ellen moffat

Sound/Track uses extremely low frequencies, diverse local and imported organic matter, sensors and a foot-powered interfaces in a four-channel instrument. Frequencies range from 7.8 Hz to 60 Hz.

Speaker cones contain: seeds (peppercorn, coriander, hemp); leaves (birch, basil, oregano, tea); dried flowers and berries; water and Palestinian olive oil. As visitors walk along the sound board surface, the impact of their footsteps triggers switches that release primary sonic frequencies; the activity of organic matter in the speakers triggers secondary sound. The work blends preset and chance sound as composition.

<LISTEN>  Sound/Track 2′09

urbansubsonic is a sampler-based sound mix using urban structures and chance events to capture and construct a sonic map of a downtown site in Saskatoon. A 1913 prism glass sidewalk functioned as a soundboard. As pedestrians traversed its 90′ long surface, the membrane vibrated with the impact of their activities. Sound was recorded from the space beneath the surface using 4 microphones positioned spatially. Filtered through an aggregate of glass, concrete, wood and metal, and fused with the room tone and acoustics of the contained space, the sound has a murky yet distinctly urban sensibility. The 24′00 composition is a time-sampler of twenty-four hours of field recordings.

<LISTEN_1>   urbansubsonic (03:15-04:01) 00′46

<LISTEN_2>   urbansubsonic (04:20 - 05:13) 00′53

<LISTEN_3>   urbansubsonic (0:00 - 08:34) 00′33

<LISTEN_4>   urbansubsonic (13:37 - 14:43) 00′56

<LISTEN_5>   urbansubsonic (23:35 - 24:00) 00′25

Basement Suite began in my empty living room and the crawl space beneath this room (images below). The floor is a ready-made soundboard, the crawl space a recording studio and sound chamber. Participants perform the floor with objects, animals (furniture, pill bottle, boots, shoes, knuckles, sponge, tuning forks, glockenspiel, dog) and actions (walking, dancing, moving furniture, sweeping, knocking) as extended techniques for sound generation. The sound events and rhythms are captured using piezo contact microphones positioned directly under the floor for sound capture as stereo.

In the gallery, speakers and a light fixture are mounted beneath suspended wooden platforms, referencing architectural and acoustic aspects of the in-house session. The composition juxtaposes somatic rhythms, percussive beats and sustained phrases as narrative using 8 discrete nodes of spatialized sound.

Documentation from Eidola

twicescore is a multi-user visual poetry instrument using dual keyboards and physical controllers. Two keyboards provide physical interfaces for text generation with controllers for manipulation of type as typographic design. The separate texts are projected as integrated concentric circles onto a bed of glass bead on the floor. Poems can be posted to a web site as a publishing outlet and public archive. Inspired by  “zuverspaetceterandfigurinnennenswert ollos”, a 1962 rota-poem by Ferdinand Kriwet, the project fuses interactivity, co-authorship  and concrete poetry.

ARCHIVE:  http://www.twicescore.ellenmoffat.ca/

<VIDEO> twicescore

The Phoneme Project explores multi-track spatialized sound and polyphonic composition using phonemes (the granular units of spoken language) from the International Phonetic Alphabet as note events. My approach is a thematic study with variations as installation and performance.

Specific versions consider composition generation, structure, interfaces, technology and interactivity. As intention, the compositions suggest language as it is becoming or deteriorating, teasing with meaning, sense and sensibility. Aerial photography, cognitive (dys)functionality, linguistic gestalt and musical instruments are references.

vBox (2008)

BLOW combines fragmented vocal recordings, projection and audio equipment. Two voices - one male, one female - are deconstructed into semantic and grammatical units in a polyphonic composition that is output to twelve tracks  as spatialized sound. Breath, utterance, syllables and phrases propose a cut-up sound poem of sentience and rationality using high/low technology and aesthetics. The text explores sense and sensuality of the individual, the collective and utopic social movements. A cartographic-text map fusing concrete poetry and the nervous system of the human body as a techno-organic graphic is projected on one wall. Catalogue with Audio CD; essay by Betsy Warland. Collection of the Saskatchewan Arts Board. 

<LISTEN>  BLOW  1′00