Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
In the ABC Workshop, we just met Marco who’s, among other things, a soundcloudminiature workshop leader.
He conducts these workshops in the Soundlab, which is where we are at the moment—in the sound booth, to be precise.
Now, I’m going to turn things over the Chris, who’ll explain to us what exactly this is all about.
The idea behind this Klangwolke project is to empower people—even those without much musical background—
to produce types of soundscapes and to get into the rhythmic beat of city life.
As part of this, we’ve also put up a few videos on our website to show how to process a sound you find and record, and how to create a miniature out of it.
And all of these will come together at the Klangwolke in a way that people really will be actively involved.
Individuals record soundcloudminiatures, Marco takes some of them and, in doing so, makes these people artists, even if they aren’t even aware of it themselves.
We’re not in the main Soundlab right now. The Soundlab is actually much bigger.
Here, you can record vocals or musical instruments.
Right next door is the rest of the sound studio, where you can use all the equipment that you would find in a real professional sound studio.
And Marco will go into details and explain how you can make computer music, how to use the computer to process sounds, how to do sampling, etc.
But even if you’re not signed up for a workshop, you can still just drop by and play around. And Marco will go into details and explain how you can make computer music, how to use the computer to process sounds, how to do sampling, etc.
But even if you’re not signed up for a workshop, you can still just drop by and play around.
hat’s important for us … we have our own Soundcloud account,
and anybody can upload their stuff to it, individual sounds or whole tracks as long as they’re less than a minute long.
And then we’ll take this material and mix it—before, afterwards, whatever.
But, in any case, the more the merrier! And this is how we’ll put together a whole soundcloud, basically out of everything that’s processed here in the workshops, by people working at home, on their iPhones, iPads, etc.
Is this a basic precondition for a soundcloudminiature—that they’re natural sounds and not electronically produced?
No, not at all! Maybe it’s easier to just go outside and record natural sounds, but professional musicians are welcome to participate too. It’s simple to just use your iPhone to record a sound somewhere and upload it right on the spot.
I mean, when you just come across something that sounds really cool, maybe, like, something squeaking in a funny way
these are all sounds that can be worked into the cloud and make a small contribution to the big effort. We want people to get involved whether they know what they’re doing or not.
Do you have any advice for folks who would like to create a soundcloudminiature on their own and maybe don’t have the time to attend a workshop?
By all means don’t consent to doing an interview in a recording booth, it’s too hot!
Basically, just use your iPhone or iPad and record sounds that you discover in your surroundings.
The city is full of noise, and the possibilities are virtually endless.
So, at Soundcloud.com, which is one of the Soundlab’s partners, there are quite a few applications for a lot of different devices.
You can do everything there—recording, editing, making your work available to listeners. It’s a one-stop shop.
And you can also download music from Soundclaud.com.
And as far as the backgrounds and effects are concerned, we can see that outside, ‘cause it’s starting to get a little cramped in here, wouldn’t you say.
I’m sitting here with Michi again. Michi, you’re also a musician, isn’t that right?
Yes indeed!
And you also create a lot of electronic music.
That too.
Producers of electronic music also use pieces of music created by others. Do you do that too?
Yes!
And how do you deal with the copyright?
Basically, when you sample a piece of music—which basically means stealing from it—you’re legally entitled to use a short segment of the number
say, a few seconds or so. So if you just use a short cut and make a loop out of it, it’s absolutely no problem.
And that could be, for instance, a song by Madonna or somebody?
It could be by Madonna or Justin Bieber—an artist I sample frequently, as a matter of fact.
What about if you need to use more from one piece of music? What are the options?
Artists who are nice and cool make their tracks available and you can do anything you want with them.
Nine Inch Nails, for instance, have done that several times. They’ve made whole albums available and said: “Hey, remix it if you want or make something totally new out of it.
As long as you make it clear that the original material is ours, you can do what you want with it. You can even use it commercially.” All of this runs under a Creative Commons license,
of which there are several levels, ranging from “Take it and do what you want with it, sell it, whatever; as long as you mention my name, I’m satisfied” all the way to
“You can use it, but only in a certain context; as long as I get attribution, I’m cool with it.”
This is what you might call the modern version of copyright, which also better reflects the circumstances and facts of life on the internet and in the creative industries than copyright law does at the moment.
Marco?
Yes?
Because you’re a teacher, I’d like to ask you a question, teacher to teacher. What didactic concept do you employ in your workshops?
I can tell you that the most important thing is that people have fun and somehow discover within themselves what they’re capable of
and maybe, in this way, discover a new direction. And somehow absorb something or simply do some experimentation, get the creative juices flowing … get busy tinkering, try something new.
Haven’t you forgotten to mention something?
Everyone can take part.
Of course, anyone can do this. It goes without saying that everyone is invited to join in.
Would you care to go out and record something with us?
Yeah, if you behave yourself, definitely!
We’re always well-behaved.
So Michi, where are we here?
We’re here in the Kirchengassenpassage, which means the AEC is directly above us. And the reason why we’re here is that this passage is being completely revamped this weekend.
Everything here is getting thrown out and is being replaced by display cases for are Klangwolke ABC.
This is where the letters will go on display and the sound system will play the soundcloudminiatures. So, this will be a showcase for our Klangwolke.
So, Marco promised us and now we’re here. Marco, what do we do now?
Yeah, this is a space that produces a strong reverberation. When you clap your hands or stamp your feet, it really echoes. Once we even recorded lighting a cigarette lighter in an underground space like this.
This produces really cool sounds, and you can put them together, and there you have it: a new soundcloudminiature.
So, let’s do it!
So, beginning on June 24, the AEC will begin offering the sound workshops Marco mentioned. Anybody can come and produce Klangwolke miniatures.
And we’ll be putting together the material we just recorded. Next time, we’ll be at OTELLO in Vöcklabruck, where they’re also offering ABC Workshops at the moment. See ya soon!