Diolch i pawb am dod allan ar nos Iau diweddaf a thrwy’r arddangosfa.
Thank you to everyone for coming out last Thursday night and through the exhibition!
A few images and clips from the installation as it continued to change over 3 days in Oriel Saith (Thanks to Elsa and Sam V for the photos from Thursday, I managed to completely forget to press record on anything!)
Just over halfway through my 6th year of the project approaching the actual halfway point of the circle at the end of 6th, beginning of the 7th part. This moment is represented by the sign Libra, a symbol of balance and harmony and the only non-animal sign in the Zodiac.
Does this suggest that balance and harmony are unnatural states? ideas or ideals created rather than observed?
Ruled by Venus it led me to a Welsh folk song “Mae Nghariad I’n Fenws” which I have one version of on the vinyl record above. I found it first in a book of sheet music for recorder ‘ Alawon Cymru ar gyfer y recorder’.
One thing leads to another as Libra and Venus led me to ‘Liebestraum’ by Franz Liszt and a Youtube short. There will be a longer version at some point..
And on to Chanson D’amour by Libran composer Gabriel Faure, which eventually glitched up to become Chanson D’ommage, a combination of Hommage and Dommage – A damaged tribute song perhaps?
During the last week of Libra I worked with Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No1. I know Satie wasn’t a Libran but he is a favourite composer of my good friend and Libran Sean Vicary, for whom this was a birthday gift.
Interesting challenge trying to sequence a composition that has no bar markings and no time signature!
Gnossienne: The Awareness That Someone You’ve Known for Years Still Has a Private and Mysterious Inner Life.
Definition by the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
Cylch Arall continues an experiment in combining traditional music and contemporary instruments with live video processing to explore themes of time and place.
Opening on Thursday with a performance with my good friends Ceri and Elsa. We will be playing a few traditional Welsh folk tunes and hearing how they work with a mix of modular synthesisers and traditional harp and fiddle!
Last year Elsa and I played the tune Aberteifi to accompany local storyteller Jessie Wild and we recorded a version for the Cylch Aberteifi video show as part of the Festival of Lights, well several versions, these two got posted.
Tomorrow in Abercych there will be a full day of art – installation, walks, sound, movement and performance with the Maynard Abercych. More info here https://www.may-nard.org/afon-a-weekend-of-deep-listening-on-the-rivers-dulais-and-cych
From 4-7pm I will be in the village hall revisiting some of the processes explored and developed over the last 2 years with a mix of vinyl, field recordings and modular synths.
A stream of lucky sounds tomorrow from 11pm on https://awelshstream.co.uk/
Since 2008 I have been part of this project by Maura Hazelden and Lou Laurens.
It has taken place on May 22nd at the same time and place most years since, with 2 exceptions, 1 year was lost due to admin error and one to a pandemic.
This year the date shifts and an opportunity for change arises.
https://untitled-holyhiatus.blogspot.com/
“does dim llwybr; ni sy’n ei greu wrth gerdded”
there is no path; we make the path by walking’ Antonio Machado
Mae’r digwyddiad perfformiadol hwm yn dangos sut y gellir creu, profi a rhannu gofod trothwyol, trwy ddefnyddio cyfres o symudiadau a chân o’r 13 ganrif dros gyfnod o 6 awr.
Mae pob un digwyddiad yn cynnwys perfformiad lleisiol byw a chwarae recordiad y flwyddyn flaenorol; mae’r broses yn chwyddo ymateb acwstig y gofod ac o dipyn i beth bydd yn goresgyn y recordiad blaenorol i ffurfio llun rhyfeddol mewn sain.
Maura Hazelden was commissioned by Ruth Jones in 2008 to create a work for Holy Hiatus: a series of artworks and a symposium. In collaboration with Lou Laurens she created a six hour event using repetition and stillness in the Small World Centre, then newly completed. untitled: holy hiatus is an annual ritual.
Ive been invited to play some sounds on Wednesday evening for the Walden Arts folk here in Aberteifi.
So with the sun in Taurus, I will be playing modular synths with a set of Taurean and Venusian flavour tunes and cosmic samples to ramble through.
Loops of 5 Judy Collins vinyl records.
Both Judy Collins and William Walker, the composer of the tune ‘New Britain’, have birthdays in Taurus.
I worked with Amazing Grace quite a bit some 20 years ago but was surprised I couldn’t find a recording using all my copies of the Judy Collins 7inch version.
Annoyingly the small phono mixer turned out to be a bit noisy, its kind of ok for a bit, but kind of not.
I think its the Sony turntable that was causing it, swapped that for a line level Numark and it seemed much better (no3).
After a while of vinyl only loops, No3 has the tune sequenced with synth sounds and effects too. The recognisable bits of the song mean it can’t be seen in Russia and Belarus.
This was new work made for the festival of light in Aberteifi back in December 24. It’s a combination of footage from several years working with moving images of the river Teifi and its tributaries.
Since 2020 I have been working with different astrological symbols and themes, changing in relation to the sun as it moves through each sign during the yearly cycle. The circle emerges as a symbol of interconnection and unity, leading to live performance and creativity as an expression of the moment in time and space.
One of several iterations, the video is created through a live mixing process where video clips can be looped and layered in different configurations. Over time the layers repeat while the interactions between the images shift and change.
The astrological chart describes a moment in time and place and in these videos describes the moment of creation of the improvised soundtrack with musician Elsa Davies. Based on a tune called Aberteifi and arranged by Elsa Davies it was created live on November 19th here in Aberteifi with violin and modular synth.
| I do everything Haiku from Bryan Adams (2002) | |
| Take the time, see all And when you find love, tell me tell me it’s true worth | What you do to me I can’t help it, I want more. You give Everything |
| Look into your soul, for Everything true. you will find your love | there’s nothin’ I do. Look, Don’t give me Everything unless you want me. |
| no more sacrifice- You can’t love me more I am mean – take life | There’s nowhere to hide Don’t you search my heart for it I search there for you |
| it’s worth tryin’ for you tell me it’s not dyin’ you’re worth all my heart | |
| Bryan’s Leftovers | |
| I can’t help it for it’s true it’s not there All Search nothin’ there as for you do I fight it’s like fightin’ will I do – I do it your eyes know I lie could you would you There’s – the other way you’ll – And – not I I do it -There’s – into my I would know you Don’t tell it’s not worth tryin’ for there’s nothin’ more Ya would Walk I’d die for Ya no no – I’d wire for – for – it for the Ya know | |
The found of music 