2010

13 November 2010, Tuning Architecture, 8:00PM
The Grey Area Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, USA

» more information

entry on GAFFTA website

20 October 2010, Lausanne Underground Film Festival (LUFF)
Lausanne, Switzerland

» more information

LUFF website

18 October 2010, Interface #13, 6:30PM
DATA, Marseille, France

17 October 2010, Sonic, 9:00PM
Lyon, France

25 September 2010, O SLEEP, 7:30PM
Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco CA, USA

7 February 2010, Terminal
Oakland CA, USA

» more information

Terminal blog

» photographs

flyer (opens in new window)

2009

14 October 2009, Lausanne Underground Film Festival (LUFF)
Lausanne, Switzerland

» more information

LUFF website

» video

9 May 2009, ATA Gallery “Other Cinema”
San Francisco CA, USA

» more information

Other Cinema website

25 April 2009, Green Arcade (with Andrei Codrescu)
San Francisco CA, USA

» more information

Green Arcade website | about Andrei Codrescu

2008

6 September 2008, Orbis Nex
Oakland CA, USA

» more information

entry about Orbis Nex at Vial Magazine

» photographs

flyer (opens in new window)

26 July 2008, Nonsequitur
Good Shepherd Chapel, Seattle WA, USA

» more information

entry at Nonsequitur

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

6 July 2008, Cave12 / Ecuries
Geneva, Switzerland

» video

clip at YouTube (opens in new window)

5 July 2008, Oblò
Lausanne, Switzerland

» photographs

Flyer:

2007

3 November 2007, Art SF
San Francisco CA, USA

» more information

entry at gODWAFFLENOISEPANCAKES on Myspace

13 October 2007, Athens Biennial
“417” Club, Athens, Greece

» more information

entry at Athens Biennial

31 March 2007, 7hz (for Christine Metropoulos)
San Francisco CA, USA

» video

clip at YouTube (opens in new window)

2006

7 October 2006, Sonic Circuits DC 2006, Warehouse Next Door (Black Box Theatre)
Washington DC, USA

» more information

entry at Sonic Circuits

13 July 2006, Empty Bottle
Chicago IL, USA

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

17 June 2006, KFJC 89.7 FM Radio (http://www.kfjc.org/)
15:00 to 18:00 pm PST

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

11 May 2006, sons-espaces, agnes b. skyline
Paris, France

» video

10 May 2006, Blockhaus DY10
Nantes, France

» description

Blockhaus DY10 is a very unusual structure, built by the German Army during WWII as a kind of bomb-resistant bunker. The untreated thick concrete walls and labyrinthine interior shapes create an exceptional reverberant environment, especially emphasizing low frequencies. The performance took advantage of the specific room frequency response, and included a live accelerometer feed from one of the metal fixtures embedded in the bunker door to the road outside.

» program notes

"Auscultation concrète. En incrustant dans l'architecture de la salle de concert des accéléromètres, il proposera une composition musicale basée sur la captation des vibrations émises par la circulation et les mouvements interieur et exterieur au venue..."
Will Guthrie and Julien Ottavi, 2006

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

» video

6 May 2006, Observatori 2006
Valencia, Spain

» description

Observatori 2006 took place at the Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias, a building designed by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava. The architectural design, using complex shapes and column structures, along with the activities ongoing in the science museum, was documented in the days leading up to the performance by collecting vibration information from various concrete and mechanical sources. These recordings were used to compose a performance specifically suited to the environment, and they were supplemented by live vibration feeds from the ductwork and glass surfaces.

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

15 April 2006, ArtSF
San Francisco CA, USA

» description

ArtSF is located in a wooden building on an upper level floor. The floor is quite "soft" structurally, providing an ideal environment for use with a shaker system. The shaker was located at mid-bay (between four columns) in the audience space. The original intent was to broadcast the sound program through both the floor via the shaker and the PA system, alternating as necessary to emphasize different materials, but the structure proved to be so compliant that it, and in addition various sculptures installed in the room, was effectively converted into the "speaker" system for most of the performance. It was possible to generate high amplitude sub-audio frequency vibration in the structure as well, adding to the tactile experience of the performance.

2005

16 December 2005, Turn The Screws Festival
Los Angeles CA, USA

» more information

link to festival information at Il Corral website

9 July 2005, DEPO
Riga, Latvia

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
co-performers: Jeff, Francisco Lopez
concert organization: Viestarts Gailitis

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

8 July 2005, Zilinskas Art Gallery
Kaunas, Lithuania

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
co-performers: Jeff, Francisco Lopez
concert organization: Gediminas Banaitis, Arturas Bumstein

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

6 July 2005, Klub Aurora
Warsaw, Poland

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
co-performers: Jeff, Francisco Lopez
concert organization: Andrzej Zaleski
other thanks: Bartek Kalinka, Uzjazdowski Centre for Contemporary Art

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

2 July 2005, AT Trade
Kiev, Ukraine

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
concert organization: Dmytro Fedorenko
thanks also to: Alla Zagaikevych, Katya Zavaloka

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

30 June 2005, Museum of Fine Arts
Jaroslavl, Russia

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

29 June 2005, Tarakan
Moscow, Russia

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
concert booking and accommodations: Alexei Borisov

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

28 June 2005, ГЭЗ-21
St. Petersburg, Russia

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
concert booking: Ilya Kozirev
accommodations: Oleg, George

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

25 June 2005, Von Krahl Theatre
Tallinn, Estonia

» credits

tour organization: Jeff Surak
concert organization: Andres Löo, Looming Organization

» photographs

set (courtesy of veti_vert) (opens in new window)

2004

17 June 2004, La Malterie
Lille, France

» more information

Description:
La Malterie is a former brewery now functioning as an art gallery, bar, and performance space. Seismic accelerometers were used to monitor vibrations in a street-level suspended floor (located over a basement) located remotely from the performance space. It was thus possible to integrate ambient building vibrations, excited by vehicles outside and people in the building, into the performance.

16 June 2004, Les Voutes
Paris, France

» description

This installation performance integrated the unique layout of this group of arch-shaped vaults (photographs in the Les Voutes link) located under the rue Tolbiac in Paris. Due to the thick masonry, the vehicles on the road above are generally not audible in the performance space below, but they cause micro-vibration which is not perceivable without sensitive instruments. I used several seismic accelerometers installed in the brickwork to sense and then amplify the vibration to audible levels. Furthermore, the shape of the structure alters the frequency content of the vibration so that the amplified vibrations take on various characters depending on the measurement location within an arch. Vibration recordings were made throughout the day of the performance from different points in the structure, which were then organized and combined with a live feed from the (stereo) vibrations from the vaults on either side of the performance vault.

» program notes

"Auscultation concrète. En incrustant dans l'architecture de la salle de concert des accéléromètres, il proposera une composition musicale basée sur la captation des vibrations émises par la circulation des véhicules quelques mètres au dessus des spectateurs, rue neuve Tolbiac."

3 June 2004, Luggage Store Gallery
San Francisco CA, USA

5 March 2004, The Compound
San Francisco CA, USA USA

2003

22 December 2003, ГЭЗ-21
St. Petersburg, Russia

20 December 2003, Jaroslavl Art Museum
Jaroslavl, Russia

19 December 2003, Dom
Moscow, Russia

» review

Отчет о концерте в Доме
Посещение последней нойзовой акции в Доме приятно вписалось в царящие в нынешнем декабре погодные завихрени. Прежде всего я хотел послушать F.R.U.I.T.S и E-shak, но помимо них в анонсе значились еще московский нойз проект CD-R и два Американца c проектами Violet(экс Совместное Предприятие) и Michael Gendreau. Началось все в 8м вечера с проекта CD-R- молодые компьютерщики, работавшиев жестком нойзовом ключе, иногда приобретавшем маньячно-цифровой характер (плосковатые высокочастотные наезды на психику- далеко не самое оригинальное в эстетике нойз). Ребята играли не долго, но целостно и технично.
Вторым был американец Michael Gendreau с неменее жесткими высокими зашкалами и одномерной амбиентной природой. F.R.U.I.T.S- не подкачали! От мягкого нойза, плавно притронулись к электро с эстрадными элементами и окончатильно очаровали финальным выходом в авангардное техно. Violet (Jeffrey Surak)- в России был известен еще с 94го года, благодаря его участию в конкретном нойзовом проекте Cовместное Предприятие. В 2003м Джефри представил ритмичный дырявый нойз с глубоким подводным звучанием и целостным концертом, который звучал как единое неоакадемическое произведение. К огромному моему сожалению, не удалось послушать E-Shak, по причине того, что Ричард Норвила стал жертвой паразитирующего сейчас вовсю в Москве вируса
ГРИППа...
В целом, мероприятие в Доме было спокойным и уютным.
А.Грачев (Mon, 22 Dec 2003 23:36:26 )

18 October 2003, 21 Grand
Oakland CA, USA

20 September 2003, Artist’s Television Access
San Francisco CA, USA

18 July 2003, Resonance FM
London, UK

» description

Live performance on Ben Green’s One Hour As... radio program, integrating the original crude lathe cut of the vinyl used to make 2-NV-P033M(0-20KC)preRAII-S, an earlier recording collaboration with Ralf Wehowsky (since my sudden appearance displaced a planned broadcast of his One Hour As... recording), and live vibration feeds from the turntables, computer hard drives, and station furnishings (amplifying activities in the building).

» program notes

"One hour as a monitor of the microvibration of turntable motors and the macrovibration of roughly cut transcription discs" — Live studio performance utilizing two studio decks, two accelerometers and home-cut transcription discs (such as my version of Ralf Wehowsky's piece "Nameless Victims" [metamkine] and used for my remix on "Tulpas" [selektion]).

9 July 2003, Illegal Art Festival, 21 Grand
Oakland CA, USA

» reviews

Review (transcript of thread from electronic correspondence):

To: "Bay Area New Music Discussion"  
        Subject: [BA-NEWMUS:9995] Re: Illegal Art show last night 
        From: Bob Boster  
        In-Reply-To:  
        Reply-To: ba-newmus@eartha.mills.edu 
        Sender: owner-ba-newmus@eartha.mills.edu 
        
        bb> Thanks for the review and plug of the next show, Matt.
        
        For those who missed it, Matt's set had his trademark 'simple' electronic
        configuration moving into a really delicate, nearly precious (in the positive
        sense) vibe for the bulk of his set.  People seemed engaged by the physical
        immediacy of his methodology and the ability to follow the link between
        physical action and sound outcome.... like an acoustic instrument.
        
        Nice set.
        
        The 5th member of RAJAR was Mic Gendreau, ably assisted by the charming
        Madeleine who has also appeared on and inspired some Crawling With Tarts
        material.
        
        With a little luck RAJAR will make a repeat appearance sometime soon. Xopher
        requests a large venue to map to the expansive quality of the subject matter
        (...the transmissions all around us in the ether). Anyone with suggestions
        for a large-scale space, please feel free to contact me.
        
        Mahalo!
        
        At 10:39 07/10/2003 -0700, you wrote:
        >I had the pleasure in playing at the Illegal Art show at 21 Grand last 
        >night. (I was filling in for Evolution Control Committee, who couldn't 
        >make it.)
        >
        >I opened blah blah yeah.
        >
        >Then Rajar went on. Named after the British radio rating system (their 
        >equivalent of Arbitron), members were Bob Boster, Patty Liu, David Kwan, 
        >Xopher Davidson, and some other guy with his daughter (I can't remember 
        >their names). They did their set entirely by manipulating and looping live 
        >radio signals with equipment ranging from lo-fi to laptop. Very impressive 
        >- really together. Despite the chaotic source material, there was never 
        >"too much going on". Lots of careful listening and great improv between 
        >the members.
        >
        >Michael Gendreau finished off the night with a set that fit the best with 
        >what most people were expecting from a plunderphonics show. He had a vast 
        >collection of corporate promotional vinyl - records put out by United 
        

» program notes

sample sources

4 July 2003, Etat Labs
Taipei, Taiwan

8 March 2003, Labelle Residence (Salon)
London, UK

15 February 2003, Activating the Medium, Interact Theatre at Cuesta College
San Luis Obispo CA, USA

» description

Shakers of various sizes were used to excite various structural and architectural elements in the theatre. Small shakers were attached to overhead lighting support structures and a large shaker drove vibration signals into the floor of the seating riser (and consequently other structures in the room: seats, railings, walls, etc.). For this performance the PA system was not used, all sounds emanated from the vibrating floors, walls, and other structures in the room. A simple spot lighting scheme was integrated with the large shaker frequency. The sound sources were primarily sine waves, tuned to various structures, but these were less audible than the more complex sounds produced by the structures in response. Accelerometers were also used, to pick up the vibrations propagating back to the performance area, so that this information (now filtered by the structure) could be fed back into the structure, developing a mechanical feedback path. The composition was developed after working with the space and various shaker installation conditions throughout the day of the performance.

» program notes

The instruments used this evening are primarily the structural, architectural, and mechanical elements of the room itself. The composition is for the specific performance space, starting with analysis of the structural modes of the stage, seating area floor, lighting and duct fixtures, and the acoustic modes of the room volume. These elements become the “language” of the space, or one of them, which are later ordered by a much more subjective overlay. In the latter exercise, the work is truly realized, intentionally subjugating the language elements. What is interesting to me about this is that the same overlay can be used with different rooms to create an entirely different sound, but with the same formal structure.

» photographs

7 February 2003, Activating the Medium, Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco CA, USA

» description

Shakers of various sizes were used to excite various structural and architectural elements in the Wattis Theatre at MOMA. Small shakers were attached to overhead ductwork and a large shaker drove vibration signals into the floor of the seating riser (and consequently other structures in the room: seats, railings, walls, etc.). Infrasonic recordings made on building heating systems were integrated sounds emanating from the vibrating floors, walls, and other structures in the room. The composition was developed after detailed analysis of the space in the preceding days, including determination of the acoustic modes of the room, and the resonance frequency of certain critical structures in the room, such as the stage and riser floor. These data were considered when composing the performance, which provided the opportunity of correspondence with the natural modes of the room and architectural elements (e.g., the steel railings could be made to ring at a pre-determined point by driving their fundamental frequency into the floor of the theatre). Accelerometers were also used during the performance, to pick up the vibrations propagating back to the performance stage, so that this information (now filtered by the structure) could be fed back into the structure, developing a mechanical feedback path.

» program notes

The instruments used this evening are primarily the structural, architectural, and mechanical elements of the room itself. The composition is for the specific performance space, starting with analysis of the structural modes of the stage, seating area floor, lighting and duct fixtures, and the acoustic modes of the room volume. These elements become the “language” of the space, or one of them, which are later ordered by a much more subjective overlay. In the latter exercise, the work is truly realized, intentionally subjugating the language elements. What is interesting to me about this is that the same overlay can be used with different rooms to create an entirely different sound, but with the same formal structure.

» photographs

Click here to see the poster for this event in PDF format

» spectra

2002

14 November to 15 December 2002 (sound installation)
15 November 2002 (performance), SCI-Arc
Los Angeles CA, USA

» description

Installation: The SCI-arc building has exposed fire water piping near the ceiling of the two-level corridor. At three places along the length of the corridor, devices containing a solenoid and infrared detection circuitry were attached. Whenever someone passed beneath the piping in the corridor about 6m below, the solenoid was activated, striking the pipe with a single loud ping, sequentially as they passed along the corridor. Apparently, the students or staff found these somewhat disturbing, and they were subject to being vandalized, in spite of their relative inaccessibility. By the end of the one month installation period, two of the IR detectors had been stolen, cut away from the solenoids.
Performance: One the evening of the opening of the installation, Brandon Labelle and Michael Gendreau collaborated on a performance, using Brandon’s small speaker array and Michael shaker-feedback units.

» program notes

expansion – 15630 gas fired heating units shop drawings
Fire piping currently runs under the existing courtyard slab. It is to be determined whether this represents a potential vibration impact to the future MEB slab. To be identified: function, depth, flow velocity and diameter, frequency of use. Can we arrange a vibration test if necessary?
surveillance –
Racks attached to the waffle support small pipes (up to 100mm diameter), gravity drains, fire piping, and bus ducts to the waffle; this is acceptable.

» photographs

24 October 2002, Recyclart
Brussels, Belgium

4 August 2002, Beyond Baroque
Venice CA, USA

12 January 2002, Cal Arts
Valencia CA, USA

» program notes

M928, interpolating T921 Pt. 2
To get the least interesting technical part out of the way: this evening I will be using “shakers” and seismic accelerometers to diffuse sounds recorded in Malaysian and Taiwanese factories through a local area of the performance structure, using it as a site-specific filter. In addition, by feeding vibration measured elsewhere on the structure to the shakers, there is the opportunity of using a kind of multi-path mechanical feedback.
Non-technically, there are other things in the composition of which one cannot speak, or perhaps, one can only imply, such as in the following text by Jerome Rothenberg. I selected this one because it mentions several elements or activities specifically used in the composition of the subject music (and some that are not): ...process of image-thinking: concrete or non-causal thought in contrast to the simplifications of Aristotelian logic, etc., with its “objective categories” & rules of non-contradiction; a “logic” of polarities; creation through dream, etc.; modern poetry (having had and out-lived the experience of rationalism) enters a post-logical phase... Etc.
Mic., Daly City, 6 January 2002

2001

18 August 2001, Beyond Baroque
Venice CA, USA

14 July 2001, 3feetofftheground
San Francisco CA, USA

6 May 2001, SFEMF, Cell Space
San Francisco CA, USA

» program notes

55 pas de la ligne au no 3
This bit was originally written for a festival that took place in Barcelona last January, which had as a theme "radical turntablism." Not wanting to make a record mixing piece, I use the turntables in another way. Technically, seismic accelerometers measure the chassis vibration from the turntable motors, and from "shakers," which mechanically input various signals, including vibration measured elsewhere on the chassis (a kind of mechanical feedback). I may also allow some of the recorded noise from transcription discs to escape the mechanism. Non-technically, there are other things of which one cannot speak, of course.

» review

"L’activitat dels DJs i el 'turntablism' són dos fronts comuns de l’experimentació d’avui en dia, caracteritzats per una passió i dedicació de les possibilitats del vinil com a instrument de treball en directe, tot i que sovint pateixen les limitacions imposades per les restriccions de la cultura de clubs. Michael Gendreau…són dues figures llengendàries de l’escena experimental nordamericana que durant els darrers 15-20 anys han treballat intensament amb vinils. Michael Gendreau desenvolupa el seu treball amb grabadores de vinils, discs de transcripció dels anys 30-50 i mecanismes dels tocadiscs (motors, braços, etc.) transduïts amb aceleròmetres sísmics tot creant obres a les quals es genera una peculiar barreja d’arqueologia sonora contemporània i un super remix d’elements dispars."
Francisco López, January 2001

21 January 2001, Abaixadors Deu
Barcelona, Spain

20 January 2001, Universidad de Alicante
Alicante, Spain

19 January 2001, Metronom
Barcelona, Spain