Description
This work is the first of a series of electroacoustic collaborations, exploring encounters between analogue synthesisers and traditional and non-traditional acoustic instruments.
Traditional orchestral instruments were important timbral inspiration for the earliest electronic synthesisers. Modern synthesisers commonly still have presets which mimic the sound of acoustic instruments such as clarinet, bassoon, and flutes. This collaborative project began as an investigation into how these ‘woodwind’ sounds, created through both synthesis and by breath, might interact.
Utilising the unique collection at MESS (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studios), we created musical sketches through an improvisatory process, exploring how overlapping tones can be found between woodwind and the process of synthesis. Between this large collection of synthesisers and Aviva’s extended approach to clarinet playing, we had on offer an incredibly detailed palette of tonal possibilities. Through the collaborative process we found ways to unify and merge our sounds as well as to juxtapose the unique possibilities of each instrument – Sooji Kim
Sooji Kim is a Melbourne-based instrumentalist and composer. Classically trained in violin, Sooji’s explorations of improvisation and experimental music are informed by an attention to the nuances of timbre, tone and micro tunings. Her current practise is positioned at the nexus of acoustic instruments and electronic synthesisers, driving formal innovation through controlled experimentation. This work explores the metaphor of the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ world by deploying the ‘acoustic’ and ‘synthetic’ to achieve new aural syntheses.
