I Hate Sound Art about Electromagnetism...

[frogger]

I'm looking for recommendations on sound artists and, to a lesser extent, musicians whose work engages in either an explicit or slightly more than implicit way with notions of electromagnetism and electricity. So far I've come up with Christina Kubisch, Joe Banks and Christof Migone. I'm sure there are others but I'm drawing a blank right now...

Any help would be appreciated.

[Joda]

I'm not that familiar with the extent of his work, but Michael Prime's album L-Fields might be of interest, he uses bioelectrical recordings of hallucinogenic plants and fungi as sound material, as well as voltages produced by the plants, amplified and used as control signals for battery-powered oscillators, recorded in situ: http://www.discogs.com/Michael-Prime-L- ... ase/297359 - it's quite a good record.

[jkudler]

http://www.cmvonhausswolff.net/

I think his record "Leech" is em recordings of some kind.

I studied with Ron Kuivila, who has a few pieces, eg http://www.openears.ca/2005_site/2005/i ... uivila.htm

-Jesse

[Daniel Jones]

Would I be stretching the point to perhaps suggest Haco and, specifically, her Stereo Bugscope record?

http://www.japanimprov.com/indies/imj/s ... index.html

In a similar vein Phil Julian (Cheapmachines) released this: http://archive.org/details/Low_Activity_Computer_Solo

[orangettecoleman]

http://archive.org/details/ird062

Electric Enigma is a double album on which California-based artist Stephen P. McGreevy has documented recordings he made of Natural Radio - electromagnetic emissions in the very-low-frequency band caused by massive discharges and their after-effects in lightning storms and by the solar wind buffeting the earth's magnetic field, visible as Aurora Borealis and Australis. It would normally take long wires to pick up these emissions, which would hamper the mobility of a listener or recordist.

McGreevy developed a portable receiver with a whip antenna, allowing him to travel to places with optimal recording conditions - that is, anywhere in temperate to polar zones, but away from urban settlement and power cables. He further improved the unit by transforming it from a hand-held device to one that he could mount on his camper, so that he did not need to brave adverse weather conditions in order to make his recordings. The material on Electric Enigma was all recorded with the newer design.

[aquabahn]

Alvin Lucier perhaps: Sferics or Music on a Long Thin Wire?

[greenriver]

I can only think of one example at the moment, but it's a good listen.

Rod Cooper - Recordings of Electrical Equipment
http://www.discogs.com/Rod-Cooper-Recor ... se/2238841

[dr_benway]

Rob Mullender's 'Metro Magnetics' on Staalplaat, and I suppose the whole EVP scene could be counted as well, like the already mentioned CM von Hauswolff, and the Touch Records 'Ghost Orchid' CD, and many many more

[anasara]

you might look at max neuhaus's 'fan music' from 1967, which used photovoltaic cells to power fans/tone generators in a rooftop installation

http://www.max-neuhaus.info/soundworks/list/

[cheapmachines]

Martin Howse and Jonathan Kemp have both covered quite a bit in this area...

Howse > http://www.1010.co.uk/org/
Kemp > http://xxn.org.uk/doku.php

http://1010.co.uk/org/detection.html
http://www.1010.co.uk/org/notes.html#61

Howse also builds various devices for collecting/detecting stray electromagnetic signals:

http://www.1010.co.uk/org/detektor.html

[bt.]

Joyce Hinterding: http://www.haineshinterding.net/category/hinterding/

[hellowhoami]

Similar to the artists mentioned by orangettecoleman, Disinformation records natural and other wayward atmospheric electromagnetics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g6PcLEx6bs

[prof_lofi]

I'm way late on this but my installation / composition Shifting Currents (performed by myself, Rick Reed and Keith Rowe) is constructed exclusively from electromagnetism. Here's a link if you're interested :
http://www.billthompson.org/theburningh ... -currents/

Bill

www.billthompson.org