Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival - Items filed in 'Matt's Sound Sculpture'

Blog bed-time - it's been fun!

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:11:20 +0000

This blog has reached a conclusion. Had a great time at the launch last Friday (thanks again to Heidi, HCMF, and Jay & Bill, Green Building Company, for last minute help) and Sunday morning with all the people that showed up for the soundwalk (thanks to you all). Full details of the project are now available at the:

Colne Valley Listeners website (thanks for visiting)

Sneak preview

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:02:43 +0000

Really busy finalising the dishes, still on target for Friday ... just! The dishes are looking superb.

Presenting the dishes! well, very nearly...

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:02:11 +0000

Artec have been working hard to meet the deadline - hugely appreciated by everybody involved in the project. They've sent through these images, not of the dishes, not yet, but of the form used to make the dishes. Tantalising!

Project nearly online

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:01:30 +0000

Drafting the website for downloading the audio and soundwalk instructions: go here for a preview >> Soundwalk Downloads

Keeping Cool

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:00:50 +0000

I have loads I could put up here now... but the truth is, with the launch just 7 days away, I am just too busy. See you next weekend?

Planning Permission?

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:55:29 +0000

Got it!

Everything crossed...

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:50:32 +0000

You may not be aware reading the blog recently that we still don't have planning permission. But a bit like another important announcement today coming from across the Atlantic, we will hear this morning from Kirklees Council if we've been successful... Will keep you posted!

Site Visit

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:49:37 +0000

Had a great visit to Slaithwaite on Monday 27th - fabulous autumnal weather, as you can see. 9 hours in the car round trip but well worth it. Finally met Desmond in the flesh! and now so close to installation. Me being the dishes:

Everybody say, 'acoustic mirrors!'

Desmond, Neil (Kirklees Council), Heidi (HCMF), and Cate (RCST)

Popeye the soundscape man

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:45:32 +0000

Okay well here's a video of me talking about the project back in July. Thanks to Oliver Jones for this and for making me look like gurning soundscaper (oh, and for mispelling my name). All in a day's work. http://www.hcmf.co.uk/media/show/16

Lots of activity!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:51:35 +0000

Well, after holding my breath for a while things are rocketing forward ... a big relief. I now have dates in my diary for a site visit to peg out the space for the concrete pads that the dishes will sit on, and also for transportation of the dishes. Here are some realisations of what it all should look like at the site (thanks to Heidi at HCMF):

A waiting game...

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:03:35 +0000

Progress is suspended at the moment while we wait for planning permission. Although it may have taken a little longer to finalise things to get to this point (mainly by me getting to spend time on site), we're still hopefully on schedule.

In the mean time Desmond made a trip to Artec and I made a trip to Istanbul. So it's time for some holiday snaps! First Artec, this is the lathe used for spinning large dishes

and aluminium ready for the lathe:

Thanks to Desmond for those. And while while Desmond was there I was bobbing around the Bospherus to escape the heat of Istanbul. Here're two snaps, inside and out, of the 500 year-old 'new mosque':

It wasn't all fun, fun, fun: I managed to make some field recordings of this wonderfully sounding city in between and during the boat rides, sight seeing, kebabs, fresh fish sandwiches, ayran, tea, locum, Turkish hospitality... take me back!!!

Trip to Slaithwaite

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:00:41 +0000

It's been a while but lots has been going on. Firstly, a workshop with 10 great children at Neilds School. We discussed sounds, went on soundwalks, recorded soundwalks and generally had some fun. A big thank you to all the pupils, staff and Heidi (from HCMF)! Here we are having some fun with listening dishes:

Secondly, it was time for me to really get acquainted with the location. I spent a lot of time wandering about, taking photos and making recordings to establish a strong connection with the place. Really good quality time for research and thinking. It is a really beautiful place - especially at 4am!

Also met and was interviewed by Oli Jones who's putting together a series of short videos and other exciting stuff for HCMF - will put a link to it from here as soon as it's ready.

Well, it's time for me to get cooking in the studio with all the material I recorded and to start designing the audio and walk that will accompany the experience of visiting the installation. Feels good to be at this stage.

Dishes

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:36:00 +0000

Some rapid progress was made recently by Desmond researching the dishes. After considering other materials (including fibreglass and concrete) I really wanted one last shot at finding someway of casting these large dishes out of metal. And Desmond came up trumps with a foundry that can manufacture the dishes in aluminium (which wikipedia tells me is the most abundent metal in the earth's crust)

But they (probably) aren't going to look like these early models, and there'll (probably) be only one. Having re-visited the site, I currently thinking that there's only room for one and want it elegantly rising from the ground rather than being housed in any structure. We'll see..

Introducing Desmond

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:53:51 +0000

Things are progressing well. I've been spending time sorting out technical details for the acoustic mirror (one not two - that's decided). Central to this process and to the mirror's construction is Desmond Brett. He's a sculptor (Slade MFA graduate no less) with lots of exactly the right kind of experience.

The mirror draws inspiration from the many gigantic concrete acoustic radar dishes that were built between the World Wars. The Colne Valley Acoustic Mirror will be distinct in its three-way function and status as conceptual sound art, sculptural form, and sound sculpture.