Michael J. Schumacher
LIVING ROOM PIECES
a sound installation designed for living spaces
Composer Michael Schumacher, a pioneering figure in the field of spatial audio and algorithmic composition, presents Living Room Pieces, a long-form sound piece intended for the home environment. This edition of Living Room Pieces, specially crafted for Chaikin Records, comes as a custom-etched metal box housing a Raspberry Pi computer.
The audio for Living Room Pieces is structured according to a seven day cycle. Within this cycle, each day represents a different sonic framework. The various frameworks are formed from a sound library of over 7000 sounds. These sounds, as a whole, comprise a vast and unbelievably diverse spectrum of musical shapes, textures and sonorities. The installation also uses ample amounts of silence: sounds happen and then disappear. This use of silence - silence as a reoccurring 'blank canvas' - is one of the factors which enables LRP to integrate itself seamlessly into the home. After seven days, the compositional cycle repeats though with new content and patterning. Because the installation's computer performs live processing of various parameters, including alterations to the sound, the piece will always be new within it's week-long structure. LRP is programmed to be on for twelve hours a day and 'rest' for the remainder; the start time of this 'on/off' cycle begins when the unit is plugged in.
Says Schumacher, "This project developed out of a series of sound installations called Room Pieces. I became interested in using chance operations to generate form and also began exploring multichannel sound systems, treating each speaker as a separate instrument. I composed dozens of these installations, each with a specific emotional character, making a conscious effort to push the envelope in terms of how much variety I could achieve using the same basic (algorithmic) approach.
"As these experiments continued and the range of sounds increased, it occurred to me to create a 'meta' work that combined all the sounds, to be listened to over long time periods – months or years – in one’s living space. The basic structural idea of Room Pieces was to juxtapose sounds in different ways so that their changing contexts would reveal new qualities. Living Room Pieces has enabled me to use a much larger set of sounds, heard over much longer periods. In a sense, Living Room Pieces resembles Duchamp’s idea of creating miniature versions of his pieces, all gathered in a single box."
The hardware unit of Living Room Pieces measures 3.5" x 2.25" x 1.5". It connects to audio devices via a standard stereo RCA cable. An extensive user manual is included with the product; the manual contains thorough product info and user instructions as well as detailed notes on the compositional structures of Living Room Pieces.
Living Room Pieces releases officially on November 15th!
To place an order before then, please email info@chaikinrecords.com.
Quantity is extremely limited!
About the composer:
Based in Brooklyn, Michael J. Schumacher has worked with spatialized sound, computers and electronics since the 1980s. A considerable focus of his work has been devoted to creating multi-channel, generative "Room Pieces" which have subsequently been presented in galleries, museums, concert halls, public and private spaces around the world. In 2007, XI records published a DVD set of five sound installations as computer applications, playable on up to eight speakers, which may be installed on a computer to create sound environments in the home. His building-wide installation at EMPAC, in Troy, New York, ran 24/7 for one year. Schumacher has also created a "Portable Multi-channel Sound System", with which he has toured in Europe and the United States.
His interest in the relationship of musical form and architecture led to the founding of Studio 5 Beekman - which later became Diapason Sound Art - a gallery devoted to the presentation of multi-channel sound installations, long-duration performances and intermedia artworks. The gallery's two high quality sound systems and its attention to the details of heightening aural perception made it an optimal space for creating and experiencing minimalist and process-based work. In its 15 years of existence (1997-2011), made possible by the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Radke, Studio 5 Beekman and Diapason presented over 300 artists, at a time when sound art was emerging as a distinct practice in the United States.
Schumacher studied music composition with Stanley Applebaum, Bernhard Heiden, John Eaton and Vincent Persichetti and piano with Seymour Bernstein, John Ogdon and Shigeo Neriki, and has degrees from Indiana University and Juilliard. He also worked with La Monte Young, Giampaolo Bracali and Milton Babbit. He has collaborated with choreographers, poets, architects, musicians and filmmakers including Oren Ambarchi, Bruce Andrews, Charles Curtis, Ken Jacobs, Victoria Meyers, Donald Miller, Ursula Scherrer and Stephen Vitiello.
Numerous received awards and residencies include those from NYSCA, NYFA, Harvestworks, RPI and DAAD. As an educator, Schumacher is an adjunct professor at NYU and Ramapo College as well as having recently been the Varèse professor at Berlin's TU. He has guest-lectured at Bard and RPI.
