RESEARCH

PROBES #26 looks at the pioneers who drew the soundscape of the world into the realm of music and, in so doing, eased the way for the emancipation - or aestheticisation - of noise, which led to the inclusion of everything from helicopters to roofing felt, ice to polystyrene, scrap-metal to fax machines in (non-electronic) music compositions and performances.

PROBES #25 continues to trace the importation of non-instruments into compositions and performances as, in their search for new sonorities, early jazz and blues musicians, contemporary composers, film composers, rock groups, sound artists and improvisers hit the toyshop and the hardware store.

This auxiliary follows a variety of toys as they strut their stuff on rock stages, movie soundtracks, concert halls, galleries and recordings.

The convergence of mainstream and social media platforms sidelines traditional record labels and sparks new sub-genres from mashups to vaporwave, but also reinforces the perception of music as consumable entertainment. How are we being retrained to our new environment by an aesthetic that has become so pervasive as to turn itself nearly invisible? Never conclude a historical narrative in present time.

In PROBES #24, toys, music boxes and balloons find new roles in contemporary compositions, pop performances, film scores and jazz improvisation, as composers explore alternative acoustic sources for extended, non-electronic, sounds.

This auxilliary digs deeper into the many faces of the toy piano and introduces the fiendish dactylion.

This show, curated by Wave Farm, presents an international look at works that explore the sonics of the shortwave radio spectrum (2-30 mHz), and the experience of long distance listening. It features works by Patrick Harrop, Ed Osborn, Javier Suarez Quiros, Mark Vernon, William Basinski, Nicholas Knouf, Edward Ruchalski, Sally Ann Mcintyre, Stephen Bradley, Pietro Bonanno, Linda Dusman & Alan Wonneberger, Jeff Gburek, Jed Miner, Amanda Dawn Christie and Lee Rosevere.

Chris Cutler tackles the issue of noise - and what we mean by it – before examining the toy symphonies and the musical career of the infamous toy piano.

Chris Cutler finishes his survey of the importation of exotic instruments, looking past their sonorous and timbral values, to the way they are deployed as vectors of meaning, language and symbolic representation.

In this auxiliary, Asian instruments find their way into all sorts of unexpected situations, both at home and abroad.