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Amoenus Presents: Amoenus Recordings
28th of November 2024 via Bandcamp
For the launch of Amoenus Recordings, we are excited to present five excerpts from binauralized ambisonics recordings.
These capture both private and public free improvisation sessions between renowned saxophonist John Butcher and electronic musician & spatial audio innovator Christian Duka, recorded at IKLECTIK's live venue in Waterloo, London, before its demolition in 2023.
Amoenus Presents: Amoenus Recordings.
28th of November 2024 via Bandcamp
For the launch of Amoenus Recordings, we are excited to present five excerpts from binauralized ambisonics recordings.
These capture both private and public free improvisation sessions between renowned saxophonist John Butcher and electronic musician & spatial audio innovator Christian Duka, recorded at IKLECTIK's live venue in Waterloo, London, before its demolition in 2023.
For the launch of Amoenus Recordings, we are excited to present five excerpts from binauralized ambisonics recordings.
These capture both private and public free improvisation sessions between renowned saxophonist John Butcher and electronic musician & spatial audio innovator Christian Duka, recorded at IKLECTIK's live venue in Waterloo, London, before its demolition in 2023.
SELECTED PAST EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
Amoenus Presents: XOLO
11th of May 2024 @The Bath House
6:00pm to 11:59pm
XOLO returns once more in conjunction with the AMOENUS surround sound system at The Bath House in Hackney Wick on Saturday 11th May.
For this event we are starting to explore beyond hearing by inviting the musicians to share a flavour or scent as a pairing to their sets to expand to reaching the other senses. This also explains the image chosen for this event, a scan rather than a photo and therefore a collated set of images featuring a cake and cutlery on a sideboard, a more febrile exploration.
Join the event
Amoenus presents: XOLO
11th of May 2024 @The Bath House
6:00pm to 11:59pm
XOLO returns once more in conjunction with the AMOENUS surround sound system at The Bath House in Hackney Wick on Saturday 11th May.
For this event we are starting to explore beyond hearing by inviting the musicians to share a flavour or scent as a pairing to their sets to expand to reaching the other senses. This also explains the image chosen for this event, a scan rather than a photo and therefore a collated set of images featuring a cake and cutlery on a sideboard, a more febrile exploration.
Join the event
Introspective Electronics x Experiment Intrinsic
21st of April 2024 @The Bath House
16:30pm to 10:30pm
On Sunday 21st April, we are handing over the reigns of The Bath House to two of the finest London-born ambient collectives ~ Introspective Electronics and Experiment Intrinsic. They join forces to take us an all-day beanbag-laden adventure, transforming the space into a cozy cuddle cocoon and inviting six local DJ’s to weave sonorous threads throughout the day.
DJ sets by:
Cerpintxt b2b Gyorgy Ono
Excelsior Ruth
Miro sundayMusiq
Sybil
Join the event
Introspective Electronics x Experiment Intrinsic
21st of April 2024 @The Bath House
16:30pm to 10:30pm
On Sunday 21st April, we are handing over the reigns of The Bath House to two of the finest London-born ambient collectives ~ Introspective Electronics and Experiment Intrinsic. They join forces to take us an all-day beanbag-laden adventure, transforming the space into a cozy cuddle cocoon and inviting six local DJ’s to weave sonorous threads throughout the day.
DJ sets by:
Cerpintxt b2b Gyorgy Ono
Excelsior Ruth
Miro sundayMusiq
Sybil
Join the event
Aural Cinema
29th of March 2024 @The Bath House
7:30pm to 11:30pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting you to an evening of multi-channel electroacoustic music on our spatial sound system.
Pieces and performances by:
Aki Pasoulas
Blackhawk::N471v3
Georgina Brett
John Wynne
Jose Macabra & Christian Duka
Join the event
Aural Cinema
29th of March 2024 @The Bath House
7:30pm to 11:30pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting you to an aural screening of six sonic films presented by local sound artists on our spatial sound system.
Pieces and performances by:
Aki Pasoulas
Blackhawk::N471v3
Christian Duka & Jose Macabra
Georgina Brett
John Wynne
Join the event
Amoenus presents: Formant Value, Jin Synth, Eight Fold Way & Avsluta b2b Christian Duka
9th of March 2024 @The Bath House
7:30pm to 11:30pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting five local artists to concoct lysergic ambient and downtempo potions on our spatial sound system.
Join us for an evening of deep horizontal music, with a live performance by Formant Value weaving spatial dimension into his deeply intricate music productions, joined by Jin Synth, Eight Fold Way and Avsluta b2b Christian Duka exploring our custom spatial sound DJ setup, all crafting adventurous sound journeys to tickle your imagination ✨
Join the event
Formant Value, Jin Synth, Eight Fold Way & Avsluta b2b Christian Duka
9th of March 2024 @The Bath House
7:30pm to 11:30pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting five local artists to concoct lysergic ambient and downtempo potions on our spatial sound system.
Join us for an evening of deep horizontal music, with a live performance by Formant Value weaving spatial dimension into his deeply intricate music productions, joined by Jin Synth, Eight Fold Way and Avsluta b2b Christian Duka exploring our custom spatial sound DJ setup, all crafting adventurous sound journeys to tickle your imagination ✨
Join the event
Spatial Audio Workshop
23rd of February 2024 @The Bath House
10am to 5pm
This introductory full-day workshop looks at the theory and practice of working with spatial audio technology on Ableton Live. The workshop will cover two solutions: the 4DSOUND Suite and Envelop For Live.
The participants are invited to work on a short spatial sound composition of their own in binaural audio. The resulting pieces will be played back on our spatial sound system at The Bath House in Hackney Wick.
The workshop will be led by Christian Duka and Lucie Stepankova.
The participants are invited to work on a short spatial sound composition of their own in binaural audio. The resulting pieces will be played back on our spatial sound system at The Bath House in Hackney Wick.
The workshop will be led by Christian Duka and Lucie Stepankova.
Join the workshop
Amoenus presents: Stone, Nexcyia, mu tate and Avsluta
10th of February 2024 @The Bath House
8:00pm to 11:59pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting four local artists to concoct lysergic ambient and downtempo potions on our spatial sound system. Join us for an evening of deep horizontal music, with live performances by Nexcyia and mu tate who will weave spatial dimension into the captivating sound worlds of their music productions. To spice things up, we invited Stone and Avsluta to test and explore our work-in-progress spatial sound DJ setup to craft adventurous sound journeys for your yearning ears.
Join the event
Stone, Nexcyia, mu tate and Avsluta
10th of February 2024 @The Bath House
8:00pm to 11:59pm
For the next event of our residency at The Bath House, we are inviting four local artists to concoct lysergic ambient and downtempo potions on our spatial sound system. Join us for an evening of deep horizontal music, with live performances by Nexcyia and mu tate who will weave spatial dimension into the captivating sound worlds of their music productions. To spice things up, we invited Stone and Avsluta to test and explore our work-in-progress spatial sound DJ setup to craft adventurous sound journeys for your yearning ears.
Join the event
Listening Together
26th of January 2024 @The Bath House
8:00pm to 11:59pm
A collective listening experience in spatial audio.
Pieces and performances by:
Avsluta
Blackhawk::N471v3
Christian Duka
Edward Griffiths
Georgina Brett
Mark Slee
and more
Avsluta
Blackhawk::N471v3
Christian Duka
Edward Griffiths
Georgina Brett
Mark Slee
and more
Join the event
Listening Together
26th of January 2024 @The Bath House
8:00pm to 11:59pm
A collective listening experience in spatial audio.
Pieces and performances by:
Avsluta
Blackhawk::N471v3
Christian Duka
Edward Griffiths
Georgina Brett
Mark Slee
and more
Join the event
INFINITE MONKEYS
Join the monkeys
INFINITE MONKEYS
13th of January 2024 @The Bath House
4pm to 12am
Infinite Monkeys Theorem states that infinite monkeys with projectors, synthesizers and an infinite amount of time could produce an AV version of “Selected Music From Washing Machines 85-92”. This theorem was tried in real life, but only for a day. The seven monkeys involved produced 5 minutes of cow sounds, slammed projectors and synthesizers with a stone and ate 21kg of bananas. Infinite Monkeys will try it again performing live on Saturday the 13th of January from 4pm to 12pm at The Bath House. The Monkeys performing at The Baths will be available for adoption, please adopt a Monkey, and bring one to your home after the show.
Join the Monkeys
Free Improvisation in Spatial Sound
︎27.04.2023 @Stone Nest
David Toop, Lucie Stepánková, Christian Duka, John Butcher and Aimée Theiot come together to build “living sonic sculptures” on a 4DSOUND system
Tickets & Info
Exploring Spatial Sound: A week of learning and creating in a 4DSOUND system
Twenty participants had the opportunity to explore the potential of spatial sound through the use of 4DSOUND technology, and develop works for this one-of-a-kind instrument, gaining technical, theoretical, and creative insight into how to produce and present spatial sound productions.
This 5-day deep-dive course took place in a bespoke 4DSOUND system installed at the historic arts venue Stone Nest in Soho.
- Dates: 15–19 May 2023
- Place: Stone Nest, London W1D 5EZ
- Deadline for applications: Monday 3 April
In the process of the course, participants collaborated to create original works in spatial audio (compositions or performances) and present them in a public event at Stone Nest on Friday the 19th of May.
More info & apply
4DSOUND and Amoenus warmly invite artists, musicians, creatives, performers, designers, and the creative community of London and beyond to take part in a 5-day course on spatial sound.
Twenty participants will have the opportunity to explore the potential of spatial sound through the use of 4DSOUND technology, and develop works for this one-of-a-kind instrument, gaining technical, theoretical, and creative insight into how to produce and present spatial sound productions.
This 5-day deep-dive course will take place in a bespoke 4DSOUND system installed at the historic arts venue Stone Nest in Soho.
- Dates: 15–19 May 2023
- Place: Stone Nest, London W1D 5EZ
- Deadline for applications: Monday 3 April
In the process of the course, participants will collaborate to create original works in spatial audio (compositions or performances) to be presented in a public event at Stone Nest on Friday the 19th of May.
More info & apply
The Listening Body
Performed in December 2022 & March 2023 @IKLECTIK
The Listening Body features Christian Duka for sound processing and spatialisation across a multi-speaker setup, Steve McInerney as a gong performer alongside Henrique Matias (Hems) - forming the group known as 'Flying Disks’ - and Pascal Savy performing live electronics.
The focus is on immersing both audience and artist in the present, transforming the act of listening into an embodied experience. Rather than just an auditory spectacle, the performance seeks to make the entire body a resonating vessel, molded by sound as it interacts with the architecture of the space. It's a deep exploration of presence, where the music is a continuum of physical sensations, prompting attendees to introspect on the ephemeral nature of reality through the medium of sound.
The focus is on immersing both audience and artist in the present, transforming the act of listening into an embodied experience. Rather than just an auditory spectacle, the performance seeks to make the entire body a resonating vessel, molded by sound as it interacts with the architecture of the space. It's a deep exploration of presence, where the music is a continuum of physical sensations, prompting attendees to introspect on the ephemeral nature of reality through the medium of sound.
The Listening Body
Sound Slick by The Inner Ear
9th of October 2022 @IKLECTIK
Presented by Isa Barzizza and Digidub
Smeared across the surface of the SE1 landscape, Sound Slick is a live listening event featuring musicians and improvised programmed sounds diffused in Ambisonics. The Inner Ear are based at ‘The Tank’, a unique old oil tank-venue in northern Sweden (Svanö), which uniqueness stands in its 24-second reverb.
This piece draws heavily on a recording session made at The Tank in summer 2022 by the Inner Ear in collaboration with Isa Ferri, during an intense 5 days sessions.
All the programmed electronics uses samples from The Tank and the inspiration for the piece is drawn from the archaic landscape sprawling south of the river in what is now known as SE1. Expect live and improvised vocals, throat singing, instrumentation, electronics, surround sound submergence and performance.
This piece draws heavily on a recording session made at The Tank in summer 2022 by the Inner Ear in collaboration with Isa Ferri, during an intense 5 days sessions.
All the programmed electronics uses samples from The Tank and the inspiration for the piece is drawn from the archaic landscape sprawling south of the river in what is now known as SE1. Expect live and improvised vocals, throat singing, instrumentation, electronics, surround sound submergence and performance.
Sound Slick
by The Inner Ear
Smeared across the surface of the SE1 landscape, Sound Slick is a live listening event featuring musicians and improvised programmed sounds diffused in Ambisonics.
︎ Tickets
FREE IMPROVISATION IN 3D SOUND
John Butcher, Ute Kanngiesser, Sharon Gal and Christian Duka come together to build living sonic sculptures.
12.05.2022 @IKLECTIK
Free Improvisation in 3D Sound
︎12.05.2022 @IKLECTIK
John Butcher, Ute Kanngiesser, Sharon Gal and Christian Duka come together to build “living sonic sculptures”.
Tickets & Info
Avsluta & Atau Tanaka
︎Online event curated by IKLECTIK
︎Performed in 3D sound, streamed in Binaural Audio
︎Full Performance︎
An evening of vocal synthesis and digital processing and EMG muscle sensing streamed live from IKLECTIK. The online event also featured 3 readings by Brandon LaBelle, Sally Jane Norman and David Toop.
AVSLUTA & ATAU TANAKA
︎Online event curated by IKLECTIK
︎Performed in 3D sound, streamed in Binaural Audio
︎Full Performance︎
An evening of vocal synthesis and digital processing and EMG muscle sensing streamed live from IKLECTIK. The online event also featured 3 readings by Brandon LaBelle, Sally Jane Norman and David Toop.
UR: Human Presence
An immersive performance that explores the inner workings of the human body.
Curated by Christian Duka in collaboration with Pell Ensemble, Jose Macabra and Elissavet Sfyri
︎Performance Review︎
An immersive performance that explores the inner workings of the human body.
Curated by Christian Duka in collaboration with Pell Ensemble, Jose Macabra and Elissavet Sfyri
︎Performance Review︎
Curated by Christian Duka in collaboration with Pell Ensemble, Jose Macabra and Elissavet Sfyri
︎Performance Review︎
GUTZ
︎Blindfolded Sonic Experience
︎@Aures London, 25 channel system
Jose Macabra, Christian Duka, Guy Harries and Aki Pasoulas came together to investigate pain in the everyday human experience.
GUTZ
︎Blindfolded Sonic Experience
︎@Aures London, 25 channel system
Jose Macabra, Christian Duka, Guy Harries and Aki Pasoulas came together to investigate pain in the everyday human experience.
Resolution
Immersive audiovisual event with Roly Porter, Piksel and Bruised Skies.
Sound installation by Emmanuel Spinelli and early pieces from electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram.
In collaboration with Resolution
︎Article on RedBull Music︎
RESOLUTION
Immersive audiovisual event with Roly Porter, Piksel and Bruised Skies on a 25 channel sound system.
Sound installation by Emmanuel Spinelli and early pieces from electronic music pioneer Daphne Oram.
︎Article on RedBull Music︎
FUTURESHOOK
︎Music performances in a 25 channel speaker system @Aures London
︎In collaboration with Edited Arts
Futureshook explores the ways in which modern audio-visual technologies have affected the way we create and consume art - from the re-imagining of turntablism to combining the acoustic with the electronic.
Featuring performances by Shiva Feshareki, Ben Vince & Lucinda Chua, MARMO and Ben Koosha
FUTURESHOOK
︎Music performances in a 25 channel speaker system @Aures London
︎In collaboration with Edited Arts
Futureshook explores the ways in which modern audio-visual technologies have affected the way we create and consume art - from the re-imagining of turntablism to combining the acoustic with the electronic.
Featuring performances by Shiva Feshareki, Ben Vince & Lucinda Chua, MARMO and Ben Koosha
Immersive Audio R&D
︎@IKLECTIK ART LAB
AMOENUS collaborated with IKLECTIK art centre to host a series of immersive audio research and development projects.
The R&Ds took place on our new 13.4 Ambisonics sound system and involve a diverse group of artists, each exploring 3D audio practices in their respective artistic fields.
︎ Watch the full documentary ︎
Immersive Audio R&D
︎@IKLECTIK ART LAB
AMOENUS collaborated with IKLECTIK art centre to host a series of immersive audio research and development projects.
The R&Ds took place on our new 13.4 Ambisonics sound system and involve a diverse group of artists, each exploring 3D audio practices in their respective artistic fields.
︎ Watch the full documentary ︎
ABOUT AMOENUS
3D Sound System
Our bespoke ambisonics sound system, currently installed in IKLECTIK ART LAB
Amoenus is a musicians-led, cooperative cultural organisation that promotes the development of music as a multi-sensory, participatory experience.
Our work focuses on shifting the way in which music is experienced today: departing from the traditional one-sided mode of consumption, we consider audiences as creative participants.
We acknowledge music as a dynamic agent for societal and cultural transformation, believing that the evolution and broad adoption of immersive sensory technologies can have a significant, transformative impact worldwide.
Amoenus originated a series of immersive events organised at Aures London by London based artist Christian Duka following “UR: Human Presence”, a multidisciplinary artistic experience presented at Aures London in 2018. These events were organised to provide local artists with the opportunity of working with spatial audio in their own practice and present it to the public.
Following a series of immersive music events carried out in 2019 at Aures London in Waterloo, Amoenus was set up as a charitable cultural organisation and received a grant from Arts Council England to build a 16.4 audio system in order to carry out their work independently. The sound system was installed at IKLECTIK, a community space in central London that promotes experimentation in music and contemporary art from 2020 to 2023. There, the Amoenus sound system facilitated and enhanced more than 200 events as part of IKLECTIK's programme. Amoenus’ own curatorial works explore the intersection of various fields encompassing electronic music, free improvisation, interactive & participatory arts, performance art and new media practices.
In London, Amoenus also organised a workshop at Central St Martins university, exploring ecological contexts through spatial sound and a 5-days course on spatial sound at Stone Nest in central London (Shaftesbury Avenue) in collaboration with Amsterdam-based creative studio 4DSOUND. Outside of London, Amoenus led a workshop at Birmingham Open Media with a group of 40 neurodivergent individuals.
Amoenus collaborates with:
The Bath House, a not-for-profit community space with a cafe, bar multiple event spaces and studios. They host many permanent local businesses, as well as offering a wide range of workshops and events that change weekly
PELL ENSEMBLE, created in 2014 by Choreographer, Dance and Digital Artist Rebecca Evans. Her work uses interactive and immersive technologies combined with dance to engage audiences and communities in both the making and performance process.
4DSOUND, an Amsterdam-based studio focusing on spatial sound as a creative medium. Since 2007, 4DSOUND has been at the forefront of some of the most creatively challenging and technically complex projects using spatial audio in the context of architecture, music, opera, fashion and research.
Candy Mountain, a design, project development and production studio, driven by transforming ideas into reality, exploring the outer realms of technology, specialist craftwork and sound creation.
The Studio in Bath, led by creative producer Nik Rawlings, they support artist residents and business partners to develop projects through grant applications, business development, networking and events, as well as working with university colleagues to engage students in resident activities and internship opportunities.
The birth of the Amoenus project: “UR: Human Presence”, 2018.VISION STATEMENT
The Locus Amoenus is a theme recurring in modern and classic literature, it means “a place without walls”. Many authors identified it with a pleasant place-non-place for the refreshment of the soul, where the protagonists of their works found refuge from dangers and hardships. For Homer the Locus Amoenus was the island of Calypso, for Boccaccio it was a place of safety away from the plague pandemic.
Today, Amoenus is actively working to create spaces that, through the constantly evolving entity of sound, enable us to imagine new realities founded on the principle of the human being as a creative entity. Its conceptualisation stems from a recognised need for local communities to imagine how futures like this can feel like before they can take the right steps "in the world" to actualise them.
Amoenus currently focuses on the use of immersive sound technology as a tool to be used experimentally for such communal acts of world building.
Open call to autistic individuals for immersive audio performances.
Application Deadline: 15th of June
The open call offers individuals who identify as autistic and/or who have been diagnosed as autistic the opportunity to take part in dedicated workshops & development sessions looking at spatial audio as a creative tool in the context of live performance. The sessions will culminate in a public presentation of the applicants work at experimental arts centre “IKLECTIK” as part of “The Sonic Microscope”, a spatial audio event focussed on Neurodiversity in the arts happening on the 28th of October 2023.
This invitation is to join an evening of sound performances challenging unidirectional, stage-oriented scenarios typical of stereophonic sound in favour of spatially inclusive, immersive sonic experiences.
Using multiple speakers across the walls and ceiling, spatial audio technology allows one to position & "sculpt" sound in three-dimensions. In this context, space becomes an instrument one can performatively play with.
The participants will receive support by a team of electracoustic musicians & performers:
We will equally consider individuals that have an established practice and those that are interested in exploring the sonic arts. Theoretical and technical knowledge of music making & technology is not a necessary requirement to join this project. Individuals new to this practice will be given accessible tools & the know-how necessary to engage in live performance & sound spatialisation.
Workshop dates:
24th of July
8th of August
19th of August
24th of August
Please note that this is an unpaid opportunity.
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Photo by Thomas Rosser
Since 2018, we have facilitated & supported several artists working with sound in various ways. In the process, we have developed a comprehensive toolkit to work with spatial sound in the context of live music performance & composition, interactive sound installations, performance art and contemporary dance.
Within the 16.4 sound system, any sound source can be positioned in space and its trajectory controlled in real-time through a touch-based tablet app with an innovative approach that resembles tools used for electronic music composition.
The spatialisation can also be handled entirely via Ableton Live on the user’s machine (i.e. by using Envelop4Live). Using Open Sound Control, we are able to turn streams of data into positional information (i.e. to connect movement & distance sensors to sounds’ position). While our default spatialisation method is Ambisonics (up to 5th order), we can accommodate for virtually any other method if necessary.
How to apply
Submit a single PDF file containing the following information to info@amoenus.co.uk
1) Applicant/s Name/s, email addresses and city of residence.
2) A statement of interest elaborating on what you wish to learn/gain from this project.
We accept applications made as a collective.
No prior experience in the relevant fields is necessary.
This invitation is to join an evening of sound performances challenging unidirectional, stage-oriented scenarios typical of stereophonic sound in favour of spatially inclusive, immersive sonic experiences.
Using multiple speakers across the walls and ceiling, spatial audio technology allows one to position & "sculpt" sound in three-dimensions. In this context, space becomes an instrument one can performatively play with.
The participants will receive support by a team of electracoustic musicians & performers:
- Dr John Biddulph (Autism Spectrum Condition specialist)
- Christian Duka (Spatial Audio specialist)
- Lucie Stepankova (Free Improviser)
We will equally consider individuals that have an established practice and those that are interested in exploring the sonic arts. Theoretical and technical knowledge of music making & technology is not a necessary requirement to join this project. Individuals new to this practice will be given accessible tools & the know-how necessary to engage in live performance & sound spatialisation.
What we can offer
- Free access to an event space (IKLECTIK) featuring an enveloping 16.4 sound system spread across the walls and ceiling to develop your performance in dedicated group or 1-1 sessions.
- Neurodivergent-friendly free support and mentorship for what concerns sound performance and spatialisation using electronic & acoustic instruments and spatial audio technology in a creative way.
- Production and delivery of a public event to present your performance.
- Audio/visual documentation of the performance.
Workshop dates:
24th of July
8th of August
19th of August
24th of August
Please note that this is an unpaid opportunity.
The spatial sound system
Photo by Thomas RosserSince 2018, we have facilitated & supported several artists working with sound in various ways. In the process, we have developed a comprehensive toolkit to work with spatial sound in the context of live music performance & composition, interactive sound installations, performance art and contemporary dance.
Within the 16.4 sound system, any sound source can be positioned in space and its trajectory controlled in real-time through a touch-based tablet app with an innovative approach that resembles tools used for electronic music composition.
The spatialisation can also be handled entirely via Ableton Live on the user’s machine (i.e. by using Envelop4Live). Using Open Sound Control, we are able to turn streams of data into positional information (i.e. to connect movement & distance sensors to sounds’ position). While our default spatialisation method is Ambisonics (up to 5th order), we can accommodate for virtually any other method if necessary.
How to apply
Submit a single PDF file containing the following information to info@amoenus.co.uk
1) Applicant/s Name/s, email addresses and city of residence.
2) A statement of interest elaborating on what you wish to learn/gain from this project.
We accept applications made as a collective.
No prior experience in the relevant fields is necessary.
In the making of your work, you will receive support by:
John Biddulph
Photo by Jason Dale
John is a professional in the world of Autism and also an autistic person. He studies and explores sensory differences and flow states and that deep creative connection that neurodivergent people can achieve. John autism work includes working with colleagues to provide assessment pathways, training in a wide range of themes, and supporting autistic people and their families.
Of particular interest to John is the creation and performance of sounds that encourage the listener to listen through the prism of a ‘sonic microscope’ focusing on tiny changes in all the elements of sounds and especially tone quality (timbre) and position (spatialisation).
John is a regular performer of electro-acoustic music. Before retraining in the field of autism, he studied music at a UK Conservatoire and played professionally on clarinet and saxophone. John has performed in a wide range of music groups and an even wider range of styles in venues all over the world.
He has played alongside Jools Holland, performed in Berlin, Athens, at Café OTO and IKLECTIK in London, and performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in major concert halls. He now plays as a solo performer on electronic music instruments and uses field recordings and found sounds in his performing and composing.
Christian Duka
Photo by Alice Underwood
Christian is a sound artist/designer, immersive audio specialist and higher education lecturer. Following a month long residency at MONOM 4D Sound in Berlin in 2018, he curated UR: Human Presence, an interdisciplinary immersive performance presented at Aures London. He has since been active as immersive art curator, sound artist/designer and more recently as a spatial audio enabler, educator & facilitator through his work at the Amoenus organisation, which he founded back in 2019. Christian has been teaching in higher education since 2016, lecturing on sound design and audio production in the Audio Production BA degree at SAE Institute, London. Through Amoenus, Christian has delivered several workshops exploring spatial audio as a creative tool, most recently to a group of 40 neurodivergent participants at Birmingham Open Media, and supported more than 50 artists in the process of learning in working with spatial audio, most recently at experimental art centre IKLECTIK.
Past works in immersive audio include collaborations with digital dance company Pell Ensemble and sound artist Jose Macabra (UR: Human Presence), free improvisers John Butcher, Lucie Stepankova and Aimee Theriot (Free Improvisation in Spatial Sound) and visual artist Nestor Pestana for an AV immersive piece exhibited at Porto Planetarium and an exhibition in Covent Garden aimed at raising awareness to worlwide issues related to mental health support. His solo work is focussed on inducing heightened states of awareness of one’s own internal physical and mental activity through spatial sound.
Lucie Stepankova
Lucie Stepankova (aka Avsluta) is a London-based sound artist, DJ, curator and educator. Her sound art practice revolves around free improvisation with found objects, raw materials and digital processing and closely relates to the practice of deep listening and new materialist theories. The outcomes are live performances, compositions and multi-media works including audio-visual pieces and installations. Over the past 8 years, Lucie has been producing ambient and downtempo as Avsluta and since the inception of her Introspective Electronics platform over 4 years ago, she started DJ’ing, playing music for chill-out rooms and dancefloors alike.
Lucie has been running workshops relating to free improvisation with objects and electro-acoustic live performance workflows in the past 3 years in collaboration with venues and institutions including 4DSOUND, Amoenus, Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins, SHAPE Platform and others. In 2022, she became a co-director of Amoenus and this year she facilitated spatial sound artist residencies, aiding artists in gaining the necessary knowledge, skills and tools for performance in multi-channel audio in collaboration with Sova Audio and delivered a week-long course in spatial sound in collaboration with 4DSOUND.
About AMOENUS
https://amoenus.co.uk
This open call is organised by AMOENUS, an art organisation that facilitates, educates, curates, and promotes immersive art centred around 3D sound.
About IKLECTIK
https://iklectikartlab.com/
IKLECTIK is a self-funded creative platform founded in 2014 that showcases contemporary art, experimental music and artistic critical practice.
Open call to autistic individuals for immersive audio performances.
Application Deadline: 15th of June
The open call offers individuals who identify as autistic and/or who have been diagnosed as autistic the opportunity to take part in dedicated workshops & development sessions looking at spatial audio as a creative tool in the context of live performance. The sessions will culminate in a public presentation of the applicants work at experimental arts centre “IKLECTIK” as part of “The Sonic Microscope”, a spatial audio event focussed on Neurodiversity in the arts happening on the 28th of October 2023.
This invitation is to join an evening of sound performances challenging unidirectional, stage-oriented scenarios typical of stereophonic sound in favour of spatially inclusive, immersive sonic experiences.
Using multiple speakers across the walls and ceiling, spatial audio technology allows one to position & "sculpt" sound in three-dimensions. In this context, space becomes an instrument one can performatively play with.
The participants will receive support by a team of electracoustic musicians & performers:
Workshop dates:
24th of July
8th of August
19th of August
24th of August
Please note that this is an unpaid opportunity.
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Photo by Thomas Rosser
Since 2018, we have facilitated & supported several artists working with sound in various ways. In the process, we have developed a comprehensive toolkit to work with spatial sound in the context of live music performance & composition, interactive sound installations, performance art and contemporary dance.
Within the 16.4 sound system, any sound source can be positioned in space and its trajectory controlled in real-time through a touch-based tablet app with an innovative approach that resembles tools used for electronic music composition.
The spatialisation can also be handled entirely via Ableton Live on the user’s machine (i.e. by using Envelop4Live). Using Open Sound Control, we are able to turn streams of data into positional information (i.e. to connect movement & distance sensors to sounds’ position). While our default spatialisation method is Ambisonics (up to 5th order), we can accommodate for virtually any other method if necessary.
How to apply
Submit a single PDF file containing the following information to info@amoenus.co.uk
1) Applicant/s Name/s, email addresses and city of residence.
2) A statement of interest elaborating on what you wish to learn/gain from this project.
We accept applications made as a collective.
No prior experience in the relevant fields is necessary.
This invitation is to join an evening of sound performances challenging unidirectional, stage-oriented scenarios typical of stereophonic sound in favour of spatially inclusive, immersive sonic experiences.
Using multiple speakers across the walls and ceiling, spatial audio technology allows one to position & "sculpt" sound in three-dimensions. In this context, space becomes an instrument one can performatively play with.
The participants will receive support by a team of electracoustic musicians & performers:
- Dr John Biddulph (Autism Spectrum Condition specialist)
- Christian Duka (Spatial Audio specialist)
- Lucie Stepankova (Free Improviser)
What we can offer
- Free access to an event space (IKLECTIK) featuring an enveloping 16.4 sound system spread across the walls and ceiling to develop your performance in dedicated group or 1-1 sessions.
- Neurodivergent-friendly free support and mentorship for what concerns sound performance and spatialisation using electronic & acoustic instruments and spatial audio technology in a creative way.
- Production and delivery of a public event to present your performance.
- Audio/visual documentation of the performance.
Workshop dates:
24th of July
8th of August
19th of August
24th of August
Please note that this is an unpaid opportunity.
The spatial sound system
Photo by Thomas RosserSince 2018, we have facilitated & supported several artists working with sound in various ways. In the process, we have developed a comprehensive toolkit to work with spatial sound in the context of live music performance & composition, interactive sound installations, performance art and contemporary dance.
Within the 16.4 sound system, any sound source can be positioned in space and its trajectory controlled in real-time through a touch-based tablet app with an innovative approach that resembles tools used for electronic music composition.
The spatialisation can also be handled entirely via Ableton Live on the user’s machine (i.e. by using Envelop4Live). Using Open Sound Control, we are able to turn streams of data into positional information (i.e. to connect movement & distance sensors to sounds’ position). While our default spatialisation method is Ambisonics (up to 5th order), we can accommodate for virtually any other method if necessary.
How to apply
Submit a single PDF file containing the following information to info@amoenus.co.uk
1) Applicant/s Name/s, email addresses and city of residence.
2) A statement of interest elaborating on what you wish to learn/gain from this project.
We accept applications made as a collective.
No prior experience in the relevant fields is necessary.
In the making of your work, you will receive support by:
John Biddulph
Photo by Jason Dale
John is a professional in the world of Autism and also an autistic person. He studies and explores sensory differences and flow states and that deep creative connection that neurodivergent people can achieve. John autism work includes working with colleagues to provide assessment pathways, training in a wide range of themes, and supporting autistic people and their families.
Of particular interest to John is the creation and performance of sounds that encourage the listener to listen through the prism of a ‘sonic microscope’ focusing on tiny changes in all the elements of sounds and especially tone quality (timbre) and position (spatialisation).
John is a regular performer of electro-acoustic music. Before retraining in the field of autism, he studied music at a UK Conservatoire and played professionally on clarinet and saxophone. John has performed in a wide range of music groups and an even wider range of styles in venues all over the world.
He has played alongside Jools Holland, performed in Berlin, Athens, at Café OTO and IKLECTIK in London, and performed Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in major concert halls. He now plays as a solo performer on electronic music instruments and uses field recordings and found sounds in his performing and composing.
Christian Duka
Photo by Alice Underwood
Christian is a sound artist/designer, immersive audio specialist and higher education lecturer. Following a month long residency at MONOM 4D Sound in Berlin in 2018, he curated UR: Human Presence, an interdisciplinary immersive performance presented at Aures London. He has since been active as immersive art curator, sound artist/designer and more recently as a spatial audio enabler, educator & facilitator through his work at the Amoenus organisation, which he founded back in 2019. Christian has been teaching in higher education since 2016, lecturing on sound design and audio production in the Audio Production BA degree at SAE Institute, London. Through Amoenus, Christian has delivered several workshops exploring spatial audio as a creative tool, most recently to a group of 40 neurodivergent participants at Birmingham Open Media, and supported more than 50 artists in the process of learning in working with spatial audio, most recently at experimental art centre IKLECTIK.
Past works in immersive audio include collaborations with digital dance company Pell Ensemble and sound artist Jose Macabra (UR: Human Presence), free improvisers John Butcher, Lucie Stepankova and Aimee Theriot (Free Improvisation in Spatial Sound) and visual artist Nestor Pestana for an AV immersive piece exhibited at Porto Planetarium and an exhibition in Covent Garden aimed at raising awareness to worlwide issues related to mental health support. His solo work is focussed on inducing heightened states of awareness of one’s own internal physical and mental activity through spatial sound.
Lucie Stepankova
Lucie Stepankova (aka Avsluta) is a London-based sound artist, DJ, curator and educator. Her sound art practice revolves around free improvisation with found objects, raw materials and digital processing and closely relates to the practice of deep listening and new materialist theories. The outcomes are live performances, compositions and multi-media works including audio-visual pieces and installations. Over the past 8 years, Lucie has been producing ambient and downtempo as Avsluta and since the inception of her Introspective Electronics platform over 4 years ago, she started DJ’ing, playing music for chill-out rooms and dancefloors alike.
Lucie has been running workshops relating to free improvisation with objects and electro-acoustic live performance workflows in the past 3 years in collaboration with venues and institutions including 4DSOUND, Amoenus, Royal College of Art, Central Saint Martins, SHAPE Platform and others. In 2022, she became a co-director of Amoenus and this year she facilitated spatial sound artist residencies, aiding artists in gaining the necessary knowledge, skills and tools for performance in multi-channel audio in collaboration with Sova Audio and delivered a week-long course in spatial sound in collaboration with 4DSOUND.
About AMOENUS
https://amoenus.co.uk
This open call is organised by AMOENUS, an art organisation that facilitates, educates, curates, and promotes immersive art centred around 3D sound.
About IKLECTIK
https://iklectikartlab.com/
IKLECTIK is a self-funded creative platform founded in 2014 that showcases contemporary art, experimental music and artistic critical practice.