Vitamin-S was devised as a place where those interested in 'improvised music' could meet, perform, listen to and discuss, and generally interact with, all aspects of this complex and largely misunderstood art form. As improvisation is the most widely practised of genres, it may be necessary to define two main forms:
The Audio Foundation, founded in April 2004, is a Charitable Trust for the support of innovative and experimental audio culture in NZ.
The presentation of this includes performances, CD releases, radio transmissions, field recordings, installations, site-specific public work and work in conjunction with new media.
In recognition of the pioneering experimental works continually being produced by artists for the internet Soundtoys.net has been established to provide a space for the exhibition of exciting new works by a growing community of audio visual artists, while also providing a forum for discourse around new technologies and the nature of soundtoys. The site is intended to provide a meeting point for this growing community of artists and users, and in addition to the exhibition of audio visual projects, the site contains areas for artists interviews, links to resources, and texts by contributing writers where serious issues around interactive arts, audio visual syhthesis, generative art, and a history of interactivity are discussed. Hopefully it is a fun and entertaining site to visit , while also providing valuable information for all parties.
Alt.music is an ongoing series of events, regularly bringing a vital injection of contemporary sound art from around the world to Auckland. Peter Rehberg's performance is the first of these shows, which will take place several times a year. Founded by Auckland gallery Artspace, Alt.music began as an international festival of experimental music and sound art in 2001, followed by successive festivals in 2002 and 2004. Previous Alt.Music artists include Pan Sonic, Tetuzi Akiyama, Jon Rose, Voice Crack, Sachiko M, Francisco Lopez, Pierre Bastien, Oren Ambarchi, Alan Licht Richard Nunns and the Dead C. Read more or visit http://www.artspace.org.nz for more details
I've finally gone through the bag I brought back from electrofringe / this is not art 2005. haven't had time to write it up, so I'm trying a mind map from sourceforge's freemind instead.
have you ever wanted to build your own being? free it from pain, regret, niggling doubt? well now you can... in a new multimedia experiment conducted over four large screens, synarcade audio-visuals will allow a select group of people to construct their own version of a responsible moral citizen
a group exhibition incorporating soft sculpture and design by emerging australian and international artists. the works are inspired by the aesthetics of plush toys and their relationship to human behaviour, investigating social norms and a darker side of 'cuteness'
OneSixty Characters – An exhibition exploring children’s nursery rhymes/songs, games and storytelling from around the globe OneSixty Characters began by sending out a call worldwide requesting people to text message, via their mobile phones, a line or a fragment from a nursery rhyme or childhood song that was associated with a game
Finding my old bookmark files has made me nostalgic for the early computing days when everything was new and exciting and full of possibilities. One of my favourite magazines back in the early 90s was Mondo 2000. It was hard to get - only a few places in Brisbane stocked it, actually only two that I recall and even then it was occasional. By the time I got round to subscribing to the magazine it had finished being published and I lost my subscription renewal to the cause so to speak. At the time, it was cutting edge and the full gloss images and interviews with leading thinkers made it a great read. R.U. Sirius who was the editor of the mag has a podcast these days and can be found around mondoglobo.net. Here's a collection of links to mondo 2000 stuff:
I've scored a cool gig this coming weekend (10th & 11th Dec 2005), playing percussion for Rhian Sheehan & Module @ Peats Ridge Festival in Glenworth Vally NSW
Trans-Acoustic is a three day Festival where the centuries-old desire to fuse sensory impressions together is being given an experimental platform. Image generated to sound is now common practise, however TransAcoustic Festival will be examining the unique interface that results from the transformation of image or optical information into sound. Seeking to underline the acoustic perspective in a predominately visual culture, the Festival offers an inspiring synaesthetic experience to the public with seminars, performances and screenings on the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th December 2005 at The Kenneth Myers Centre and the Odeon Lounge. contact info@transacoustic.org.nz for information or visit the website @ http://www.transacoustic.org.nz
The 2005 Auckland Hip Hop Summit was held 7-8th October at Auckland's Town Hall and Aotea Square. I caught a bit of the grafitti wall being painted on Saturday afternoon, and some of the "Disrupt the Floor" breakdancing heats. The finals and MC gigs were held Saturday night but unfortunately I couldn't attend. Congratulations to the Blackout crew for winning the competition - I heard it was a great battle between Step Kingz and Blackout. Check out some of the videos of the heats via the links below - be warned, some of the files are quite large!
Save the links and open in Real Player (Windows) to stream the videos instead of downloading. I'm trying out different file formats - some are are divX AVI and the others are DivX6. Any comments welcome on which format work best on your system..
Trans-Acoustic is a three day Festival where the centuries-old desire to fuse sensory impressions together is being given an experimental platform. Image generated to sound is now common practise, however TransAcoustic Festival will be examining the unique interface that results from the transformation of image or optical information into sound. Seeking to underline the acoustic perspective in a predominately visual culture, the Festival offers an inspiring synaesthetic experience to the public with seminars, performances and screenings on the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th December 2005 at The Kenneth Myers Centre and the Odeon Lounge. contact 
