broken lights This was made after remixing a reactive & generative AV software patch I made during my MA studies at SARC. I was living in Al Khuwair in Muscat. The neighbourhood was well lit. I found a few flickering electric lights. I took short videos and made a silent video composition; a grid of nine loops. The video triggered sine waves in max/msp/jitter. An array of frequencies depending on a previous monochrome frame difference. This is a response. There was a lack of electronic music in the location. I made my own.
9 – sarc fender contact mic Waiting in a practice room with band hardware. Instead of browsing on my phone, I used what was available to do creative work. Contact mic, bass amp and a portable recorder. The routine was to slowly change each EQ knob from high to low.
10 – Bent 4.5v B&W Companions & Ellie 7 This piece is one of a number of improvised pieces recorded with a set up including two Companion Boxes (Black & White), a circuit bent instrument containing a number of rewired sound effect makers and a Comet filter, Ellitone multi-synth and looper pedal. Routine of setting a start loop and improvising.
J – Texture Test 261017 02 Using Resolume to animate an audio arrangement. Dancing fragments of workshop test signals.
Q – CNTRL RM CNC v31 This piece was made from field recordings made in the control room at SARC. This track uses the sound of a CNC machine cutting the edges of a PCB. The recording was edited and arranged using Avenue. The resulting audio sounds a little like a cello ensemble.
Joker – Stockhausen tells us to go to the studio 3 may 2004 @ opening concert at SARC Belfast.
The first of a 4 part series entitled ‘Follow Suit’ will be released tomorrow. Themed around a deck of cards, each part will be released on cassette and will come with one suit of cards, all housed in a playing cards style box. So for any completists among you, you’ll have a full deck if you collect all 4. If you aren’t yet familiar with our artefacts and objects our usual merch disclaimer applies. ‘Each item is assembled by hand. The mark of the maker can be found on the surface of the items, showing the efforts to manipulate materials and minimise waste. For us, an imperfect artefact for sale is preferable to a usable flaw in the dump.’
Part 1 is ‘Winter Pines‘ by Chromadots and tells a story of Hearts. ‘Storytelling Sonics. A time documented. Dictated by situation & location. Led by emotion. A long story. Not the record that was planned but a lesson in allowing music to “grow and thrive”, organically. Learning and accepting that this was the only record possible. Unpopular Love Songs.’
Winter Pines will be available tomorrow at 3pm GMT. Thanks You
2nd press black cassette. Die cut cover with 2 inserts ( 1x print / 1x black) & 2 vinyl stickers. Comes with a cloth bound, hand stitched mini book all housed in a custom made matchbox. Includes 10 matches.
Each item is assembled by hand. The mark of the maker can be found on the surface of the items, showing the efforts to manipulate materials and minimise waste. For us, an imperfect artefact for sale is preferable to a usable flaw in the dump.
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A meeting of folk and electronics, the concrete and the temporary, the old and the new. Celebrating the worlds alongside our own, and the tales lost unless spoken. Ruins and nature hold the lore of the land, and these can be formed in sound, past and present. Circular.
Words by Eddie Lenihan, Steve Oldale, James Boyce & from Fairy Folklore of County Clare.
barry joseph cullen 