Künstler-Porträts und Statements

1. Michael Northam aka mnortham, Oregon/USA & Jonathan Coleclough, Reading/U.K.

Thema: Geologische Geschichte des Meeresspiegels der letztvergangenen 248 Millionen Jahre ("Ton macht die Musik!/ SEA-CHANGE")

 

Brief portrait of Jonathan Coleclough:

Jonathan Coleclough (b. 1963) is a UK sound organiser active since 1989. His material comes both from the immediate acoustic environment around him, and from using some of the most basic and elemental of sound-making techniques (the scrape of metal, the sigh of human breath). Many of the sounds that he records are laden with emotional resonance, or come from specific locations with personal significance. The intense but private associations of these sounds aren't intended as the 'subject' of the work, but form an important part of his working practice - they inform his subsequent careful processing and manipulation of the material into sound works that are full of tension, often beautiful yet unsettling.

The rawness of his gathered sound material contrasts with the sophisticated sound-sculpting tools he uses, and he draws on that contrast to find the necessary tensions in his work. These include the tensions between consonance and dissonance, activity and stasis, the raw and the processed, noticeable and imperceptible change. The sounds of our own urban and rural environments intersect and merge with sounds generated within the closed worlds of electronic and computer equipment.

He has had work published in Europe, USA and Japan as well as in his native UK. He curated two large scale, multi-contributor recording projects, 'Simultaneous Improvisations' (1989) and 'Drones' (1990), before concentrating on his solo work. He has also collaborated with musicians Andrew Chalk, Colin Potter, and Tim Hill, lettering artist Geoff Sawers, and Butoh dancers Joan Laage, Kristin Narcowich and Narita Mamoru. He has performed in the UK, Australia, the USA and Japan.

Statement on "SEA-CHANGE" of Michael Northam and Jonathan Coleclough:

Long time scales, gradual change and a keen sense of organic development are important elements in the music of both Michael Northam and Jonathan Coleclough.

In 'Sea-change' they use geologic data (Haq et al. 1988; Hardenbol et al. 1998) describing ocean volume changes and geomagnetic shifts over the past 248 million years to create a sound interpretation lasting four hours. The music's structure is based on a idea by Achim Reisdorf of the University of Basel Geologic-Paelontolgic Institute and the programming work of Klaus Filip.

Based around this structure, Coleclough and Northam's composition combines field recordings of sounds that could have occurred during this period, tonal structures based on direct interpretation of chart data and an intuitive evocation of the massive changes occurring over the past quarter of a billion years. The installation will be presented in near total darkness with a quadraphonic [octophonic] diffusion system.

References:

Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J. & Vail, P.R. (1988): Mesozoic and Cenozoic Chronostratigraphy and cycles of Sea-Level Change. - In: Wilgus, C.K., Hastings, B.S., Kendall, C.G.S.G., W., P.H., Ross, C.A. & Wagoner, V. (eds): Sea-Level Changes: an integrated Approach. - 42. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication, 71-108.

Hardenbol, Jan; Thierry, Jacques; Farley, Martin B.; Jacquin, Thierry; de Graciansky, P.C. & Vail, Peter R. (1998): Mesocoic and Cenozoic Sequence Chronostratigraphic chart. ­ In: Hardenbol, Jan; Thierry, Jacques; Farley, Martin B.; Jacquin, Thierry; de Graciansky, P.C. & Vail, Peter R. (eds): Mesozoic and Cenozoic Sequence Chronostratigraphic Framework of European Basins. ­ SEPM Spec. Publ. 60.

 

 

 

 

Künstler:

Franziska Baumann

Jonathan Coleclough

Yannick Dauby

Pieter Duimelinks

Klaus Filip

Mick Harris

Kapotte Muziek

Andrew McKenzie

Thomas Köner

Roel Meelkop

Carsten Nicolai

NÍD

Michael Northam

Giancarlo Toniutti

Frans De Waard

Oscar Wiggli