Archive for September, 2013

Lisbon: Day 6

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Estufa Fria is one of the most important parks that exist in Lisbon. It is one of the most visited sites in the city, by both students and tourists. Initially thought out as a place to simply shelter various types of plants, it has become one of the most pleasant green spaces in Lisbon, where you can spend a few enjoyable hours between lakes, waterfalls, brooks, statues and hundreds of different plant specimens from all over the world. A place the gives its visitors a sense of tranquility and well being.
This Greenhouse is managed by the Lisbon City Council and is divided into three different areas: “The Cold House”, “The Hothouse” and “The Sweet House”.”

Max and I visited Estufa Fria to record it’s sound environment. Many airplanes flew over the greenhouse, so you can hear these sounds in our recordings, as well as water and hissing vents.

 

 

 

 

Lisbon: Day 4

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The following information is from the brochure:

“The Water Museum (EPAL), inaugurated on the 1st October 1987, comprehends four facilities: The Aguas Livres Aqueduct, Mae d’Agua das Amoreiras Reservoir, Patriarcal Reservoir and the Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Station. The last includes the Exhibition Rooms, Permanent and Temporary and the Historical Archive. This assemblage of monuments and buildings built between the XVIII and XIX centuries are connected to the history of Lisbon’s water supply. An evidence of this is that the Water Museum was awarded in 1990 with the Prize of the Museum of the Counsel of Europe.

The construction of the Mae d’Agua das Amoreiras Reservoir, part of the Aguas Livres Aqueduct, is a landmark in the history of the XVIII century. The Portuguese Spirit and intelligence of the time manifest themselves there in a very special way. Designed and built to collect and distribute the water carried by the Aqueduct, the Mae d’agua das Amoreiras Reservoire was only concluded in 1834.

Essential component of the urban water supply, it was planned by Carlos Mardel in 1752 and finished by Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos. With architectonic lines of an unusual sobriety, the construction is settled on a high base in relation to the surrounding streets.

In it’s interior appears the “Arca d’Agua” which is 7 meters deep and has a capacity of about 5 500 m3. The waterfall, in the main front, lives between two inseparable symbols: the Stone and the Water.

On the top of the monument there is a panoramic terrace settled on vaults sustained by four columns, 15 meters high. Nearby the base of the building in its West front, there is the Register house. Inside were measured the waterflows, which were divided for three underground galleries to the city fountains.”

Our piece is an immersive multi-channel performance combining field recordings with processed and acoustic horn colored by the space’s natural resonance. In preparation for the performance, we will collect field recordings and analyze pitches present in the cistern. Using the space as a foundation for musical composition, we will layer live horn with field recordings amplifying the rhythms and the hidden harmonies in the space.

https://www.facebook.com/events/234797930008070/

Lisbon: Day 3

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We set out to visit the Mãe D’Água Cistern today. Unfortunately it was closed, but we recorded several field recordings from the surrounding area… and took a few “band photos”

Lisbon: Day 2

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Max and I attended a performance tonight called Come Across by Unlikely Places, at the Lisbon Triennale. Afterward, we traveled with fellow Sound Development City artist Jane Garver downtown toward our apartment, and on the way there, I captured photographs of Lisbon at night.

Lisbon: Day 1

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We arrived to Lisbon early this morning, and once we became settled in our apartment we walked through downtown Lisbon toward the water. On our way we discovered Galerias Romanas da Baixaan underground tunnel that was constructed during the time of the Roman occupation, during the reign of Emperor Augustus. The gallery is only open on September 21 & 22 every year. Unfortunately, the line up was much too long so we were unable to see the site.

After spending hours sitting by the sea, we traveled downtown and took the tram up the hill to Bairro Alto, where we ate and spent the rest of the evening exploring.

Locations of interest:

Lisbon behind closed doors- 10 secret interiors
Museu da Cidade
Mae D’Agua
Mercado da Ribeira
Restaurante Panoramico do Monsanto
Lisbon Architecture Triennale
Estufa Fria
Teatro Thalia

Interview Questions- SDC#2013

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SDC- Tell us something about your background?

JR/MS- We are both sound artists, coming from different backgrounds. Jen studied sound art, composition and performance and has curated numerous site-specific performance events in Montréal. Max studied electroacoustic composition, and he developed and runs the Montréal Sound Map (and various other web-based sound maps). With a shared fascination with the urban soundscape and reverberant spaces, we began working together in 2008, creating immersive site-specific compositions and performances. Our first collaboration took place in Square Victoria Metro station in Montréal. Using the space as a foundation for musical composition, we layered live horn with field recordings amplifying the rhythms and the hidden harmonies in the space. It was immediately clear that we shared a fascination with these kinds of transient spaces, and since then we’ve created a series of installations and performances in metro stations, tunnels, underpasses, and chimneys.

SDC- What is the main focus of your project for SDC2013?

JR/MS- We will create a series of site-specific performances and installations in resonant locations in Lisbon and Marseille. These events along with field recordings and photographs from our travels will be documented on a sound map found on our website. We plan on creating one public performance in each city, leaving time open to explore the city and search for dynamic locations (tunnels, viaducts, cisterns, etc) to create immersive guerilla sound installations / performances. Our work mixes recorded sound from a specific location with a musical composition built harmonically and rhythmically from within the sound environment, colored by the space’s natural resonance.

SDC- What do you expect to discover on this year’s SDC expedition?

JR/MS- Over the past years most of our work has been limited to locations in Montréal. We are excited to let each city guide us and inspire us to create new dynamic works in different locations.