U.S.O. Project is pleased to announce that the 2012 edition of Sonic Screens will be focused  entirely to the electro-acoustic music praxis.

Specifically, candidates should produce a composition for instruments and real-time signal processing (live electronics).

Two works will be selected to be played during the concert.

The requirements are as follows:

1. The piece must be composed for Violin and Cello as a duo. Scores for solo violin or cello will not be taken into account.

2. The Score (in .pdf format) must be graphical and not in traditional notation. The interpretational and playing instructions should be made ​​clear, in order for the players to follow them even without the presence of the composer.

3. The electronic processing must be developed and implemented using Max/MSP or Kyma (*). The multichannel format for the spatial diffusion must be up to 6.0 (2.0 and 4.0 works are still eligible).

4. The type of interaction should follow the “ecosystemic” paradigm and should be as autonomous as possible (no pedals or sensors are allowed).

5. The work should not exceed a total duration of 12 minutes.

The evaluation criteria will focus on originality and effectiveness of the interplay between the electronic and instrumental parts.

The deadline for all submissions is set for 30th June, 2012.

Interested composers and sound artists should send the material (Score + Patch) within this date.

The two selected works will be presented during the evening of Sonic Screens in Milan. The event will be recorded for digital distribution (on Synesthesia Recordings netlabel).

The names of the musicians who will perform the selected scores will be announced in March.

U.S.O. Project, composer Daniele Corsi and the musicians chosen to perform during the concert will form the reading panel which will evaluate the submitted works.

The selected works will be announced in September 2012.

For more information or clarifications, please contact us at our e-mail:

submissions at synesthesiarecordings dot com

(*) Clarification:
We can only accepts patches made with Kyma or Max/MSP due to the fact that we are not able to provide financial support for the two selected composers. To avoid any technical issues, we had chosen the platforms we already use in our daily work, with which we are very familiar. If the selected composers can confirm their presence for the evening concert at their own expenses, then any piece of software/hardware can be used to perform live electronics. Thank you for your comprehension.

Live mixing and spatialization by U.S.O. Project (Matteo Milani & Federico Placidi)

Call for multichannel works

U.S.O. Project is pleased to invite submissions of fixed media sound works for the second edition of “Sonic Screens”, a journey among different electroacoustic Soundscape compositions.

Sonic Screens is an annual event that will take place during two acousmatic evenings in Milan during Fall 2011.

Sonic Screens aims to render the endless possibilities of life and its surroundings experienceable in our conscious activity, trying to deal with the possible infinites of the listening experience, both in their objective and manufactured dimensions.

“Listening to the environment, contextualizing it objectively and creatively has always been a priority of the work of U.S.O. Project.
Free from any pseudo-environmental or socio-political implication, the continuous work on sampling, processing and transfiguration of found sound and carefully preserved in memory of a digital recorder, has always played a central role in our compositional practices.
U.S.O. defines Soundscape as the expressive and narrative richness that comes from the reciprocal and continuous interaction of multiple sound sources from the real world, and other phenomena which are perceptible and measurable only through proper and adequate transduction (electromagnetic signals, for example).
A Soundscape is also an opportunity for reflection and imagination that has little to share with the real world.
A Soundscape can be a place of the mind, a reminiscence of a future experienced in dreams, lands far away in space and time.” – Matteo Milani & Federico Placidi

Composers and sound artists are invited to submit multichannel works, up to 8 channels. The assignment of channels to speakers must be clearly indicated in the submission. Works of any duration will be considered although pieces of under 16 minutes will be given preference.

The performance will take advantage of Ambisonics sound diffusion practice, creating an immersive and uninterrupted sound flow between different works from selected international artists.

The material will be transcoded in real time to 2nd Order B-Format (via ICST Ambisonics Externals for MaxMSP).

The recordings of the concerts will be available for streaming and released in binaural format for headphone use. The ownership of the tracks remains to the authors.

Submissions need to include:

1. a stereo version of the piece
2. individual mono files for each channel
3. channel configuration
4. sample rate
5. program notes
6. brief biography

While the composers of the selected works are encouraged to attend the event, attendance is not required for a work to be presented.

There is no registration fee.

The deadline for submission of works is October 31st, 2011.

Material Submissions

Please send download links to your work using one of the many file delivery services (yousendit.com, sendspace.com, gigasize.com, wetransfer.com, etc) in .zip or .rar format. Please do not email file attachments.

Electronic submissions should be sent to:

[submissions at synesthesiarecordings dot com]

For more information, email contact:

[info at usoproject dot com]

Terms and Conditions

Each participant may submit up to two works.

[Date and Venue To Be Announced]

[SchermiSonori2011-CallForWorks.pdf]

“The essential difference between an electroacoustic composition that uses pre-recorded environmental sound as its source material, and a work that can be called a soundscape composition, is that in the former, the sound loses all or most of its environmental context. In fact, even its original identity is frequently lost through the extensive manipulation it has undergone, and the listener may not recognise the source unless so informed by the composer. In the soundscape composition, on the other hand, it is precisely the environmental context that is preserved, enhanced and exploited by the composer.” – Barry Truax

Now online on SoundCloud:

Sonic Screens – pt.1 (binaural) by usoproject

Sonic Screens – pt.2 (binaural) by usoproject

Recorded 29th October, 2010 @ O’ – no profit organization, during Live!iXem 2010 – Edition VII
International festival of music, mixed media and experimental electronic art – Milan

[Photo Courtesy of fiftyfootshadows]

Here are the winners (works for recorded media alone):

Volker Hennes – “eromenoi erastai”
Chris Mercer – “deification”
Jeroen Visser – “The Spanning”
Ian Helliwell – “Convergence”

In the coming weeks we will keep you informed about the album’s production status.

Matteo Milani & Federico Placidi

Works should be produced using any conceivable analog device processing tools (pedals, no input mixers, analog synthesizers, custom built devices).

A description of the composition poetics and aesthetic goals should be included for release purposes as well.

The score should be submitted together with the recording in one of the following formats: .sib or PDF.
If the soloist is not available at the moment of the recording session, a quick render via a virtual instrument is allowed and welcome.

Synesthesia Recordings will provide the required soloist for the final Recording, Mix, and Mastering sessions.

A personal BIO of around 100 words is requested as well.

Winners will be announced in December 2009. The selected works will be published by Synesthesia Recordings during the first quarter of 2010.

For any more questions contact us at submissions at synesthesiarecordings dot com

[Download PDF version]

Jury

Federico Placidi, Matteo Milani (aka U.S.O. Project – Unidentified Sound Object)
Eduardo Carlo Natoli, composer
Daniele Corsi, composer

(update) IMPORTANT:

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR AUDIO FILES USING OUR DROPBOX ONLINE SERVICE.
SCORES CAN BE SEND AS ATTACHMENT VIA EMAIL TO OUR SUBMISSION ADDRESS.

Electroacoustic works HAVE to be realized with ANALOG DEVICES, which means:

1. use of Filters, Ring Modulators, Oscillators, Frequency Shifters, Piezoelectric microphones, modified Speakers and so on.
2. CUSTOM build instruments or HACKED ones are welcomed.
3. Live electronics is fine but only by mean of ANALOG DEVICES.

Please you have to document how did you make your tape-music. This step is important to us.

DO NOT SEND works made as follows:

1. CD tracks with pre-rendered DIGITALLY PROCESSED material using any plug-in.
2. COMPUTER MUSIC works, tapes.
3. No Computer, no Max/MSP or PD patches, no SuperCollider.

Please refer to the technology which was available between the 50’s -70’s in most of the electronic studios around the world.