Journal

8/21/10-Deep into projects these days-Video and Audio-I will put some links up for the Big Read Poe event soon...

8/5/10-

Ecstatic Landscape

…like mysterious Nature in periods of springtime and fertilization, vitality overflowing from one shape to another, ever re-emerging in an infinite diversity of forms and creations.*

A film programme to accompany readings from

Eisenstein on the Audiovisual

Robert Robertson

6pm 20th July 2010 Westminster Central Reference Library, London UK

*Eisenstein, in Eisenstein on the Audiovisual, 134.

1. Empedocles Act 2 Scene 1

(4 mins)

Music: Robert Robertson. Film: Dennis Dracup

This is an extract from a version of my dance opera Empedocles, realised in the form of a music/film, with the artist filmmaker Dennis Dracup as filmic choreographer.

It uses what Eisenstein calls ‘audiovisual counterpoint’ and ‘audiovisual rhythm.’

The music and the film were created separately.

The music, a dance scored for two pianos, is polyrhythmic:

Piano 1 features a syncopated melody and rhythm between each hand; Piano 2 is in syncopation with Piano 1.

The film features rhythmic sequences of syncopated images, a visual syncopation against the aural syncopations in the music: audiovisual polyrhythm.

2. The Kingdom Act 2 Scene 9

(8 mins)

Music and libretto: Robert Robertson.

Director: Rufus Collins, at the Engelenbak Theater, Amsterdam.

The Kingdom is an opera in three acts, based on The Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier’s account of the Haitian Revolution, The Kingdom of This World.

Inspired by surrealism, Carpentier’s idea of ‘magic realism’ first appeared in his famous introduction to this novel.

In The Kingdom my aim was to produce an opera with a complete unity of music, theatre and dance, a synthesis of African and European traditions.

Carpentier uses the hypnotic world of desire to evoke the final defeat and expulsion of the French colonial regime. Poison was one of the weapons used against the slave owners.

Artaud’s theatre ideas appear here (Rufus was a member of The Living Theatre). Artaud influenced Carpentier, and consequently my libretto.

3. The Kingdom Act 3 Scene 5

(3 min)

In this short scene, King Henri-Christophe, a key figure in the Haitian Revolution, a military commander then a dictator, is buried in a pile of wet mortar in the courtyard of the Citadelle Laferriere. He had the Citadelle built at three thousand feet, at the top of a mountain near Cap-Haitien, as a last defence against a possible invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte. Twenty thousand workers were involved in the construction of this vast unfinished fortress, whose prow still rides the clouds today.

The funeral song reflects the pathos of thousands of lives lost, the monstrous legacy of the millions who died in appalling conditions during three centuries of slavery.

4. Divers of St Malo

(6 mins)

Film and sound: Chris Lynn

Choreographies of the body in a sun-flecked sea. You are there, watching the waves swell towards you, sweeping through the frame.

5. Empedocles Act 1 Scene 2

(7 mins)

In this scene, Empedocles clears the foetid malarial swamp at Selinunte (Sicily), by channelling two streams into it. He releases the waters: the pianists play a fugue racing against itself.

6. Sunday in Nanjing

(8 mins)

Film and sound: Chris Lynn

Quiet lyrical moments in the Sunday city, on the misty Yangtse River. Here, by the longest river in Asia, are evoked the filmic elements of the ancient Chinese landscape tradition, with the cinematic framings and unusual viewpoints of Japanese prints.

Lynn’s use of visual repetition evokes musical forms.

7. The River that Walks

(11 mins)

Music and film: Robert Robertson

What happens before a great river freezes over?

‘The River that Walks’ is the First Nation name of the St Lawrence River.

I use Eisenstein’s idea of audiovisual counterpoint to show the vast unstoppable forces at work before the river freezes. One morning I went to film the river: it had frozen into total, silent immobility. The spectacle was o

____________________________________________________

7/2/10Nanjing Sunday(correction)will be screened in a library in Westminster-amazing!

6/30/10-Lots of travelling at the moment-but a couple of quick thoughts-

working on a few projects-two visual-one audio-one of them is based on Poe(the writer)

finished Washington 1-Near Lakes and Voices -video

A couple of nice screenings coming up in the UK-may not have access to update -

Here are a few links to some of my audio works and collaborations that have been played or recommended that I am aware of-

Near Lakes

Placement and Angles and here too

5/18/10-The festival had a really nice turnout-especially Sat- A steady stream all day. I should also mention the really positive feedback concerning all the programs-a lot of press promoting it as well-too many links to put here...

Some intriguing projects in the future-more soon.

4/29/10-The festival line-up is on the toc page!- I wish I could have fit more films in, but it was really impossible...Also very happy to have another release on The Electronik Music label based in the UK. Ian Simpson, the curator of the label, has created some amazing work

-here is just one disc-

You can also go here -

I just found out that Robert Robertson will be discussing his book on Eisenstein on the BBCchannel 4-next thursday-Last bit of audio news: I will be featuring some tracks from a collaboration I did with Cedar Lines, which turned out pretty well, in the near future-

To listen to Near Lakes and Voices go to Modisti -a really nice Cousin Silas mix of evening swimmers is at the end!

Lake Washington is up next-more soon

4/25/10-Very productive Spring so far....The schedule for the TPSP Festival is complete and should be posted next week-A number of Audio releases on the way as well-Until then here is something upcoming-

Lake Washington-Field Recording and Film on the way....

4/17/10-Working on the festival and some new audio - some impressive films have come our way from all over the globe!

4/8/10-Back from the Pacific Northwest- recorded more audio and video-some incredible sites for sure! Finished Lianyungang which may premier on the opening night of the Takoma Park /Silver Spring festival next month Just found out that Suzhou/Shanghai will be screened tomorrow nite for Heritage-More soon

3/14/10-Nearly finished Lianyungang-

2/21/10-I was asked to curate the Silver Spring/Takoma Park Experimental Film Festival for more info go here-should be exciting-Started working on Lianyungang today.... .

2/21/10-France 3-

2/11/10-New Works can also be found here-Cover art by Ian Simpson -more soon

2/8/10-New Works just released on the Electronic Musik net label in the UK-pretty thrilled! There are some incredible Artists on the label-The disc is really a mini of sorts-I plan on hopefully putting out another set soon- There should be more links available as well in the future.Due to all of the Snow it has been impossible to put in any real time in the studio-but ideas are storing up....

2/4/10-more sound pieces soon ....

1/17/10-still working on this

1/10/10-Finished the first version of France 3, but may make some changes....some amazing remixes of Evening Swimmers coming soon-and some updates

12/2709-

Some really nice moments in the studio these days-France 3 is coming along...This decade has been extraordinary for me-I never imagined it to be so productive or inspiring. I would like to thank everyone who made it out to a screening or who was involved in screening one of my films-I am really grateful. A special thanks to CR,JY and Robert Robertson-I hope the next decade will be as copious. A big thanks to Sockets records and EMP for releasing my sound pieces! Also to JS for jams in the old basement and Malia at Gate-Hey we started Utopia! I am closing out the year and the decade with Evening Swimmers on the listening room page. Thanks for visiting the site!

12/16/09-

A report from London: The screening was a great success over 50 in attendance-lots of positive feeback on the films and obviously the book-look for a new field recording from the film Suzhou/Shanghai soon and a new sound piece called Evening Swimmers . Started a new piece last week-more details soon

12/10/09-

Some incredible screenings this month- very grateful-I was also happy to finish Suzhou/Shanghai and screen it at Pyramid(not mentioned in the program)-more on this later. I also recorded a number of improv piano pieces at Mc Daniel College back in November- I posted one piece on the listening room page-lots of material from that session.

12/7/09

-A lovely way to close a year of screenings in the area-The first snow and a premier of a new piece at Pyramid Atlantic-tomorrow London!

12/3/09-

The DCist mention Pyramid screening this weekend go here-just scroll down

11/11/09-The lecture went well-Screened Maryland Songs 1 and London 5. The lecture was based on experimental films and its relation to minimalism. A nice time. Some exciting news to announce from London very soon. Also gearing up for a solo show at Pyramid Atlantic in December. IF anyone is in Tokyo you can pick up Audible Landscapes here http://www.warszawa.jp/blog/?p=405. This is a great place to buy and hear incredible sounds in Japan.

9/22/09-Lots of events lately-A number of screenings locally and a lecture at McDaniel College on November 9th. Started working on some new sound pieces and a film-hoping to finish it by December 5th for Pyramid Atlantic-Dates and programs on the way. This is also very exciting-

8/19/09-

A great time last night at Anthology! They screened London 5 in the large theatre, which is quite beautiful. This place is really historic, so I spent some time wandering around the building. A true cinema landmark! Met a few other moving image makers and just soaked in the location. The sound and the image was fine-the projectionist did a test run beforehand-which was greatly appreciated...I was also impressed by the turnout- which was really strong, with a 9 dollar price at the door, I did not expect a large crowd. Really inspiring!-On a different note, "Lake Placid" is featured in the new Field Notes compilation of sound artists from around the globe. You can download or listen here-Much more soon-

8/16/09-An Amazing summer!- recorded so many sounds and images-should keep me busy. Anthology on Tuesday-excited.

6/29/09-Off for a bit of vacation-filming and recording included-more news later..

5/28/09--Finished Storm in Siyang. August will be screened at Artomatic-dates coming soon.

5/23/09-Almost finished Storm in Siyang-I may do a shorter version-not sure yet...There also may be a sequel...I have a screening at Anthology Film Archives in New York in August-which is fantastic-more details soon.

5/11/09-Still editing my new piece-looks like this summer will be spent working on a few new projects and recording-have a really nice screening lined up as well. I will give more details on the screening soon-Also some more audio news...Feels good to work on some new projects without too much interference Look for a few changes on this page soon

4/19/09-Lots of Audio news-First Sockets has their spring release mix here... check it out. They are updating their site as well. Also On My Way To The Cinema was featured on the station Not The Normal Shit Radio which is based in the Netherlands-the set list is here -Check out their other set lists too and info as well- Finally, Phantom Circuit, which is based in Birmingham UK , does a program on Shaun Blezard and EMP-listen here-lots of great stuff! They also have some things in their archived playlists..

4/17/09-Started a new film last night ...A piece on listening... Left the studio pretty late....Tranquil spring night

4/5/09-Press here, here, and here and the NPR link

4/4/09-On My Way to the Cinema released here and can also be found here. Modisti is an amazing resource for experimental music-check it out!

4/3/09-4/3/09-Nice to see Three Harmonies from Suzhou on the big screen last night. Great conversations afterwards. It has been a very active early spring-Screenings, releases, and new material. I plan on putting up an audio page soon. I am very pleased to have my second disc available through EMP. This is a wonderful net label for electro-acoustic, ambient, field recordings, ets... Located in Barrow Island in Cumbria, UK. Be sure to check out Clutter's remix of my work. I plan on putting up links soon. Also be sure to check out In-Fields-a net label of field recordings. More audio news soon-Tonight August (France 2) at Heritage. Plan on starting a new piece soon

3/29/09- Pyramid Atlantic Gallery is a beautiful space to have a screening...no complications the event went well-I put the NPR mention on the Forums page-I had no idea-Looking forward to a weekend of screenings at Heritage-Thanks to those who attended last night. More very soon.

3/15/09-Nice time last night at the Lighthouse-I screened A Winter's Tale-seemed to go over pretty well.

3/12/09-Some exciting things on the way! Screening some films this Saturday at the Lighthouse-which should be exciting....Also a screening on March 28 at Pyramid Atlantic in Silver Spring. My second Audio release will be available soon. The CD On My Way To the Cinema will be available on a netlabel in the UK called Earth Monkey Productions sometime in April or early May-Go here for info on the label- They are pretty close to the Lake District...You can listen here to individual tracks and here for some remixes by Clutter. A great place for some new sounds. More soon on this-

Also some other audio news soon in relation to Sockets...Finished A Winter's Tale which will premier at Pyramid Atlantic.

2/21/09-A Winter's Tale is nearly finished....Some good things on the way...

2/14/09-coming soon-The Clutter(UK) reworking is something special

Also still working on A Winter's Tale. Screening March 28th at Pyramid Atlantic...some other screenings as well.

1/21/09-A relaxing break these last few weeks...Started a new piece tentatively title A Winter's Tale...Also will begin Maryland Songs 11...More soon.