Martin A. Smith and Tim Hooper have been
sporadically collaborating since 1982. Sometimes years have passed without them
working together until an idea or suggestion has presented itself and the only
way forward has been to work together. Involvement in a wide variety of outside
projects has kept the duo's work fresh and inspiring.
They share common beliefs in the pursuit of
beauty and evocation through the creative misuse of technology. Instruments
rarely sound like themselves and are blended with samples, found sounds and
taped effects.
More importantly, their live sound responds
directly to the venue and thus they prefer to play in settings that inspire both
players and listeners.
DISORGANISED SOUND
Music is sound that has been organised into patterns we recognize.
Written music is an interpretable map.
Improvisation can be as sterile as chamber music.
Ideas must be planned and mapped; a course should be set.
Then let the stars guide you.
ATONALITY
Atonality is the sum of bad mathematics.
Sometimes the sums are meant to be wrong.
Life feels better when the equation balances.
Is silence sound?
Playing a note there instead of there can ruin the whole thing.
BEAUTY AND EVOCATION
Being ugly is easy; Beauty takes effort.
Any space can be transformed by sound; the sound manipulates the space.
If the music doesn't move you, it hasn't worked.
A universe can be created in a room.
BEATING SWORDS INTO
PLOUGHSHARES
Can we continue with post-post-post-post rock?
What lies between the building blocks (the rocks) and what do these gaps sound
like?
Can guitars be beaten into the service of sound before rock?
Ely Cathedral
19 Jan 2009, 13:00
Lady Chapel
Ely
CB7 4DL
UK
Free
One of the key objectives for Map 165 is to play in
spaces which will inspire their planned improvisational approach to music. The
vast stone interior of the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral is arguably the perfect
place for them to perform; a vast hall of light and pale stonework with a span
of forty six feet, the Lady Chapel is the largest of any English cathedral.
The building is one of the greatest achievements of English architecture and the
space is famed for its seven second reverberation, something that Map 165 intend
to put to good use.
A building such as this is redolent in history and atmosphere, something that
will feed directly into Map 165’s performance.
DIRECTIONS IN WHICH READING MAP 165 MIGHT TAKE US
Marking the air that surrounds the sound we are making
Accepting that many roads leads to synaesthesia
Understanding the significance of SP 921 012
Recognizing that your lover’s face has contours
151 152 153 164 166 174 175 176
Accepting that there is no evidence of right of way
There are places for the giving and receiving of sound
A map is the understanding of a place’s history
