“Methods Of Expansion And Contraction” is a 16-channel sound installation that spacializes sounds in a circular fashion to explore juxtapositions of timbre, rhythm, dynamics and pitch. You are encouraged to walk around the wheel, for some sounds even small movements will create difference tones. The work presents numerous short sounds, the full cycle is around 50 minutes. Disparate scenes and subjects form a continuous montage of contrastive timbres, textures and sonic eruptions, occasionally interrupted by quiet pulses – as generally with sound and music, occasionally your ears need a rest. The work is presented on a 16-channel circular sound system, the sounds were created on a Buchla Music Easel and a Hordijk Blippoo Box.
Governors Island
Nolan Park Building 5B
May 28 – July 25 2016 Saturday, Sundays and Holiday Mondays noon – 6 pm
Join Hans for the Experience Lab with the littleBits on Saturday June 18th from 3 – 5 pm
Did you ever want to play with synthesizers but didn’t know how to start? Do you already play with the littleBits synth but want to learn cool new tricks? The littleBits are tiny synthesizer modules connected via magnets allowing for quick changes in the signal chain. With a wide range of modules available – oscillators, filters, envelope generators, random voltage and noise generators, sequencers, keyboards, and much more – they are great to learn the basics of sound synthesis. In this workshop we’ll approach each synth Bit from the point of playability. You’ll explore the endless combinations in the Synth Kit, plus the course is practical because we may also play together and collaborate as a musical group, and can watch how a millimeter here or there makes a huge musical difference.
The course is led by synth enthusiast Hans Tammen, who has performed with the littleBits, and conducted his massive littleBits orchestras at MakeMusicNY 2014/2015, and the Dark Circuits Festival. http://tammen.org/littlebits/
There are no other prerequisites. The course is geared toward beginners who want to get into electronic music using synthesizers, or those who already own a synth but want to know what happens under the hood.
You can bring your own kit, but there will also be a few kits at hand for you to try out, courtesy of Make:STEAM and littleBits.
Hans Tammen creates sounds that have been described as an alien world of bizarre textures and a journey through the land of unending sonic operations. He creates rapid-fire juxtapositions of radically contrastive and fascinating noises, with micropolyphonic timbres and textures, aggressive sonic eruptions, but also quiet pulses and barely audible sounds. http://www.tammen.org
Numerous projects include site-specific performances and collaborative efforts with dance, light, video, and theater, having used technology from planetarium projectors and guitar robots to disklavier pianos and chaos-synths.
His works have been presented on festivals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Russia, India, Israel, South Africa and all over Europe. He recorded on labels such as Clang, Innova, ESP-DISK, Nur/Nicht/Nur, Creative Sources, Leo Records, Potlatch, Cadence, and Hybrid.