Sonic Pratices Working Group
Sonic Practices is a collaboration between KTH, KMH, and Konstfack, led by Ludvig Elblaus, Mattias Petersson, and Ida Lundén. We organize activities open for anyone interested in the big variety of sonic practices present in our community of artists and makers in Stockholm. Our goal is to share knowledge and resources, open up academic spaces to independent artists, and to create new opportunities for collaboration. Sonic Practices is organized as a working group at the NAVET Centre for Research in Art, Technology and Design. We welcome any suggestions and questions, contact us at mattias.petersson@kmh.se.
Sonic Practices Seminar Series
Sonic Practices 1 — Live Electronics
25:th of February at 6:00 PM in Lilla Salen, The Royal College of Music (KMH).
With Jon Nensén and Vera V Almgren.
The first Sonic Practices meetup will focus on live electronics and how this practice can reflect all our different ways of musicking. At the event we will meet Vera V Almgren and Jon Nensén, both students in electroacoustic composition at KMH, who will present recent work. The event will contain short performances and talks, mixed with Q & A:s and discussions.
Sonic Practices 2 — Volym
24:th of March at 6:00 PM in the Sculpture Studio, Konstfack. (N.B. we gather at the main entrance)
With Ida Lundén, Nina Svensson and students at Konstfack
The meeting is open to everyone, but to facilitate planning, please let us know if you are coming by email to ida.lunden@konstfack.se
The second Sonic Practices meeting focuses on sound and sculpture in interaction via the ongoing Konstfack course Volym. During the evening we will talk about what we have been exploring during the course, students will show the projects they are working on and there will be space for Q & A:s and discussions. We will offer snacks and drinks.
Sonic Practices 3 — With Tom Whitwell
Arranged by the Sonic Practices Working Group at the NAVET KTH Centre for Research in Art, Technology and Design in collaboration with Elektronmusikstudion EMS.
9 April, 18:00-20:00, Seminar, KTH Innovation, Teknikringen 1, The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).
With Tom Whitwell, Yann Seznec, Derek Holzer, and Helena Linder.
An open seminar on musical instrument design with Tom Whitwell, Yann Seznec, Derek Holzer, and Helena Linder, led by Ludvig Elblaus. The speakers will present their individual instrument making practices and then join in a panel discussion on how new musical instruments can find their character through limitations and how a precise scope can be useful in designing tools that feel purposeful and inspiring. Were do we as designers draw the boundaries of what a musical instrument is and isn’t and what are the considerations and consequences attached to those decisions?
Attendance is free and open for everyone.
10 April, 13:30-15:30, Kompositionsforum, Room 1E207, The Royal College of Music (KMH).
With Tom Whitwell.
Tom Whitwell will give a talk at the Composition Forum seminar series at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (KMH). His talk is about practical ways to use simple tools, systems and interfaces to explore sound, including the miraculous power of creative constraints to unlock playful work.
He'll talk about his experience both designing such tools and working with musicians and sound artists in collaborative workshops.
Over the last 14 years, Tom has designed modular devices like the Turing Machine sequencer, Radio Music sampler and Mikrophonie contact mic and most recently the Workshop System, an all-in-one low-cost modular system designed for people who are new to modular.
Attendance is free and open for everyone.
11 April, 10:00—16:00, Workshop System Build Workshop, Elektronmusikstudion EMS.
With Tom Whitwell.
Fully booked!
Build a complete Workshop System modular synth which you can bring home at the end of the session, with help from Tom Whitwell, designer of Music Thing Modular.
12 April, 10:00—16:00, Workshop, Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design.
With Tom Whitwell.
A one day introduction to modular synthesis in general and the Workshop System in particular,
open for musicians and non-musicians alike. No previous electronic music experience required to attend as the focus is on experimentation and collaboration through a series of hands-on exercises designed and led by Tom Whitwell. Tom is the designer of the Workshop System, a compact modular synthesizer suitable for a wide range of sonic experiments. A number of Workshop Systems will be available to borrow by the participants but if you already own one you can attend using your own instrument (without signing up).
Attendance is free and open for everyone, but capacity is limited by the number of Workshop Systems available to borrow and signing up is therefore required (unless you bring your own).
Sign up by emailing Ida.lunden@konstfack.se with a short message including:
+ Your name.
+ Your experience working with sonic practices.
+ Your age.
Sonic Practices Computing Café
Every Tuesday from 17:00 at Oktav, The Royal College of Music (KMH).
An informal gathering of sonic practices, open for anyone, always attended by one or more from the KMH faculty and the Sonic Practices team. Bring a laptop with whatever you want to work on and join us at Oktav (the foyer café) at KMH. Show something, help someone, or just get your coding done in excellent company. Asking for opinions or help is very much encouraged. All tools and programming languages and all levels of expertise are welcome. We especially encourage artists who are just getting started with a new digital material to join us.