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The Mire

Synthesthetic Illusions

At this year’s Mutek, the series of A/V performances (as well as Amon Tobin’s bombastic stage spectacle) were notable for treating visuals with an extra gravity that isn’t often extended to VJs and A/V artists. Across the festival schedule, visuals were brought to the fore and rendered in pin sharp graphics. Here's a clip of Purform, whose set was most collaborative, with the audio visual elements merged into a coherent package, where neither medium is the prime mover. It's this duo that got me to thinking about the effect of hi res visuals on the audio in an A/V show. Here, the monochromatic visuals were rendered across a three screen array. The effect of these super hi-res visuals is a sort of synthesthetic illusion, whereby the audio is exaggerated because of the visuals. There's a phenomenon like this in consumer technology: people watching a higher resolution screen think that they are hearing better quality audio than those...

Essay

Collateral Damage: David Keenan

June 2011

Following Chris Cutler's response to Kenneth Goldsmith's filesharing Epiphany, David Keenan looks at the fallout from music's shifting economy, from the perspective of his webshop and record shop Volcanic Tongue.

Essay

Collateral Damage: David Keenan

June 2011

Following Chris Cutler's response to Kenneth Goldsmith's filesharing Epiphany, David Keenan looks at the fallout from music's shifting economy, from the perspective of his webshop and record shop Volcanic Tongue.

Essay

Gil Scott-Heron: Pieces Of A Man

June 2011

Gil Scott-Heron, with and without his longtime partner Brian Jackson, has long refused to fit into anyone's market plan for a soul-jazz singer. Nathan West and Mark Sinker discuss his recorded legacy. This article originally appeared in The Wire 108 (February 1993).

The Portal

Caroline Bergvall Portal

June 2011

"The powerful poet performer Anne Waldman reads her poem "Corset", a tribute to the life and work of the Russian born American anarchist revolutionary Emma Goldman in this live reading combined with historic footage: "And why we're never free of the imagination of J Edgar Hoover" and "Why am I daring to show my face"

The Mire

Drowned City

It's not surprising that there's relatively few films made about pirate radio, when being collared with illegal broadcasting equipment or running a station can land you in jail, with an unlimited fine, or, in the infamous case of DJ Slimzee, receiving an ASBO banning you from the upper floors of buildings in London. Drowned City , a documentary by UK filmmaker Faith Millin that's been gestating over the past year or so, is an attempt to rectify that situation. From the title I was expecting some apocalyptic, Ballardian essay film – the name, it turns out, comes from a track by Dark Sky – but viewing a selection of rough cuts suggests the opposite. It's a personal, intimate film dealing with those who risk their livelihoods (and lives) keeping the pirates on air. Some of the stories are familiar from urban myth or recycled anecdotes – driving around for places to put aerials, shinning up pylons – but this is one of...

The Mire

Collateral damage

Kenneth Goldsmith's Epiphany in the May issue of the print zine is the first in a series of essays about digital cultures and their effect on the music industry: what they mean for listeners and creators, the change they bring about in cultural currencies and obsessions, and the moral and monetary issues surrounding freebies and filesharing. The discussion continues in the current June issue with a response to Goldsmith's piece from ReR label head Chris Cutler. Both essays, and all forthcoming essays, will be published online. Traditionally, this goes against the rules of digital publishing: replicating content online for free devalues the print zine, meaning readers are less likely to shell out for the hard copy. In effect, we're filesharing our own content. So why are we doing it? No other content from The Wire 's printed page – bar our monthly listings – gets uploaded to the site (archive editorial...

The Portal

Global Ear: Hong Kong Portal

May 2011

"Based in Brookline, MA, and part-funded by the US National Endowment For The Humanities, Morning Sun is presented by the Independent TV Service and the Center For Asian American Media. One section offers period music, excerpts from feature films, the text of Mao's Little Red Book, personal diaries, and magazine articles; another focuses on the Mao cult. There are plentiful film-clips, music and images of the revolution."

This month's Global Ear on Hong Kong is co-authored by Andy Hamilton & James Steintrager.

The Portal

Ed Baxter Portal

May 2011

Resonance FM's programming director Ed Baxter has curated an exhibition at London's Raven Row gallery that looks at the relationship between sound and art. Entitled Gone With The Wind, the show features work by Max Eastley, Takehisa Kosugi and Walter Marchetti and is featured in an article by Clive Bell in The Wire 328. It takes place 9 June–17 July.

The Portal

Ivan Seal Portal

May 2011

"I remember being really taken with Hill's early works when I was at college. They are at the same time harsh and blunt, poetic and rich."

The Mire

Funky Accordions

"Accordions are banned from the office," comes the judgement as yet another lame East/West dance fusion disc gets abruptly slung out of the CD player. Like any rules, there's exceptions of course, and I'm sure we'll be giving this new Pauline Oliveros album a spin at some point. But It did get me thinking about funky accordions, and in the mid-2000s it seemed you could hardly move for sick beats busting a squeeze box. Roll Deep "When I'm 'Ere", produced by Danny Weed. This sent the Roll Deep producer spinning like a dervish through a million takes on this style. Cut-up accordion action! But not as amazing as this remix, beatless in parts, that surfaced around the same time, just an accordion riff ran backwards and forwards (Eliane Radigue eat your heart out) over a minimal beat. On pirates around this time they would mix...

The Portal

São Paulo Portal

May 2011

"Bar/club on São Paulo's lively Rua Augusta. Host to a variety of artists. Instituto have a residency on the last Thursday of each month, which will regularly feature artists such as Criolo, Emicida and Curumin."