Trondheim Voices has invited Asle Karstad to be our artist in residence for 2016. This has increased the possibility of working interdisciplinarily and artistically with the sound-design, Maccasolve, that Asle Karstad has developed together with his son Arnvid Lau Karstad and through cooperation with Trondheim Voices.
Karstad has been working closely together with Siri Gjære, the artistic director for Trondheim Voices, as well as the entire ensemble through several workshops during spring 2016. Their common project culminated in a one week residency for the entire ensemble at the newly created art center Whitebox in Munchen, Germany. Here the ensemble also worked with German visual artist Laurenz Theinert (http://www.theinert-lichtkunst.de/).
Karstad, Trondheim Voices and composer Eirik Hegdal won the National Theater Prize, ”Hedda-prisen”, for best audiovisuel design in 2014, for their musical collaboration on the theater play ”A Hundred Secrets” by Cirka Theater, where the Maccasolve technology was introduced for the first time.
A central driving force in the history of the ensemble
Asle Karstad has been sound designer, technician and technological developer throughout the history of Trondheim Voices. With Asle Karstad as artist in residence, it has been possible to cooperate even closer and over longer periods, making it possible to connect all our previous projects. Through this, a wider space for interplay between artistic ideas and technological development was created.
Why Asle Karstad?
Through his career Asle Karstad has worked with some of the most important musical initiatives all over the world. This has given him a unique insight into both technical an artistic elements of sound design. Through his engagement, knowledge and creativity, he strives to gain the best possible artistic result, regardless of what type of context he is working in. This has made Karstad an invaluable co-artist in the ensemble.
We have previously had great experiences with our artist in residence programs. In 2013 we worked together with artist Ann-Cathrin Hertling, who we continually collaborate with as part of our artistic development. Learn more at http://www.wildatart.no/
About Maccaphone AS
The company Maccaphone AS was started by Asle Karstad and his son Arnvid Lau Karstad. Maccaphone AS is a platform for developing the technology surrounding Maccasolve. Maccasolve creates the possibility of building on yearlong experiences made through several projects as well as developing a whole new technology.This custom made technology makes it possible for all parties to work physically free and with electronic manipulation of ones own ”Voice-sound”, in close cooperation with the sound designer/sound technician.
The cooperation with Asle and Arnvid Lau Karstad og Maccaphone AS is a natural and important continuation of the work we have done to investigate and expand the use of voice, body, space and improvisation and both expand and destabilize the concepts of concert/performance, stage, actor and audience.
Artist Residency ved Whitebox, München
Through his internatinal network Asle Karstad has gained many contacts that also Trondheim Voices is gaining from.
Dr. Martina Taubenberger, who is now the director for Whitebox – a newly opened art center in Munchen (facebook-link), was formerly the Director at the festival Tonspuren (http://www.tonspuren.de/en/), where Asle was technical director for three years. Therefore it was natural for her to invite Karstad and Trondheim Voices to open Whitebox through an artistic residency in June 2016. Trondheim Voices’ performance marked the opening of a year long cultural programme for the re-developed area around Whitebox in Munchen.
Trondheim Voices has in the last couple of years worked with other types of spaces than the traditional jazz stage and standardized concert formats, with an emphasis on innovative relationships between performer and audience. This is something that has been developed especially through the cooperation between Ann Cathrin Hertling and Siri Gjære.
What is Maccasolve?
Briefly described, Maccaolve is a system for sound design that consists of a wireless controller and a tailor made wireless network. The system sends out signals to a computerbased sound design set-up. The controller, that can be carried on the body, is based on programmed microdata machines.
Why this technology?
Using the Maccasolve is a natural continuation of Stagetracker – a project from 2011, initiated and tried by former artistic director Tone Åse. Stagetracker was a system where vocal sound was manipulated through movement and positioning of the performer by means of motion sensors. One of the most exciting things about Stagetracker was that it created a choreography based on musical choices, which again created an exciting and dynamic visual expression.
By way of Maccatroll and the cooperation with Ann-Cathrin Hertling, Trondheim Voices has further developed this choreography to include each singer’s physical exploration of – and connection to the space where they perform. What Maccasolve ads is thus a more direct and individual control over each performer’s sound, as well as sampling possibilities.
By way of Maccatroll and the cooperation with Ann-Cathrin Hertling, Trondheim Voices has further developed this choreography to include each singer’s physical exploration of – and connection to the space where they perform. What Maccasolve ads is thus a more direct and individual control over each performer’s sound, as well as sampling possibilities.
What’s new with Maccasolve is therefore first and foremost:
That it is designed and adjusted specifically to us and our usership as a vocal ensemble.
That the person designing this unit is our sound designer that knows us well and brings his artistic ideas in based on a year long cooperation.
To the best of our knowledge, this has never been done before by any vocal ensemble and therefore open up a new frontier for us, as well as other ensembles.
The cooperation with Asle Karstad will continue on a regular basis also in the years to come, and we feel very lucky to have him as part of our artistic work and development.