CLAUDE SCHRYER
ELECTROACOUSTIC ECOLOGY IN CANADA:
BICYCLE ORCHESTRAS & RADIO PIRATES
Three installation/performances from
"7e Printemps électroacoustique" (June, 1992)




The prolog to ZEITGLEICH states : "no matter what the spatial or temporal point of their origin may be - they become zeitgleich... it refers to the practical problems of several sound installations taking place in one space and to the simultaneity of the reception by listeners/viewers of broadcast works."

I was very excited upon hearing about the theme of this conference, sound-installation and media-composition in the digital age, as I find the combination of site-specific installations and electroacoustics a particularly provocative, expressive and challenging medium, and it is timely that we discuss the implications of sound in media installations.

I accepted Heidi Grundmann's invitation to participate in ZEIT-GLEICH not as a theorist in this field, but rather based on my experience as a sound artist and producer of works which attempt to explore issues in and pose ques-tions about the combination of installation art, electro-acoustics and acoustic ecology.

I am a composer by training, but have trouble accepting the concert hall as a performance space for the sound art which I create, and the sound art to which I listen. Since 1985, I have been exploring alternative sites, styles, attitudes and methods of composition. In particular, I have been interested in sound- based media installations, which combine two of my favourite themes: the environment and electronic media.

I believe in Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer's notion of acoustic ecology, which he defines as "the study of the relationships of sounds with life and society". I also believe in the vision of another important Canadian philosopher and cultural theoretician, Marshall McLuhan, and his proposal for the harmonisation of electronic technology with contemporary society. I consider myself a child of both Schafer's acoustic ecology and McLuhan's global village and thus perhaps typically Canadian, as geography, linguistic duality and a culture of telecommunications define my inner map.

In 1989, in response to the growing world ecological crisis, I became involved in the environmental movement, at both political and artistic levels. A musician by training, it seemed most natural for me to become concerned about the sonic quality of our environment. I began by following in the tracks of composers R. Murray Schafer, Hildegard Westerkamp and Barry Truax, among others, of the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, whose objective was to "bring together research on the scientific, sociological and aesthetic aspects of the acoustic environment" and have since begun to articulate my own ideas on the soundscape and the role of the artist within it.

This brief summary of my creative projects and collaborations will give you an idea of my journey so far. From 1990 to 1992, I realised Marche sonore I - le matin du monde (Soundwalk I - The Morning of the World), a French language radio work, which I realised in collaboration with radio producer Hélène Prévost, in which I ask the question "What is acoustic ecology for you?" and "Can you describe what you are presently hearing?". For over a year, I criss-crossed Eur-ope and North America listening to and recording hundreds of people in living soundscapes and made a poetic collage with them. Composing "Marche sonore" helped me understand the notion of acoustic ecology from the perspective of the listener and how to use recording technology to better hear my immediate environment. From 1991 to 1993, I realised another radio work, this time in English, called Revisiting the World Soundscape Project, in which I explored the history and impact of the research realised in the early 1970's by the World Soundscape Project. This project allowed me to interview the original members of the WSP (Bruce Davis, Peter Huse, Hildegard Westerkamp, Barry Truax and R. Murray Schafer) on how they viewed their work twentyfive years later. In 1992, I directed the "7e Printemps électroacoustique", a festival of electroacoustic music on the theme of acoustic ecology in Montréal. The "7e Printemps" presented experimental radio works, installations, outdoor performances, invented instruments, workshops and conferences. This festival became the pillar of my exploration of the relationship between electroacoustics and ecology, and is the subject of this presentation. Later, in 1993, I composed an acousmatic tape work called Les voix de l'écologie, which is literally based on the book "The Tuning of the World" by R. Murray Schafer. In this work I attempted to bring the ideas of the book to life in music. In 1993, I also participated in the founding of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), an international association of acoustic ecology activists, which was created at the first international conference on acoustic ecology at the Banff Centre for the Arts in August, 1993.

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Industrialisation and new technologies have transformed the sound environment; new sonorities have appeared, have transformed our concept of hearing, and have modified aesthetic criteria in a decisive fashion. How does the concept of acoustic ecology harmonise with the practice of music and electroacoustics?

The notion of ecology has emerged recently in the domain of electroacoustics. A large number of artists from diverse disciplines explore and employ the soundscape in their work and show their sensitivity to this theme. Their interesting and timely reflections on problems related to compositional work expand the debate and nourish discussions on the quality and organisation of the soundscape in urban and natural environments. The specificity of their work consists in applying an attentive and analytical ear to sound phenomena and in the categorical organisation of diverse sounds to artistically expressive ends. Most of these artists consider their social engagement as a role that contributes to the balance and quality of sound forms in society.

I am interested in the role that the media artist can play in the ecological sphere, and inversely, the role that the ecological artist can play in the media sphere.

Canadian scientist Ursula Franklin speaks of the phenomenon of "cultural conformity" in which "the technology of an activity defines the activity itself and in so doing, excludes the emergence of alternatives". Are we choking under the pressure of electronic technology, incapable of controlling or directing it?

These are the questions I ask of my myself when I compose or produce a work on the theme of acoustic ecology. How does the work relate to our perception of the environment and how does the work help us to position ourselves in relation to the environment?

Quebecois ecologist Pierre Dansereau speaks of "a future which is unimaginable and which resembles nothing which has happened in history of humanity until now".

I believe the artist can become a conduit of collective memory and help us better understand our acoustic environment, which we rarely actually hear. Thus, in a situation of decontextualisation and transformation, the artist can propose new associations, acoustic games, poetic metaphors and pose fundamental questions on the nature of the coexistence of electronic technology and ecology.

In 1990, the Association pour la création et la recherche en électroacoustiques du Québec (ACREQ) asked me to organise a festival on the theme of the environment. I accepted their invitation to organise the "7e Printemps électroacoustique" on the condition that the event be held on the theme of acoustic ecology (the study of living sound) as opposed to the environment (our immediate surroundings). The festival was held in June, 1992, during the 350th anniversary of the founding of the city of Montreal by Europeans. The objectives of this event were to "sharpen the sense of listening of Montrealers", to "make them sensitive to the diversity of the soundscape in which they live each day" and to "create an event that takes place outside of traditional concert hall and that integrates itself with public spaces".

In this presentation, I will focus upon three projects produced at the "7e Printemps électroacoustique". All of these works combine sound-installation and media-composition in innovative and original ways and are in keeping with the theme and tone of the ZEITGLEICH Symposium. I hope they can serve as a model for future exploration in this field.



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