Eco Sono 
V.A. : Agents Against Agency -dvd-(US,2011)***°
This DVD so it seems is based upon a rather conceptualised idea, a compilation of different expressions of individualists and groups in reaction to or within nature or natural circumstances. The first few track are very successful with this idea, where you can see that some dialogue has been progressed and stimulated with sound and image, using the aural and visual senses, while hearing and watching and eventually feeling further (with the senses). Because some of the participants and organizers involved are also into interactive computer systems, their “natural environment” is expanded to the machine. This experience is a bit different and it might have been stronger as a separate art project. From the left over tracks there are a few which are just improvisations, quiet free music filmed outside. Here there is little interaction except a minor awareness of the environment, as an expansion into the oneness of sound alone. And lastly, we have the idea of sound improvisation with studio mixed images to make them fit together, just like a videoclip with the right fitting, in this case outdoor images. So the concept has been taken very broad, the most intriguing for me remains those who fit with that idea, both for the nature context, but personally I think the intractions with sound of the machine an interesting idea as well.
Ted Coffey’s concept is an artwork installation that looks like giant looking glasses, looking like photocell looking glasses perhaps, placed in a river. This installation seems to be a collection of loud speakers. The sounds are like high beeped, and moving-in-all-directions (with vibrations, some melodic series etc.) as interactive electronics combined with some electro-acoustic noises like from the river itself and some pre-recorded (birds sounds-like) associations. The camera moves nervously from one focus to the next. This way it gives the impressions of the environment and the somewhat alienated, but not entirely disturbing object being present, which starts to become the presentation of a camera itself, a witness (a watcher, a receiver), at the same time it is producing with these sounds its own presence.
The next, and very interesting, interactive project is EMMI, where a series of percussion instruments (including a clay pot and a bottle amongst real instruments) are carefully put together into a forest, and that are being played by sticks driven by robots devices. The rhythms have something natural as if being moved by the wind, at the same time the patterns dance a bit quietly into that environment. Nice to watch ! It almost makes a natural environment more human, it is as if these areas are intermingled. The robots were sensitive to omputer listening and algorhythmic responses, with rewarding result !
MICE (=the mobile interactive computer ensemble) is more like a group improvisation in the desert. The soundtrack is based upon the sand sounds itself, with electro-acoustic rhythm breaks, and also, a pleasant happy melody on keyboards with human whistling, de-attached from the situation, but like one with pleasure of having done this project, as a matter of speaking this is just like mice watching from behind the scenes and describing the performer’s fun with a happy tune. One of the things you can see are the participants dancing in the sand like on an after-project party, but these persons are actually experiencing the rhythm of the sand in a different way than with your fingers this time while stamping the ground.
Yuri Spitsyn’s project is a different sort of interaction than the first examples, but created with the same curiosity and mentality. He sets up an interaction with the sounds of the machine making these electro-magnetic sounds audible, while opening and using a laptop. Lots of slightly annoying but ever changing electro-acoustic noise and rhythms can be heard here. It is a sonic investigation of the machine showing well-fitting image/sound interaction.
Matthew Burner’s contribution showing less of the nature, is something more of improvised free music with saxophones with some variations in sounds by dissembling the instrument and recording from inside. Visually, from one to four different video recordings screenings are combined on one screen. This visual aspect works a little nervously. I would have preferred something more technically advanced with this. It confirms mostly the intellectual or thought idea behind it, something that only becomes more clear when reading about these ideas. So in this case the environment itself is secondary used. The composition/improvisation consists of horn harmonies and electro-acoustic rhythm patterns.
On the Burns/Dinnell’s track I hear electro-acoustic music, like machine-like white noise and grey noise and descending beeping noise movement. With this I see black and white night visions of moving clouds., mixed with a kind of bar code-alike image distortion and in the end some early morning images of the sea. This works pretty much like a thoughtful electro-acoustic soundtrack video-clip.
The group Pinko Communoids play an improvisation in nature with the camera filming from a certain distance. It is a pure audible experience (and awareness). Not much happens either but it is a nice listen (bowls, bells, accordion, bowed guitar).
Also 12 Dog Cycle/Hall is an improvisation, of voice (imitating the resonances of the sax slightly), sax, and accordion, recorded outside, inside an open stone army fort. Like often with free improvisation, it fits ok with the environment all right but it also does not do anything with it. Also this is a nice listen, in two parts, carefully hanging around one note, fitting well, but not necessarily contributing anything extra on the visual level. It’s again like a music clip.
MICE/Emergence (with e.i. Matthew Burtner) has a second contribution from their Interactive Research Group. It was a past project which stated “please match the rhythm of your neighbour”, a nice to listen to, -with surprising details in the evolution-, interactive composition with a whole auditorium of (some 250) PC’s.
