Sonic Art & Sound Design- P12:Sonic art is a new art form, or rather, forms. As we shall see, it can encompass a wide range of activities, perhaps wider than almost any other art form. It is an unusual case, based upon a medium that has traditionally been regarded as inferior and subservient to other creative or expressive forms. | JANEK SCHAEFER Interview How would you describe your work I m a sound artist. My work encompasses anything that uses sound usually combined with objects space visual art and has a close relationship with context. Do you see it fitting into an existing category or being on its own My work isn t just about sound it s about telling stories and about the world around us doing installations etc. I don t just release it on CD for people to listen to on headphones - it dabbles in the visual arts so that half the time I m a musician and half the time I m an artist but mostly both together. So I combine categories and follow all those that come before me. I am comfortable being labelled as a Sound Artist . Does this imply different mindsets depending upon the project in question I have developed an overall approach as to how I tackle a commission or an idea. I divide my work into Head and Heart my head being concepts and heart being emotions. I try to balance the two depending on the project. I m currently working on a piece for CD called All Bombing is Terrorism. I want the track to be the opposite of terror which is often a mental state. The music is purely a peaceful and calm opposition to war. There s a concept in there where the emotional focus is flipped as a reaction to the context. So the head and the heart are constantly vying for attention in my work. The important thing is trying to engineer what I want the end user to understand to experience. If I m doing an installation I m thinking practically about my plugs and sockets and budgets but in that space do I want them to be scared or do I want them to think about the idea or do I want them to feel happy and warm and to love life How important is it that you understand the concept or how important is it that you just really enjoy it without having to think about it too much I work from what I want them to receive as an experience. Ideally it should work on both levels depending on how deep you delve into the .
