timlin [pøtɛ:tr]
new CD
release 2011
About the record
[pøtɛ:tr] is the newest CD of
Finnish-German sound artist, improviser and composer Marko Timlin. All 6 tracks
on this album are solo improvisations created exclusively with the
SENSOR-SOUND-MACHINE (SSM). The SSM is a self-made digital musical instrument
based on ultrasonic sensors, solar panels and microprocessors. It allows for a
delicate and immediate interplay between light, digital sounds and the human
body. The SSM´s sonic outcome is generated by
non-linear feedback loops that often react in chaotic ways to the performer’s
actions. Timlin has deepened the
relationship with his instrument during numerous concerts all over
About the limited edition
[pøtɛ:tr] is a limited CD edition of 53 unique originals. All CD-Covers are
designed and handmade by Montreal-based artist Yen-Chao.
timlin explains the strict limitation of this edition
as follows: "When I thought about
the design of this CD, I realized how much we are nowadays used to
´machine-made´ and therefore ´perfectly identical´ objects. It has been a
surprisingly new and extremely sensual experience for me to create a series of
handmade, handwritten and, as a consequence, also ´non-perfect´ and
´non-identical´ originals. None of these CDs could be re-produced identically.
Each cover is unique and each audio-CD has
a characteristic sonic signature that distinguishes it from all the other CDs
of the edition."
Price per copy: 35
Euros plus shipping
Order by sending an
e-mail to: post@timlin.de, please mention
the number of the copy you want.
Artist statement - [pøtɛ:tr]
Consider the vision of a man-machine:
the harmonic interplay between the world of the organic and the world of the machine, giving rise through this
synthesis to something new that has been made with the technology of our time,
of our generation, which would not
have been feasible previously without this technology. How can the
collaboration between two such
different realities be accomplished? The world of the computer is a static
world, in which nothing happens
without orders chiselled into binary code. It is a formalized world - a world
of perfection - in which there is no ambivalence;
there is only “1” or “0”, “yes”
or “no”, “open” or “closed”, “right” or “wrong”. On the other hand the physical world we live in - a world of imperfections - is always in a state of
flux, full of intricacies, never constant, ever flowing, a world that spins at an incredible speed through space
regardless of our actions. The artist says: “We have to discover the
world between the ones and zeros and to learn to move within it.” This interplay
between the organic and digital
worlds is something new, and in the field of music, it requires a totally new approach. If we try to use new
technologies in an old way we will fail. What we need here is some free thinking. We have to free ourselves
from the past in order to see digital technology for what it actually is, that is to say, a totally new possibility
upon which we should not impose the past.
Consequently this new technology has to be used in a new way.
Such an approach will not only improve
the results of our work, but also make the actual working processes more pleasant, more sensuous. If not, there
is the danger that the work that arises during a dreary and formalized working process will be dreary and formalized
itself. Working artistically with a
computer is a difficult task, because it can happen too easily that one gets
distracted by technology and forgets
that music is not programming, coding, or a new interface. Music is that which
reaches our ears, bones, and bodies.
The SENSOR-SOUND-MACHINE
During
the past 5 ½ years Marko Timlin has developed a new digital musical instrument
called the SENSOR-SOUND-MACHINE (SSM). The SSM connects the physical world with
the digital world. A combination of ultra-sonic sensors, solar panels and microcontrollers
receives information from the physical world and transmits this data to a
computer where it is used to generate and control digital audio feedbacks. The
instrument’s sensor-based interface communicates in real-time with its
synthesis engine via an Arduino microprocessor.
The
SSM is played in the dark using flashlights, blinking lights and body motion.
The solar panels react to the received light intensity and the ultra-sonic
sensors react to body motion. As the SSM is a real-time instrument, there is
always an immediate connection between the performer’s actions and the
instrument’s sonic outcome. Although the sounds are generated in a laptop
computer, the laptop is invisible and is never touched during performances. The
sounds of the SSM are created, manipulated and shaped by the performer’s
physical interaction with the interface. Currently the instrument is played
using four flashlights, four self-made LED blinking lights and the body of the
performer on stage. During performances with the SSM otherworldly soundscapes
arise based on the interplay between light and shadow, sound and silence, body
motion and immobility.
The
SSM does not imitate the sound of existing acoustic or electronic instruments,
but rather tries to sound as digital as possible. Its
sound generation happens in Max/MSP and is based entirely on digital audio
feedback. The synthesis engine of the SSM is inspired by nature’s diversity and
everlasting state of motion and by a thorough study of chaos theory. Chaos
theory helped me to create a non-linear sound generation engine where tiny
differences in input could quickly become vast differences in output. Subtle
interactions with this instrument can create flickering or vivid sonic
landscapes.
A brief history of the SSM
Between
2009 and 2011, Marko Timlin played 19 solo concerts and three group
improvisations exclusively with the SSM. Those concerts took place in
galleries, artist lofts, festivals, cultural centres and underground venues in
7 different countries.
2009
15.03.2009 Solo concert at
20.03.2009
Solo
concert at Lab Synthèse,
21.03.2009 Solo concert at Le Cagibi,
30.08.2009 Solo concert at EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art,
Finland
2010
03.04.2010
Solo
concert at Somewhere
There,
09.04.2010
Solo
concert at L'Envers,
10.04.2010 Solo
concert at Albany
Sonic Arts Collective, Albany, N.Y., USA
13.04.2010 Solo concert at Whitebox Gallery,
New York City, USA
16.04.2010 Solo concert at Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center,
Washington D.C., USA
18.05.2010 Solo concert, trio improvisation with Tomomi Adachi &
Philip White at
Diapason Gallery, New York City, USA
19.05.2010 Marko Timlin, Lori Freedman, Joane Hétu & Michel F Coté at Casa Obscura,
25.05.2010 Solo concert at Les Rencontres
de Musiques Spontanées,
20.06.2010 Solo concert at Mal au Pixel 5
Festival,
22.10.2010 Solo headphone concert at Cartes Flux 2010,
25.11.2010 Solo concert at
2011
03.03.2011 Solo concert at Logos Foundation,
Gent, Belgium
04.03.2011 Solo concert at ARM,
Maastricht, The Netherlands
10.03.2011 Solo concert at Live Hering 11-Festival,
Jväskylä, Finland
19.03.2011 Solo concert at Tytyri Mine Museum,
Lohja, Finland
17.04.2011 Petri Kuljuntausta & Marko
Timlin, solo & duo improvisations at HÖRkunst
Festival,
A concert 100 meters underground
The
record release party of [pøtɛ:tr] took place on March 19th
2011, 100 meters underground in the Tytyri Mine Museum
in Lohja, Finland. The concert happened surrounded by total darkness and in
complete silence except for the delicate sound of dripping water.
Photos by Vesa Vehviläinen
on