a land of acoustic discovery
The
Phonurgia Nova competition is a land of acoustic discovery: an international
event which rallies sound and radio artists from all over the world. In
2011, 134 productions from 11 different countries were entered, and 26
of those were selected for an award. The jury was open, for the third
time, to the general public, and its president, producer Daniel Deshays,
underlined that this competition became “a genuine sound art observatory
and not a conservatory”.
An environment that left no room for those formulated recipes that categorize
sounds, no prefabricated assessments, just attentive ears and thought
provoking debates. As usual, many called but few chosen…
AWARD WINNERS 2011
After a two-day public listening session and discussion at the Gaîté
Lyrique (Paris), the jury awarded a prize to the following authors (listen
on Liberation LIBE-LABO,
festival partner for the past 3 years)
Pierre Schaeffer Award for Best Newcomer 2011
Sonia Ringoot (Self-production,
Belgium) for "En quête de terre" (In Search of Land) (51’)
At the turn of the 20th century, many Flemings came to Normandy to cultivate
the land. This is the unearthing of a story hidden behind the silence
of the author’s father. The jury praised the elegance of the production
with its magnificent play on suggestion and ellipsis.
Sonia Ringoot, 30 years old, studied film directing at the IAD (Institute
of Broadcasting Arts) in Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. She has made commissioned
films for several NGOs.
Phonurgia Nova Award 2011
Felix Kubin
Säugling, Duschkopf, Damenschritte (Infant,
Showerhead, Female Steps, A Library of Noises) a selfproduction, Germany,
47’),
The late 1950s saw the emergence of the first sound effect and ambiance
recordings for the soundtracks of domestic films. They were created by
amateur film makers who wanted to add “real life” to their
short films or slideshows. With this piece, the composer Felix Kubin humorously
deconstructs the ideal sound library by showing that sound always escapes
the sign which purports to embody it. A Kagel-like work according to the
jury president, Daniel Deshays, who highlighted its playful and critical
dimension. It demolishes the ideology of sound effects which still holds
sway in television and cinema. Listeners are confronted with correctly
or incorrectly labelled sounds and an increasing complexity of sound.
What happens when identification becomes shaky?
Born in Hamburg in 1969, Felix Kubin is an experimental musician.
He composes for the cinema and radio and performs throughout Europe. He’s
interested in the effects of noises and runs the record label Gagarin
Records.
The group Ars Acustica of the European Broadcasting
Union, represented by Marcus Gammel, selected two other works besides
the award-winning piece by Felix Kubin, for international distribution:
Canopy Beat (ACSR, Belgium, 28’) by
Els Viaene
If music of the spheres were terrestrial, it might be found in this piece
from the Amazon. Captured, absorbed, surprised, the primary forest reveals
its own beat. Step by step, the human penetrates it, haunted by the pulsation,
at its mercy.
Born in Brussels in 1979, Els Viaene started off in documentaries
at the RTBF. From a realist treatment of sound, she has evolved towards
more abstract environments, using the musicality and natural rhythm of
ambient and electronic sounds which she enlivens in accordance with the
collage principle. She works on performances but also Internet games and
installations. She creates naturalistic and organic imaginary environments
www.aurallandscape.net
It’s All So Dark (ORF Kunstradio, Austria,
21’) by Anna Raimondo with the participation of the artist Younes
Baba Ali.
Mass media conform to stereotypes, the expected, the already known. “It’s
all so dark!” is a different radiophonic space, a sort of sound
maze, a guide to losing yourself, a non-guide where the voice doesn’t
follow any logic and where the sounds remain indecipherable. It’s
impossible to listen to this piece while driving or cooking because it
requires two conditions: absolute darkness and a pair of very attentive
ears. To lose and maybe find yourself in the end.
Anna Raimondo was born in 1981. It was in Marseille that she opened
her ears and discovered her vocation for radio while working on the programme
“Jusqu’ici tout va bien” (So far so good), produced
by Radio Grenouille and broadcast by various radio stations. She explores
new modes of interaction in her performance, combining public space and
radio, where the listeners can be the performers.
+ information www.phonurgianova.blog.lemonde.fr
AWARD WINNERS 2009
This
year 44 authors and organisations have been selected for an award.
Thomas Köner (Germany), Christophe Korn (Germany, Hessischer Rundfunk),
Roque Rivas (Israël), Ilan Green, Andrew O'Connor (Canada), Bjorn
Erik Haugen (Norway), Yuna Amand (France), Christophe Modica (France),
Seiko Kinoshita (United Kingdome), Atelier du Bruit (France), Emilie Mousset
(France, Cie Atelier de Papier), Stephane Degoutin (France), Isabelle
de Mullenhe (France), Johannes Sistermans (Germany), Christine Von Acker
(Belgium, Les Grands Lunaires), Alessandro Bossetti (Germany, Deutschlandradio
Kultur), Vivienne Corringham (USA), Alexandre Flory (France), Jean-Guy
Coulange (France), Eric Valmir (France, France-Inter), Nadja Schöning
(Germany, SWR2), Malgorzata Zerwe (Poland, Radio Gdansk), Stephano Gianotti
(Germany, Deutschlandradio Kultur), Grace Yoon (Deutschlandradio Kultur),
Antje Vowinckel (Germany), Lasse-Marc Riek (Germany), Anna Salzberg (France,
Arte Radio), Anna Raimondo (Spain), Ossian Perez (France Culture), Daniel
Martin-Borret (France), Anouk Batard (France, Arte Radio), Xavier Fassion
(France), Olivier Toulemonde (Belgium, ACSR), Sébastien Dicenaire
(Belgium, ACSR), Hanna Hartman (Germany), Cecile Liege (France), Juliette
Boutillier (France, Shop Bag Radio), Michel Créïs (France),
Joaquin Cofreces (Argentine), Virginia Madsen (Australie, ABC), Olga Shopalova
(The Voice of Russia), Stephane Borrel (France), Marc Chalosse (France),
Aline Chambras (France).
The Jury greeted with strenght the success of two remarkable realizations :
- The
first Prize goes to "The Last Voice" from Joaquin Cofreces
(Argentina, self-production). The voice is not the simple echo of itself
but is use as a sublime shroud to a language in the agony, the Yagans
language. On listening on Liberation website
LIBE-LABO
The piece has been broadcasted by Radio France France Culture the 31th
january 2009 in l'Atelier de Création Radiophonique
- A mention was also awarded to a longuer and amazing piece "Arcoparlante" of 50' of the italian (living in Berlin) Alessandro Bosetti for the experiment in which he is engaged on the medium radio itself.
"Good evening, we are playing Stille Post (Telephone)
..." this was the opening line used by a Deutschlandradio speaker
on long and middle wave frequencies the night of march 21st.
On that night Alessandro Bosetti and the Klangkunst group of the station
set in place a radio-art version of the popular game creating a gigantic
sound poetry generator on the frequencies (and internet streaming ) of
the radio station.
During the event partly incomprehensible radio messages has been transmitted
and transcribed several times until they transformed into abstract, musical,
mysterious and sometimes surprisingly funny materials. This process
happened with the active participation of listeners all over the world.
Arcoparlante, is a "speaking ark". An electromagnetic
feast of misunderstandings on a large scale for a sound artist always
concerned with language oddities, mis-communication and translations used
as creative tools.
Arcoparlante can be listened on the artist website www.melgun.net
2 residencies have been given to Stephane Borrel and Marc Chalosse. They will have the opportunity to developp new sound projects in 2010 in our 2 studios partners INA-GRM (Paris) and GMVL (Lyon).
We warmely thank the 179 candidates for their attending !
AWARD WINNERS 2008
"Involving the public in critical analysis is a great experience, which opens up and gives us the desire to propose such meetings more often" says Michele Moutashar, director and chief curator of the Museum of Fine Arts of Arles. "
"The defense of our ears pleasure was beautifully shared. A fine vintage is out in 2008." president Daniel Deshays.
Andreas BICK (Germany),
win the first radio and sound art prize with Fire Pattern - Frost Pattern. Produced by Deutschlandradio Kultur 2007 (2 x 26 min.) (Endowment: 3 000 euros awarded by the SACD)
Andreas Bick’s work distinguishes itself by the remarkable sound recording quality. Coming within reach of the phenomenon’s he wants to evoke (sublimation of water, fire, frost, the crackling of ice), he derives from it a powerful acoustic substance. These two works place the listener in the position of a serene observer mesmerized by all these natural processes.
Bernadette JOHNSON (Switzerland),
win the second radio and sound art prize with Summer Fragments (5 min.) (Endowment: 1 500 euros, awarded by the SACEM)
Bernadette Johnson has had multiple nominations at the Phonurgia Nova Competition but this is the first time she wins a prize. Her work is characterized by an exploration -and a successful articulation- of interiority. The sophisticated and bold editing work, the choice of sounds and their treatment, enable the author to flesh out an echo-form, a magnificent metaphor of the memory, an instable assembly of recollections.
No prize awarded in the “New media/ interdisciplinary media” category, but the jury was unanimous in awarding 2 distinctions:
Christoph KORN and Lasse-Marc RIEK (Germany) for their album of chosen silences...
This small book is a conceptual proposal, pointing pages after pages, towards a location, an event, enabling the reader to reflect and imagine the sounds “that are taking place”. The silence as a void, as a manifestation, as a pointer to a disappearance, as an “apparition”.
Laura MALACART (UK/Italy), for her film, Voicings.
By asking English-speaking actors to read immigrants testimonies about their language learning process, Voicings manages to generate a whole array of interpretations in a very short time span and with very simple means. This illustration from which the scar (the limited command of the language) has been expunged is an invitation to tolerance and compassion.3 residencies have been given to Erick Bullot, Allessandro Bosetti and Nicole Marmet. The 3 authors will have the opportunity to developp new sound projects in 2009 in our 3 studios partners INA-GRM (Paris), IMEB (Bourges) and GMVL (Lyon).
We warmely thank the 289 candidates for their attending !
FOLLOWINGS OF THE FESTIVAL OF LISTENING IN 2009
The two winners have been invited by RADIO CAMPUS PARIS during 2 nights of free broadcasting. You can discover their program on the website of our radio partner http://www.radiocampusparis.orgAs last year's, the Week of Sound is presenting the winners Phonurgia Nova at IRCAM - Paris - in january.
