Robert Curgenven - Oltre

The "Transparence" dubplate, developed at O ' in Milan, Italy, works within the physical limitations of the vinyl medium, employing the object as sound source and also sound medium, to become an instrument in its own right. Using the non-linear acoustics of the gallery at O’, the dubplate was recorded, and later cut to disc in Berlin, at very low volume. This ephemeral audio signal becomes present during playback only at high volume, which subsequently produces, by design, a unique physical response from the room, air and amplification - creating deep undertones and blossoming overtones via these manifold resonances; simultaneously, the action of the stylus gently abraids the soft vinyl surface, causing the dubplate’s sound to gradually disappear and evolve, successively losing higher frequencies whilst acquiring new artefacts and crackle. OLTRE documents this degradation and transformation over two months of live performances. The integrated system of subsonic feedback from ventilators, acoustically gated binaural microphones, modal micro-variations in guitar feedback, field-recordings from across remote areas of Australia and the live, physical interplay of the turntable, dubplate and stylus, combine to create a field which moves beyond the original recordings and their individual spaces.

1 - Aria 1, 18th movement
recorded live at Ionian University, Corfu, Greece, 6 May 2009

2 - Aria 1 & 2, 12th movement
recorded live at Klub Kamieniolomy, Warszawa, Poland, 20 March 2009

3 - Aria 1
13th movement, recorded live at NRD, Torun, Poland, 25 March 2009

4 - Aria 2
13th movement, recorded live at NRD, Torun, Poland, 25 March 2009,
additional guitar recorded by Jörg Maria Zeger, Berlin, Germany, 11 September 2001

5 - Aria 1
17th movement, recorded live at Codalunga, Vittoria Veneto, Italy, 26 April 2009

Working with harmonics and textures as articulated not only through instruments/objects, in space and place, but also in time and the dislocation of the remote, Robert Curgenven’s sound explores shifting layers in the fabric of fields of perception, creating vast landscapes from carefully detailed recordings through to immersive resonances via deft manipulations of sound pressure. Employing only analogue means, in a variety of contexts from pure field recordings to feedback and instrumental harmonics to shape relations through sound, his work interweaves the unfolding of complex beauty and the quiet brutality of nature in all of its forms, described by one audience member as "like a punch in the face while elsewhere flowers bloomed."

From 1999 he lived in Australia's Northern Territory, where for much of the ensuing nine years he worked in small towns and remote locations in health, radio and the arts. He relocated to Europe at the beginning of 2008.

Since returning to performing live in 2004 he has played at over 150 events throughout Australia and Europe, including Club Transmediale (Berlin), Feste dell Acqua (Vicenza), Mikro_Makro Festival (Poland), ZXZW (Netherlands) Gallery for Contemporary Art (Leipzig), C/O Pop (Koln), Alice Springs Desert Festival, Darwin Festival, Electrofringe (Newcastle), Tura New Music Festival (Perth). He has collaborated with many Australian and international artists including Joerg Maria Zeger (guitar), Katrin Bethge (overhead projections), Andrea Belfi (Hapna), Attila Faravelli (Die Schachtel), z’ev (Ideal), Jason Kahn (Sirr), Sumugan Sivanesan (Cronica), KK Null (Touch) and leading Indigenous Australian artists. He has also exhibited group and solo work in Germany, Italy, Poland, France, United States and Australia.

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