Technophonia - Pete Sparkes

Great session today with Oliver Searle who is busy drafting musical ideas for our Technophonia commission.(http://www.drakemusicscotland.org/what-we-do/projects/newmusic20x12/)
Oliver is working on new music for a specially created ensemble including acoustic instruments and music technology played by high school pupils.
Today he brought in some sketches of his first ideas for the piece, to be a suite of 'microscopic dances'. The working title for two of the pieces are "Clandestine Waltz" and "Secluded Charleston". We spent the morning listening to bits of the working score and trying out different ideas using Skoogs, Soundbeams and Logic software.

The piece is beginning to take shape now and we are looking forward to a workshop session this November to get the young musicians together to try out the first version of the music. It will be an exciting day for everyone.

Technophonia will be performed in the summer 2012 - Edinburgh (15 June) Glasgow (22 June) and London (15 July)

Look forward to putting some snippets of the music as it evolves!

My Work Experience at Drake Music Scotland - Chris Jacquin

This blog is about my work experience at Drake Music Scotland. This is my third time doing work experience and it has been a great experience. This year has been more active than the rest because I have been using new skills. This has been good because even though I have no set plan for my future, Drake has given me skills for everyday life.

On the first day at Drake I spent a day with Pete [Sparkes, Artistic Director] setting up the studio for some children from Braidburn School who were coming in the next day. Pete and I set up the Skoog with drum sounds. In the afternoon I created a bass line using four notes and creating different riffs.

On Tuesday, Pete and I continued to set up for the Braidburn session. We added some more equipment such as Soundbeam and switches. The session started at 3pm and lasted an hour. There were six children taking part and I recorded each one individually and as a group.

The next day I spent the morning with Caitlin [Mulgrew, Associate Musician] preparing a second episode of the video that we made previously.

I met Oliver Searle the next day. Oliver is a composer who is working with the Technophonia Project. I had to play my exam pieces live to him and I was nervous but it went well. Oliver wanted to hear my compositions and I showed him two of them. Then I met a man called Phil Lee [Trainee Studio Engineer], who is developing a new piece of performing software.

In the afternoon Cath [Sewell, Education and Training Manager] and I went to the Reverb Scotland meeting. Reverb Scotland is about musicians with any disability entering the professional music industry. It was a good experience because the meeting revived my inspiration to do a career in music.

Friday morning was quiet and I spent the morning creating this report. After I finished the report, Hamish [Bamford, Studio Engineer] played some of Audibility’s new tracks which are very good! In the afternoon David [McNiven, Associate Musician] and I did a session with a girl who is autistic and played the bass line on a djembe drum. At 2.45pm David and I started to write the score for “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers which I will be performing for my Higher Music Exam.

New Music 20x12 - Technophonia

Composer Oliver Searle answers some questions about New Music 20x12...

1. What impact do you think your involvement in this unique, UK wide initiative will have on your work?

I am always intrigued by projects that I have never been involved in before, and enjoy the challenge of having to re-invent the way I work as a composer every time I begin a piece (I always think that if you are finding composition easy, it's not worth doing!). Every time I begin a new process (or complete it), it has a profound effect upon future ways of working and this project in particular, will no doubt alter my approach to musical performers and the way in which they are integrated into an ensemble.

2. Tell us the story of how and why you joined forces with the performers you are working with on this project.

I had heard a lot about Drake Music Scotland in the past, but had never met any of the individuals involved in the organisation. I was interested in being included in a project such as this, due to my research with cochlear implant users around the world (most recently I have been touring a piece of music theatre for young, deaf children), and have long been intrigued by creating an environment in which people who often do not get the opportunity to listen to music, and perform, are able to do so.

3. How are you going to approach creating your new work? What kinds of creative input will the performers and community you are working with have on your work?

The performers in this work will have a direct role in the creative process, as I will be working with several individuals directly, quite some time before the direction of the overall piece is decided, to develop what they are able to do on each of their chosen instruments, as well as to encourage improvisation as a means to create blocks of musical material. This will feed into the fnal composition, influencing the ultimate direction, structure and soundworld of the finished piece.

4. Who do you hope to reach through the creation and performance of this work and what do you hope they'll take away with them?

The plan is to perform this work in several cities, thus reaching a wide audience of people. Also, due to the very nature of this work and its performers (using instruments such as Brainfingers and Skoog), we hope that those who experience it live will rethink their attitudes towards the nature of musical performance.

5. Where do you draw your inspiration and influences? Which creator - musical or otherwise - do you most admire?

Writing music for me has always been quite an introspective and personal experience and I am unsure how I would approach writing music which acted as a direct response to another, external artwork. Instead, I am interested in realising my own response to external influences (which often relates to my own life experience), which might include an idea sparked by an emotion raised while listening, reading, or viewing material. However, I also listen to a vast array of music and would like to think that some of this turns up in my work from time to time; anything from jazz to heavy metal and beyond!

6. Which Olympic and/or Paralympic Games will you be seeing in 2012? What was your best/favourite sport when you were growing up?

I would be happy to see any of the Games next year, as I was involved in a lot of sports when I was younger (unfortunately, time issues now restrict my involvement in quite so much!), such as squash, tennis, swimming and cycling. I still find the time to swim, which I love (as a lunchtime break from composing!), so this would probably be top of my list to witness live!