Carlos Bravo (Verbose) was the beneficiary of the 1st call of the Matadero Center for Artistic Residencies aimed at experimental electronic music projects in the city of Madrid. Throughout the residency he will develop A.M.E (Electromagnetic Musical Anhedonia), a multi-format project that covers two fields of work: scientific research and artistic creation. “AME or specific musical anhedonia, is a neurological condition in which the individual is unable to enjoy or receive pleasure (positive stimuli) when listening to music. What is the difference between the appreciation of a sound, noise or music? For the individual who suffers from AME, none. For those who do not suffer from the condition, this differentiation becomes an immense spectrum where arguments such as harmony and rhythm come into play. The sound element of study proposed here is the background electromagnetic radiation of the Madrid environment. The general public’s appreciation of electromagnetic pickup sounds, which can vary between noise, pulsations, beeps or all at once, is considered to be similar to that of an individual with anhedonia, since they are not able to generate a positive stimulus in response to what they are perceiving. A.M.E. proposes an approach to the public to be able to enjoy something that, in general, is not considered music: background electromagnetic radiation. This approach will be facilitated by another emissive phenomenon of electromagnetic nature such as light.

[Scientific research] In the first part of the residency, different types of antennas will be built to sonorize the background radiation (of both human and natural origin) within the environment of the capital. With these ‘anti-radios’ a catalogued study will be made on the variations between urban spaces and natural spaces. The sound samples collected will be shared without any type of processing for use by the general public, under the CC BY-SA license. [Artistic creation] – Later, these sound samples, initially of noise origin, will be used for the musical production (although not exclusively) of the creation of an EP. There will also be collaborations with other musicians for the incorporation of traditional acoustic instruments, with invasive digital processing. Light will have no less weight with a self-built LED ‘pixel mapping’ installation, creating a luminous space that responds to sound stimuli in real time, narrowing the barrier between light and sound. The installation will accompany the sound creation in its possible live formats, such as immersive installations or audiovisual live performances.

Selbst premiered at the international documentary film festival ‘Play-doc‘.

Producer: MIL111.lab
Creative Direction: Iria del Bosque
Visual design: Borja Bernárdez
Sound design: Verbose
Interaction design: Borja Bernárdez & Carlos Bravo
2021

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