OUTLINE
We are the phonon~ crew, based and operating in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic, since 2017. Our main focus is fringe electronic music, sound art and live spatial audio. With this opencall we invite artists, sound designers, performers and researchers to devote 3 weeks of July to intertwining spatial audio, aural perception and sonic environment of North Bohemia during SPATIAL sommer lab. The lab consists of a residency, workshops & lectures series and an Ambisonics concert MELUSINES.
AGENDA
Operating in the field of sonic arts, we are focusing on the role of listening in interaction with our daily environment. Is there a chance that, cultivating our aural perception, we could enhance our connection with surroundings, either socially and physically, and rethink our ways of embodiment within it?
Distraction, fragmentation, diminishing capacity for deep engagement, decreasing resilience, these are just some of the tendencies that can be linked with human attention today. Sustaining attention seems to become a hard duty, to the same extent essential to be addressed and developed. In the days of seamless implementation of digital landscapes in our daily life we wonder: will any of those conduce to positive development of our experience? What is the role of immersive media in this discourse? In specific: how could composed and performed spatial soundscapes contribute to cultivation of our perception and communication capacities?
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
Concepts of audio works, either acousmatic and performative, that are to be developed during the residency and presented at the public residency output - Ambisonics concert MELUSINES. We are looking for artists either familiar with Ambisonics and implementing it in their practice, as well as artists keen on exploring the field for the first time.
OTTOSONICS
We cooperate with OTTOsonics, an Austrian collective of sound artists, developers, and sound engineers and also the general residency partner. They designed and produced their own DIY open source speakers, making Ambisonics more available than it ever was before.
There will be two OTTOsonics systems available during the residency, 16-channel Ambisonics at the residency site in Löblhof and a 24-channel at National House. In addition, an octophonic system will be set up for listening sessions and project preparations.
Working with the OTTOsonics system requires a laptop. Each participant will be provided by a Reaper preset & IEM decoder. There is also a possibility to work within SPAT Revolution software, decoder provided. MOTU 24 audio interface is to be used.
LAB FOCUS
Following the 1st edition of the residency (Ambisonics Summer School 2023) the focus of the SPATIAL is set on various aspects of live spatial audio, such as soft- & hardware pitfalls of multichannel sound system maintenance, ambisonic recording, spatial soundscapes transfer, potential and available interfaces for live interaction with multichannel sound systems.
LAB PROGRAM
For the educational part of the symposium we’ve invited artists, researchers & musicians with technological, creative and philosophical backgrounds, active in the field of spatial audio, software development, audio performance, composition and phenomenology. There are workshops, presentations & talks being crafted for you by:
Main communication language is English.
TIMEFRAME / LOCATION / ACCOMMODATION
SPATIAL will run from 5. to 29.7., with a public presentation on Saturday, 27th of July. We accept the participants who are willing to attend the whole residency.
The residency location is Löblhof & Artgrund in Staňkovice.
Chosen participants will be provided with accommodation in private and shared rooms at Löblhof & Artgrund, an artist studio in the countryside of Central Bohemian Highlands. Löblhof is located 15 km from Usti nad Labem and is approachable by bus, a car transfer will be organized for a pickup from the main station. Drinking water, bathrooms, kitchen etc are available on site. Nourishment is to be managed individually. Shopping and logistics will be assisted by the crew.
FEES
Participation in the residency is free of charge.
There are 2 categories of applicants in relation to experience with Ambisonics: advanced and emerging. 5 selected attendees in the “advanced” category are to be granted daily expenses, covered thanks to Goethe-Institute funding program Culture Moves Europe. 3 residents in the “emerging” category are to cover the expenses on their own (travel costs, daily meals). phonon~ association will provide a letter of acceptance to the summer lab upon request. Accommodation & workshop attendance is completely free of charge. No additional costs are going to be demanded at any point of the residency.
RESIDENCY OUTPUT
We aim to present the projects, created and developed by the participants during the residency, at a public concert at the National House in Ústí nad Labem on Saturday 27.7. The concert will be powered by OTTOsonics 24-channel system.
ARCHIVE
We would like to keep documentation of the projects created during the residency for archival purposes, meaning photo- and video materials, together with text and sound documentations of created pieces, for further potential presentation, in accordance with the author's agreement.
HOW TO APPLY
For applying provide the following:
CV + short bio (PDF or a link to your website);
Portfolio (PDF or a link to your website);
Project proposal up to 1500 signs, including a brief description of ambisonics implementation (in PDF format).
Please, name each PDF in Name_Surname_CV Name_Surname_portrolio Name_Surname_project format.
Send the documents to phonon.crew@gmail.com with email subject “SPATIAL application - emerging” or “SPATIAL application - advanced” till 23:59 CET of 1st of May. Chosen participants will get confirmations till 14th of May.
Selection will be done mostly based on the project proposal, please, pay attention to the project description together with spatial approach.
We look forward to receiving your ideas and seeing them coming real!
https://www.phonon.cz/