“‘Prism House Complete Percussion Vol. I‘ is a compilation of 320 found sound samples gathered from field recordings made exclusively in New York City”. It works well (The music the band makes is sentimental). Sounds of the Junk Yard (1964) Michael Siegel is a better reference for sound of work! My favorite is “Alligator Shear” (201). Siegel’s Sounds of the Office is a classic (Perhaps it inspired the PO-24?).
I’m not sure if SOW: Blacksmith ed1 is offering anything new to the continuum of groove oriented musique concrete. I guess the publications openness (direct availability through archive.org / freesound) is it’s best merit. But there are so many great free sample packs already out there that it’s impossible to stand out. I’ve been bragging that SOW is a True-Marxist sound publication: It is NOT a representation of labor or a glorification of the labor force – It is a tool (Which can be used to to make techno). The grooves of the machines can be yielded to move our semi-unemployed bodies struggling through post-industrial landscapes.
The idea that techno is the music of the working class was announced by Jori Hulkkonen in 2011. I got to interview him during Kotimaan teknokatsaus vol 3 (16:41). Similar views are present in Jeremy Deller’s Acid Brass project. In 2011 Hulkkonen described techno as a “Human soul with the frame of the machine”. He talked about Detroit and how the cities empty industrial spaces were appropriate for social gatherings. Abandoned factories filled with bodies moving to the rhythm of machine made music. He believed that Kemi’s development as a city forged him into the artist he is today. After factories were closed and parents were unemployed, their children occupied the factory facilities, filled them with mechanical sounds and developed new cultural expressions (and industries). Techno served as a gateway for learning how to work with computers, to organize gatherings and to work creatively. It was born from necessity.
The response for SOW has been ok. People have celebrated the release on Reddit. Apparently “Industrial sounds are so hot right now” and the Novation Circuit tailored .syx has is well received (52 likes). Also got in touch with Petri Kuljuntausta who invited me to host an exhibition at Akusmata sound art gallery in the summer. I’m moving steadily into towards sound arts. The transition of migrating from performance art to post-marxist sound art has taken two years and a little under 800€ in gear investment. I regret that we didn’t explore the sonic possibilities of Jesses forge in more detail. The sounds are pretty straightforward. I guess I should apply funding for ed.2? I could ask Hulkkonen etc. to produce songs from the sounds too.
Interesting audio slicer, loopers and scratch emulators as VST: kammerl.de/audio/. Beat-Repeat Effect is also available for
Mutable Instrument’s Clouds.
Visited Ars17 at Kiasma. Not as scary as I thought. Simple stuff. It felt homemade and I was only scared by Ilja Karilampi.