Unlocking the Groove

This 1 1/2 hour long PowerPoint presentation traces the history of sculpture's relationship to the vinyl record while simultaneously presenting turntablism's most physical experiements. Accessable, thorough, and a delight for the eyes and the ears. Includes work by Nam Jun Paik, Janek Scheafer, Otomo Yoshihide, Laurie Anderson, Piotr Nathan, and many more. Workshop includes a screening of a 10 minute video made by Carrie Gates about the work of installation, audio, and performance artist, Christian Marclay. This workshop was well-received at the WKP Kennedy's Phantom Power festival in North Bay, ON, 2004. [photos]

Contact Microphone Construction

Using doorbell buzzers and sautering irons, this fun workshop teaches participants how to build a microphone that picks up resonant vibrations, revealing surprising sounds that reside within everyday objects. This 3-hour workshop can be extended to a day-long workshop with a presentation about the history of contact microphones in electroacoustic music. Suitable for just about everyone, regardless of their experience, as all of the materials are provided and the technical assistance is plentiful. After making the microphones, a small concert of the participants' explorations, using found-on-site objects, on-site field recordings, and the new microphones rounds out the experience while exploring some of the concepts of improvised music. Previously presented at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, SK, and Common Weal Community Arts in Regina, SK.

The echo of the vinyl record, between the sound and the visual, between the past and the present

Cette lecture interroge les pratiques d'artistes visuels et sonores de la modernité et des dernières décennies qui utilisent le disque vinyle et le tourne-disque en tant que médium de création et lieu de mémoire. Il s'agit par le fait même de réunir les recherches visuelles et sonores, et d'étudier les relations d'échanges qui se tissent entre eux: relations reliant l'écoute et le regard, le sonore et le visible. Le disque, l'objet en série, est considéré comme matériau plastique et lieu d'interventions et de manipulations propice aux pratiques suivantes: sculpture, assemblage, collage, installation, etc. Il est aussi question de ratisser le contexte qui a favorisé l'éclosion et le développement de l'art phonographique. Cette communication repose sur l'interaction et la coexistence des champs de l'histoire, de la philosophie et de théories de nouveaux médias.

The Turntablist Tutorial

<<machine>> and Dragon's book and turntablist tutoial class.

info coming soon!

Concerts of experimental turntablism, contact microphone improvisation, field recordings, and other performative audio explorations can be booked for festivals, conferences, raves, sound events, weddings, happenings, bar mitzvahs, gallery openings, ribbon cuttings, film screenings, seances, and activist events.

Booty shaking beats and breaks also available - please inquire...

Gallery presentations of recent works by Carrie Gates, Marinko Jareb, and Esther Bourdages can be formed from recent works of each artist, as well as selections from the gallery section of our website.

Gates, Jareb, and Bourdages also make other works of art that may be suitable for your space. Please inquire with each artist individually through our contact page.