Category: Uncategorized

  • 12.2.2021 / ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month: Station of Sounds – Vol. I

    Pictures:
    (top left) Freja Bäckman: I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer (On Circles) (2020)
    Cover Design: Ebba Fransén Waldhör
    (top right) Samuli Tanner: Music for 1-Year-Old (2021)
    Cover is a painting by Arsi Keva based on the original CD artwork.
    (down left) MYÖS collective.
    (down right) Free Frags / Steeve Bauras: Ohne Titel (2020)

    On February 12th, the first session of the in-the-future-recurrent event Station of Sounds takes place. Station of Sounds is realised within the context of the Station of Commons platform. It is a moment of discussions on the mode of production of physical objects related to sound form. What motivates the production of the physical object and how to articulate the artistic and political discourse embedded within the materiality of the object? During the session, four artists discuss their relationship to sound through playing their own latest physical production or releases of interest. After the discussion, we listen to the record under discussion played from a turntable.

    https://stationofcommons.org/events/station-of-sounds-vol1

    19–23 (EET) / 18–22 (CET)

    You can listen to the interviews on the Station of Commons website:
    https://stationofcommons.org/events/station-of-sounds-vol1

    The guests:

    Freja Bäckman (FI):

    Freja Bäckman is a multidisciplinary artist, educator and researcher based in Berlin and Helsinki, currently a resident at HIAP. Their practice consists of performance, sound, text, installations and workshops. They have recently published the vinyl record I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer (On Circles) with Coda Press/Scott Elliott, in close collaboration with sound designer Manuela Schininà.

    Free Frags / Steeve Bauras (FR):

    Free Frags is a record label created in 2020 based in Paris. Free Frags states that “The manufacturing principle of a vinyl, a large scale reproducible engraving, gives to this object a memory status that can be compiled and archived”. The aim is to create a specific object at crossroads between sound and visual arts.

    Samuli Tanner (FI):

    Samuli Tanner is an electronic music composer & drummer from Finland. His experimental electronic music has a strange appeal: clumsy on purpose, sometimes dark, sometimes syrup, sometimes makes you dance, sometimes falls to pieces. Samuli has previously worked under the names Siihhi, Worldbank and Ponytail. He also works in groups like Myttys, Tiiu Helinä, Mustat Kalsarit & Market.

    MYÖS (FI): DJ’s Cute Cumber, Valley Girl, & twenpettie

    MYÖS is a Helsinki based DIY collective, party platform and co-care network for genre-fluid electronic music DJs, producers, organizers, party lovers and allies of currently underrepresented actors in the Helsinki club scene.

    – –

    Ääneen – Sonic Arts Month in February 2021 is realised in collaboration between MUU ry, Äänen Lumo, and several actors in the local field of sonic arts. The programme has been formed through an open call for co-curation and the events are supported by Niilo Helanderin säätiö the City of Helsinki. Due to the recent development of the pandemic, the festival collaborates also with Station of Commons, a collaborative initiative on digital commoning practices.

    www.stationofcommons.org

    Why is it often difficult to imagine alternatives in our culture?
    You can read more at: https://stationofcommons.org/events/expanding-the-frame-re-appropriating-the-video-object

    INSTRUCTIONS FOR STREAMING 
    – In order to watch the stream we recommend downloading the VLC media player (the best free and open source multi-platform media player there is). https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
    – Once installed click: File -> Open network, and copy paste one of the following links: https://streamer.nettitila.fi:8443/video1 or http://streamer.nettitila.fi:8000/video1. Wait for a short moment and you should see the video window open.
    – More instructions are available: https://www.vlchelp.com/stream-online-videos-pc-vlc-media-player/
    – Or you can go to the Station of Commons website: http://www.stationofcommons.org/peers/aanen-lumo and follow the instructions. 
    Enjoy! 
    Why is VLC used for the streaming of ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month?
    Because the quality and reliability of the streaming are highly increased by using VLC. Because we know how the software we are using to stream the content operates, and where the data is sitting, and how it is flowing through the net.
    
    Why not to use Facebook, YouTube or other familiar platforms?
    Because we don’t have to. Thanks to open source technology developed by a large community and the expertise of a local community – such as Station of Commons – we want to show that alternatives to proprietary technology, and commercial and centralizing schemes of distributing artistic content are possible and easy.
    
    

    More info about ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month:

    www.muu.fi

    www.aanenlumo.com

  • 7.–28.2.2021 / ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month: Song for the Unknown – Installation by Heta Kaisto & Antti Ikonen

    “Song for the Unknown” is inspired by L’Inconnue de la Seine, the death mask of a young unidentified woman who lived in the late 19th century. The story tells that she was found drowned in the river Seine with a smile on her face. Her death mask became a popular fixture on the walls of artists’ homes and has inspired numerous literary works. Later the mask was used for the head of the first aid mannequin Resusci Anne. For this reason, she is also referred to as the most kissed woman in the world.

    Her face and beauty has captivated numerous people throughout the years, however, nobody knows her story. She is mute. “Song for the Unknown” is an attempt to study poetic language as a means to communicate and to reach out to otherness. The installation is a part of Heta Kaisto’s Doctor of Art research, where she studies Maurice Blanchot’s demand of language — its calling-into-question. When language reveals it’s silence and ambiguity it reminds us of its impossibility, its madness and its ambivalence. 

    Heta Kaisto & Antti Ikonen: Song for the Unknown

    MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre / Cable Factory / Tallberginkatu 1 C, 00180 Helsinki, Finland

    7.–28.2.2021 / Tue–Fri 12–17 / Sat–Sun 12–16

    Heta Kaisto: concept, video, voice

    Antti Ikonen: sound design

    Antti Ikonen (MA) works in Aalto University as lecturer of sound design and music, the head of Sound in New Media Master’s studies and a member of Sound and Physical Interaction research group. Ikonen’s work covers music and sound design for a wide range of different kind of media, performances and works of art, including contemporary dance, theatre, short films, radio plays, art installations and new media. His current research relates to Helsinki New Children’s Hospital soundscape which was designed and realised by Ikonen and his students. In 2019 the soundscape project was awarded with Grand Prix in International Sound Awards in Hamburg, Germany.

    Heta Kaisto (MA) is a doctoral student in visual culture at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and currently working as the chief curator of Rauma Art Museum, Finland. She has a background in art history, comparative literature and philosophy, and she takes a deep interest in music and sound. In her practice-based research she explores writing as a mode of thinking in texts, images and sounds in the context of post-war theory and art. As a part of her artistic research, she has co-written and directed a radio play “A Hundred-year-old Night” based on archival materials of the Finnish Civil War in 1918.

    – – 

    The installation is curated by Äänen Lumo and it is part of Ääneen – Sonic Arts Month in February 2021. The festival is realised in collaboration between MUU ry, Äänen Lumo, and several actors in the local field of sonic arts. The programme has been formed through an open call for co-curation and the events are supported by Niilo Helanderin säätiö and the City of Helsinki. 

    Due to the recent development of the pandemic, the festival collaborates also with Station of Commons, a collaborative initiative on digital commoning practices. www.stationofcommons.org Given the difficult circumstances in which the festival is taking place, the gallery spaces can be accessed in person in small groups of max 5 people. We also recommend to keep safety distance and wear a face mask. Thank you!

    More info about ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month:

    www.muu.fi 

    www.aanenlumo.com

  • 6.2.2021 / ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month @ MUU Helsinki: Äänen Lumo Concert

    Picture: Joona Mäkelä

    Concert curated by Äänen Lumo will be streamed live from the new MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre at Cable Factory. The evening presents pieces from two artist duos: Viika & Tikka and kohinapisteviiva.

    6.2.2021 / 19–21 (UTC+2)

    Viika & Tikka

    Interdisciplinary collaboration/improvisation between cellist Saara Viika & sound designer/marine biologist Timo Tikka. Sound, vibrations, memories, cello, electronics. Indistinct expressions & fuzzy reception.

    kohinapisteviiva

    A collage of noise composed of human sound and decayed moving images. The performance studies the movement of air through the act of breathing and the use of cinefilm. The audiovisual duo consists of performance maker Minerva Juolahti and musician & filmmaker Joona Mäkelä.

    ***

    Viika & Tikka. Photo: Joona Mäkelä.

    Saara Viika is a Finnish cellist whose musical roots start with classical music and expand through improvisation to all good music and sound regardless of the genre or source. Everyday life sounds peculiar and makes music.

    Timo Tikka is a musician and marine biologist currently studying sound design for performing arts. At MUU galleria he will be exploring a self-made daxophone and a bed of sounds for the said idiophone.

    Musician and filmmaker Joona Mäkelä is interested in movement, both in picture and sound. Working with 8mm film he focuses on material and the layers of time it consists.

    Sound performance maker Minerva Juolahti works in the intersection of body, sound, and space, currently focusing on space and movement by translating, and by observing voice as a corporeal and conceptual phenomenon.

    – –

    This event is part of Ääneen – Sonic Arts Month in February 2021 that is realised in collaboration between MUU ry, Äänen Lumo, and several actors in the local field of sonic arts. The programme has been formed through an open call for co-curation and the events are supported by Niilo Helanderin säätiö and the City of Helsinki. Due to the recent development of the pandemic, the festival collaborates also with Station of Commons, a collaborative initiative on digital commoning practices.

    www.stationofcommons.org

    INSTRUCTIONS FOR STREAMING 
    – In order to watch the stream we recommend downloading the VLC media player (the best free and open source multi-platform media player there is). https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
    – Once installed click: File -> Open network, and copy paste one of the following links: https://streamer.nettitila.fi:8443/video1 or http://streamer.nettitila.fi:8000/video1. Wait for a short moment and you should see the video window open.
    – More instructions are available: https://www.vlchelp.com/stream-online-videos-pc-vlc-media-player/
    – Or you can go to the Station of Commons website: http://www.stationofcommons.org/peers/aanen-lumo and follow the instructions. 
    Enjoy! 

    More info about ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month:

    www.muu.fi

    www.aanenlumo.com

  • 5.2.2021 / ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month @ MUU Helsinki: Invenzioni a due voci – Online Workshop

    Image: Emma Fält

    Ääneen – Sonic Art Month at MUU Helsinki / 5. – 28.2. 2021 / MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre / Cable Factory / Tallberginkatu 1 C, 00180 Helsinki, Finland

    In this workshop participants will experiment with sound and drawing techniques online, together with multidisciplinary artist Emma Fält / Drawing Out Loud. Each meeting offers a playground for the participant to engage in a one-to-one sonic / visual improvisations exploring possible dialogues between these different forms of expression. The workshop is open to everyone, professionals and amateurs artists alike.

    The workshop is held remotely on the 5th of February 2021, between 10 and 17. To participate it is possible to book a 45 minutes one-to-one session with Emma Fält at THIS LINK.

    During each online session, which starts at the turn of every hour, the pair creates an improvised dialogue using sonic and drawing instruments of their choice.

    Options could include all combinations of sonic and drawing activities. The participant, for example, can use purely sonic instruments, simple drawing techniques, recording and transforming the sounds produced in the act of leaving traces, using the drawing as notation for their own sound experiments or creating scores for Fält’s drawing instruments. Fält will use frottage ink drawing, suminagashi printing, pencil drawing, microphones and midi controller to interact and to open a dialogue between herself and the participants. During the hours of the workshop, the sounds produced in the process will be broadcasted to MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre at Cable Factory and diffused for the visiting audience to listen to.

    To participate you will need a computer with internet connection (Cable LAN connection, if possible, is preferred over wifi), a web camera and a microphone as well as your chosen instruments/materials. If you are using sound, it is helpful to have a good microphone and if you are willing to draw, it is good to have a web camera pointed on your drawings. When you book your session, you can describe the tools you would like to use in our dialogue. For example, “I am taking part using human voice or I will be using musical instruments and also drawing”, etc. It is important to consider that, due to the online nature of the workshop, delays might occur and perfect synchronicity won’t be possible to achieve.

    The workshop has a playful and experimental nature, so feel free to explore any kinds of techniques you want to explore online.

    Welcome!

    Ääneen – Sonic Arts Month in February 2021 is realised in collaboration between MUU ry, Äänen Lumo, and several actors in the local field of sonic arts. The programme has been formed through an open call for co-curation and the events are supported by Niilo Helanderin säätiö the City of Helsinki. Due to the recent development of the pandemic, the festival collaborates also with Station of Commons, a collaborative initiative on digital commoning practices.

    More info about ÄÄNEEN – Sonic Arts Month:

    www.muu.fi
    www.aanenlumo.com

  • OPEN CALL for co-curation at MUU gallery / Cable Factory in February 2021

    Dear Artists, Curators, Associations:

    MUU ry wants to dedicate February 2021 to Sonic Arts and has suggested a month long series of events at their new venue at the Cable Factory. They reached out to Äänen lumo to prepare a joint project for that month. From our side we will curate one evening concert event and one hands-on workshop with Emma Fält, but at the same time, we think this could be a perfect opportunity to join forces with the many actors active in the field to organise together a grass-root sonic arts festival! 

    With this open call we would thus like to collaborate to collectively curate a small series of events (workshops, concerts, installations, discussions, meetups etc) during this Sonic Arts month at MUU gallery at Cable Factory in February 2021. MUU ry will contribute offering a renewed space, marketing, technical tools, staff etc, and for costs that would not be covered yet we will be taking care of applying for funding as soon as we have the bigger picture. 

    This would be also a great opportunity to continue with the collaboration around House of the Sonic Arts that started in 2017. As many of you know, in 2017 Äänen Lumo started reaching out to the sonic arts communities of Helsinki, to map out its actors, interests, needs and struggles, and ultimately rethink the role of the association after 20 years of operation. This was achieved through meetings, discussions and questionnaires, as well as a two-year-long series of sonic events organised in collaboration with other actors in the network like you.

    Now, even though the lack of funding did not allow for more concreteness at this stage, we still strongly believe in this idea and we are reaching out to you again to give it a small scale opportunity. The aim of this call is thus to involve sonic communities to co-curate this festival,  experimenting with curatorial practices, circulation of and access to resources and power, with a blurred distinction between producers and audiences. We would like to create for a month a physical context where the sonic communities, in all their diversity, can meet, share and grow in a democratic, self-organised and inclusive way.

    Äänen Lumo is willing to collect ideas for events, workshops, installations, discussions, meetups and so on, taking the responsibility to coordinate the network and prepare a joint funding application to make it happen. 

    Due to the relatively short time frame and the limits of our resources, we will need to encourage ideas that have concrete feasibility, some resources etcetera, but we are happy to try and find ways to present a diverse, sound based program!

    If you have proposals, please, send a one page description (max.), together with a temptative budget explicitly stating what you can offer and what you would need via email to aanenlumo.info@gmail.com.  

    The deadline for the application is the 8th of August 2020.

    For more information don’t hesitate to contact us at aanenlumo.info@gmail.com.