I have three dates coming up in France for the TONEWHEELS project:

13 Oct – Acces-s Festival, Pau (with Andrey Smirnov, Toktek / Chapelle des Réparatrices, Conservatoire Musique et Danse)
17 Oct – RIAM Festival, Marseille (with Radian and Hervé Boghossian)
16 Nov – Visionsonic Festival, Paris

Additionally, at Acces-s in Pau,. I will have a new instrument on display which I am furiously trying to finish right now, with the help of Oroborus Customs, Berlin. It will be a TONEWHEELS-style opto-electronic hurdy-gurdy with plenty of extra noisy electronics. I made the mockup you see in the first photo below, and sent it to Tobias at Oroborus who began building a proper body for it… I will properly document this instrument and thank all the other wonderful folks who helped me out once it is completed.

A•LIVE Information Metabolism from Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez on Vimeo.

I will be playing a live, improvisational set for modular synthesizer, found objects and SoundBox at Basic Electricity Berlin on Friday 28 September 2012. Joining me will be video artist Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez with her live electronic microscope visuals. This will be our first, exploratory outing with the A.LIVE bio-art project, and we’re both quite curious to see how it goes. Hope some of y’all out there can make it.

Incidentally, the audio in the above video comes from the soundtrack of Machine Deva, the recent collaboration I did with my father, Steve Holzer. Interesting to hear it in another setting… Machine Deva recently won the Best Experimental Film prize at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival. Way to go, Dad!

I will be offering copies of the Machine Deva soundtrack on CDR and DVDRs of the film itself some time in mid-November. Due to the extremely detailed nature of the hand-animation, which seems to be hopelessly corrupted by any sort of compression process, Machine Deva will never likely get put online. So unless you happen to be around when Steve or I screen it, this might be your only chance to view this remarkable work. Get in touch if interested…

Now Playing

neil young–on the beach[1974]

Mads Bech Paulszewski-Hau and I will be running the “Rainforest” series of workshops at two events in Denmark next month: the LAK Festival in Copenhagen (6-9 September 2012) and the BY i BY Festival in Aarhus (14-16 September 2012). There are still spaces in both workshops, particularly the Aarhus one (which will be outdoors!), so please get in touch if you are interested at MACUMBISTA at the domain GMAIL dot COM.

Regsnkov 2012 is a contemporary re-interpretation of David Tudor’s series of compositions from the 1970′s entitled Rainforest. It uses various types of sonic transducers to play live sounds through a selection of resonant, found-metal objects in the performance space. A matrix mixer allows the sound from any of the performers to be sent to any of the objects, creating an immersive, tactile and spatial sonic experience.

The project is developed in a workshop format with up to 8 participants over a period of several days. The participants will work from the bio-acoustic model of an actual rainforest, where it is necessary for each species’ survival that they can both hear and be heard within their own niche of the busy forest soundscape.

You can download a PDF of information about the project here: http://macumbista.net/files/rainforest_overview.pdf

Other up and comings:

28 Sep – [w/Vanessa Ramos-Velasquez] Basic Electricity, Berlin DE (more on this soon!)
9-13 Oct – TONEWHEELS, Le festival accès(s), Pau FR
17 Oct – TONEWHEELS, RIAM Festival, Marseilles FR
22-26 Oct – Neanderthal Electronics, Danish Art Academy, Aarhus DK (TBC!)
29 Oct-02 Nov – Neanderthal Electronics, Nordic Sound Art, Copenhagen DK
05-09 Nov – Neanderthal Electronics, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki FI
16 Nov – TONEWHEELS, VisionSonic, Paris FR (TBC!)

Now Playing

crippled black phoenix–(mankind) the crafty ape[2012]
wovenhand–live at roepaen[2012]

The lovely folks at the Norberg Festival in Sweden have arranged for me to do an outdoor SoundBoxes workshop as well as play a concert in the super-echo-chamber mine-shaft-house there.

For the workshop, I will have a tent with some tools and parts set up all day on Thursday 26 & Friday 27 July. The parts kit for the workshop costs SEK 100, and includes all the electronics components, speaker, amplifier, microphone and a cigar box of your choice. Workshop participants will have a chance to perform with their boxes on the afternoon of Saturday 28 July at 13.30.

During the concert on the evening of Saturday 28 July, I will play an improvisation for found objects, speaker box and self-made electronics. Norberg is about the only place I could imagine The Bug sharing a stage with Trevor Wishhart, and I’m looking forward!

Now Playing

deathspell omega–drought[2012 season of mist]
keith fullerton whitman–occlusions: real time music for hybrid digital-analogue modular synthesizer[2012 editions mego]
ktl–v[2012 editions mego]
pauline oliveros–reverberations: tape & electronic music 1961-1970 (12xcd)[2012 important]
thomas koner–novaya zemlya[2012 touch]

Filmmmaker Maren Sextro created this portrait of me for Groove.de in May 2012. Together, we visited the flea market and my studio, and spoke about my approach to sound, performance, “circuit bending” (a term I rarely use to describe my own constructions), DIY electronics and self-education.

Maren was kind enough to send me an HD version so that I could present this without the disgusting advertising, so once again I am in her debt. Enjoy.

Helsinki Show

Next week I make a quick trip to Helsinki, where the MUU Gallery will be opening the latest “MUU for Ears” show. I will be showing one of the “nonlinearity suite” videos, playing a live set for small analog synth, soundboxes and found objects on 7 June and leaving a few artifacts there for the two-week run of the show. Some of these artifacts may be for sale. I will post more on this before I depart.

SOUNDBOXES WORKSHOP with DEREK HOLZER

Workshop: May 26 & 27, 2012, Time 11-19
Workshop Venue: NK Projekt, Elsenstr. 52 2HH 2Etage, Berlin Neukoelln

Presentation + live Macumbista set: Sunday May 27 2012, Time 20.00
Presentation Venue: O’Tannenbaum, Sonnenallee 27, Berlin Neukoelln

Discover the hidden sonic qualities of objects from our everyday world in this workshop, combining the arts of electronics, noise, sculpture and collage. The basic elements we will employ are a wooden box, a speaker, a small audio amplifier, and a contact microphone. To this, brave box-builders will add their own found objects, graphics, images, memories and ideas to create a unique electroacoustic cabinet of curiosities.

No previous electronics experience is necessary for this workshop. Each participant is required to bring several items to the workshop, please see below.

TIMETABLE

Day One: Introduction to simple noise/electroacoustic electronics, circuit soldering.

Day Two: Box-building, decoration and collage, experimentation with found objects as sound sources.

Final Presentation: All participants will present their finished soundboxes to the public at the end of the second day!

WHAT TO BRING

I will provide most of the tools and materials necessary for constructing the box, however there are a few things you should bring yourself:

1) A BOX: This should be made of thin wood or very strong cardboard. Plastic can be also used, but it doesn’t sound very good. And please, no metal! It is too difficult to cut and drill with the tools we will have. This box should be a minimum of 10x10x4cm, or bigger if you want to use a larger speaker or have more room to decorate and add objects. Cigar boxes, small suitcases, instrument cases or jewelry/silverware boxes are all good things to look for. At least one side of the box should be no more than 5mm thick, to allow the hardware to be mounted.

2) A SPEAKER (OPTIONAL): I will have a selection of speakers for participants to use. However, if you have something special please bring it along, but please make sure it fits in the box you have chosen!

3) FOUND OBJECTS: Please bring as many found objects as you can to decorate your soundbox or use as a sound source via the contact microphone. Bones, shells, small sticks, bells, strings, wires, springs (especially!) or anything else made out of solid yet resonant material make great sound sources. Photographs, cloth, leather, paper or any other kind of material can be useful for covering the box and making collages. Paint, markers and pens may also be useful.

4) EFFECTS PEDALS (OPTIONAL): Any kind of battery-powered effects pedals, such as distortions, filters or delays, can be very useful in creating more nonlinearities in the feedback loop.

FURTHER INFO:

The NK Projekt’s page for this workshop:

http://www.nkprojekt.de/soundboxes-workshop-with-derek-holzer/

You can see videos and photos from previous SoundBoxes workshops here:

http://macumbista.net/?page_id=1897

Or use the “soundboxes” tag to see all posts related to SoundBoxes:

http://macumbista.net/?tag=soundboxes

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Derek Holzer (1972) is an American sound artist based in Berlin, whose current interests include DIY analog electronics, sound art, field recording and the meeting points of electroacoustic, noise, improv and extreme music. He has played live experimental sound, as well as taught workshops in noise art technology, across Europe, North America, Brazil and New Zealand.

http://macumbista.net/

BASIC INFO:

Fee: EUR 35 (participation) + EUR 10 (materials) Registration is required and can be done by sending an email to info@nkprojekt.de with the subject line “SoundBoxes”

Number of Participants: Minimum 6/Maximum 14

Location: NK Projekt
Elsenstr. 52 2HH 2Etage
12059 Berlin
+49(0)17620626386

Another satisfied customer… [March 2012, Zagreb].

Been locked in the studio for days now, but the fruits of my labor will be heard soon…

UPCOMING

25-29 April: TONEWHEELS @ Radio Sonores, Guimaraes PT
16-20 May: Machine Deva @ Marfa Film Festival, Marfa TX USA
26-28 July: Solo Performance + SoundBoxes Workshop @ Norberg Festival, Norberg SE

Starting next month, I will also be taking orders for customized tabletop noise makers, drone machines and sound boxes. Please contact me if interested.

Derek Holzer vs Jelena Glazova 19th session by Holzer vs Glazova

Derek Holzer vs Jelena Glazova 13th session by Holzer vs Glazova

Playing next Friday with Jelena Glazova in Riga. Had two really great sets, one in Zagreb last week and one last night in Tallinn, with the “new” setup: soundbox, found objects and analog mini-synth, discovering the possibilities of how they work together. Looking forward to mixing with Jelena’s amazing processed vocals.

At the Estonian gig, something in the PA starting smelling quite smokey, despite the fact that everything sounded fine, and afterward many people told me what kind of emotions that smell triggered for them. Interesting… but I don’t want to make a career out of smoking PAs!

In case anyone is curious, Holzer Sr.’s film project Kickstarter has 18 hours to go and has been a success. He flies to Marietta, Georgia on the 14th to have the film transferred to digital and after that I can get to work on the soundtrack. Should be an curious collaboration.

I have absolutely no work lined up for next month, which should make me a bit nervous. But I’ve decided to spend less time online, build some new soundbox-type instruments and get busy pushing them. Please get in contact if you would like something custom.

Machine Deva: An Experimental Art Film

“Machine Deva’s gonna be an unusual experience, it’s someplace between looking at cave paintings in a hand-held home movie that I’ve brought into my dreams.” –Steve Holzer

A distinguished gentleman who I happen to have known my entire life is busy creating his latest camera-less film, and has invited me to help create the soundtrack. He has a Kickstarter page for the project, with a very reasonable goal of $3000 set. He’s halfway there and has only 11 more days to do it. So if you are one of those aspiring patron-of-the-arts-types, you could do worse than to get on board this project. Please drop by and have a look!

Travel & Upcoming Engagements

03-04 March: SoundBoxes workshop + Concert @ Student Center Zagreb HR. Practice your Hrvatski here.

06-09 March: Neanderthal Electronics workshop @ Estonian Academy of Art New Media Dept, Tallinn EE

09 March: Neanderthal Electronics workshop presentation + Concert @ Ptarmigan, Tallinn EE. Read it and weep.

12-16 March: Sound+Space/The Art of Field Recording workshop at RISEBA, Riga LV.

16 March ???: Derek Holzer & Jelena Glazova live set… date and venue to be confirmed, watch this space!

In what seems to be a time-honored tradition, I’m staying up all night before a 6am flight to my Electric Spring gig making new instruments. These I have named after both the festival and the resonant coil microphones they employ. Each one is a beautiful drone machine by itself, and when placed together they have a natural tendency to harmonize. This time I actually managed a line-out to connect to the mixer as well.

The performance is likely to be a live version of Nonlinearity III, as seen in this video, using all three SoundBoxes instead of clever editing to make the polyphony. My first SoundBox from Nonlinearity I may also make an appearance…

These three new Electric Spring SoundBoxes became available for sale after the concert in Huddersfield, 15 February 2012. Number one of three is already sold. Inquire via the Contact page.