Technophony
Improvising with Machines, Noise, Field Recordings, and Space
…Technophony, the overwhelming presence of electro-mechanical noise.
…technophony (noise through technical objects)
machine-generated sound (technophony) that is unwanted or undesirable to humans.
Technophony (geophonies produced by human machinery)
…technophony has sometimes been used for anthropogenic sounds of mechanical origin
…technophony, which was substantially born with the industrial revolution and which in many cases is considered pollution (noise).
The above definitions of technophony present the various ways the term is used by scholars engaging in ideas of sound and environment.
We want to take the term in a different direction and think of the two component roots of technophony: tekne (art, skill, craft, or technique, the same root of technology) and phōnē (voice, sound). For us these two words combine to mean “giving technology a voice,” or, the “voice of technology.” If technology is the “practical application of knowledge,” then technophony is its creative voice.
Technophony embraces sounds that can be seen as byproducts of human activities that use technology. There is a history of those embracing the sounds of technology—called noise by some—to make music. From the Futurists to John Cage, from Japanese noise artist Merzbow to industrial music, from the electromagnetic sonic work of Christina Kubisch and beyond. Technophony considers themselves part of that lineage, while having a unique take on the technological sonic realm.
In addition to our commercially available recordings, we are also available to create unique sonic spaces or for use in film/video, video games, art installations, and so much more.
Drawing upon our extensive experience as recording/mixing/mastering engineers, creative sonic artists, and music technology researchers, we use the latest audio technologies side-by-side with re-purposed technologies of the past, great equipment, and great facilities to provide compelling, adventurous, and intrigue-filled recordings of technological audio worlds and creative sonic environments.
Technophony brings you high-quality audio recordings where technology has a creative voice: from generative software ("robots") playing with humans to technological environments and electro-mechanical noise.
From microsounds to macrosounds. From complex and messy sonic environments to those with a high degree of clarity and simplicity.
Jeff Kaiser and Eric P. Mandat: Time Out of Joint (TNPY 003)
Available only in digital download format: FREE or Pay-What-You-Want.
Jeff Kaiser (trumpet and live electronics)
Eric P. Mandat (clarinet and live electronics)
Recorded, mixed, mastered, and art by Jeff Kaiser July 13-14, 2024 at Technophony World Headquarters.
For more details on this session:
https://jeffkaiser.com/music/projects/time-out-of-joint-jeff-kaiser-and-eric-p-mandat/
@Jeff Kaiser Music, ASCAP and Eric P. Mandat.
Technophony 003
Paul J. Botelho • Jeff Kaiser: Dome (TNPY 002)
Paul J. Botelho, voice
Jeff Kaiser, trumpet
For Alvira, Part I — 18:10
For Alvira, Part II — 11:58
Recorded live 10 October 2023 by Paul J. Botelho using an ambisonic
system in an abandoned munitions bunker in Alvira, Pennsylvania
Mixed and mastered 1 February 2024 by Jeff Kaiser
No electronics were used in the performance of this music.
What you hear is voice, trumpet, space, and environment.
Art and design by Ted Killian — tedkillian.com
View a video of the recording session here.
All compositions ©2024 Jeff Kaiser Music, ASCAP, Paul J. Botelho, ASCAP
Technophony 002
The Choir Boys: Surveilled (TNPY 001)
Jeff Kaiser: Bb Trumpet, Bb Quartertone Trumpet, Flugelhorn, and Electronics
Andrew Pask: Bb Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, and Electronics
with video by Joshua Kit Clayton
September 14, 2022, 7pm at Hart Recital Hall, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO.
Recorded by Jeff Kaiser and Andrew Pask, mixed and mastered by Jeff Kaiser
This was all performed and recorded live, including the electronics, there was no post processing beyond the usual elements of mixing (eq, compression, et cetera). Andrew and I perform our live electronics with software we author in the visual programming environment Max/MSP from Cycling '74. For me, this included the freely available KaiserLooper jeffkaiser.com/kaiserlooper/ . The recording is all done with our RME Fireface UCX II audio interfaces. We just route our audio through them and it then records to a separate hard disk. The microphones were Shure Beta 57a for Andrew, 56a for me (same capsules, different configurations. These are fantastic mics for noisy live environments, but they are not what we would use in the studio…so they definitely sound like "live" mics.
All music @ 2023 by Jeff Kaiser Music, ASCAP and Kaleidacousticon, ASCAP
Technophony 001
POWERED BY Electro-Mechanical Noise
©2016 Technophony/Jeff Kaiser Music LLC