Week 2 - Warren Burt

Warren Burt (Composer, Sound and Visual Artist)

I was absolutely gobsmacked by the unrelenting staccato pace at which Warren cogently articulated his nearly 40 year career in music technology. I get the feeling that he only showed us a snippet of what he has been up to.

I would like to hear some of his compositions. It seems the works presented at the forum where mostly about chaotic patterns, random permutations, and his exploration of new scales and their numerical interrelationships. I wonder if he involves himself in narrative works, or prefers the abstract avant garde experimental arena? 1

I hope we get to spend as much time taking boards apart, removing transistors, smashing them with a hammer and seeing what happens. I liked very much his fearless approach to exploring sound. How nothing was sacred, off limits or to be censored. Definitely a radical, and a lively character.

I really enjoyed his photo journal. A highlight was some of the installations he’s created that involved connecting pretty much anything together to see what sound would be created as a result. I wonder, though, if he considers some of his more abstract creations more ‘art’ than ‘music’?

One particular example that stands out is the calculator that was connected to a transistor radio, that was connected to a sampler, that was connected to an effects module. I have had thoughts to do stuff like that, but never thought of it as anymore than fantasy. 2

One phrase that he repeated a few times was how he was interested in using ‘movement to influence sound to influence movement’. The example is of the parabolic microphones at the beach and the choreographer dancing while recording the sounds picked up. Then later choreographing a performance based on the sounds recorded at the beach. 3


I owe a lot to people like Warren and Robin. They have entertained their wildest fantasies in an attempt to create an expressive, interactive and organic musical experience(s).

I am envious of his experiences. It seems us neophytes who are really at the beginning of the digital age have missed out on a wonderful era of analogue. Perhaps not? But it does seem that we owe a lot to pioneers like Warren who really have been there since the start.

I spent Friday night wandering round town with a microphone hanging off my handlebars. I even managed to record an accident I had on Morphett street bridge. I was walking around town trying to get people to indulge me by revealing their deepest fantasies or secrets. Perhaps I would be more successful if I dressed like a priest and had a mobile confessional? One woman did go into explicit detail about the Feng shui approach to choosing underwear. Even going to the extent of pulling her pants down to show me what she was talking about. A microphone opens doors!!!


Audio Arts
As we get more familiar with the studio and its components it becomes clear how much I don't know, but at the same time, how much I am going to know. I am a disappointed at the amount of time each class is allocated. I am so interested in this stuff that I feel like fifty minutes is not enough time. The lecturers are always running off to another class or meeting. It's hard to contact someone. Email is conveniant , but I am afraid it is destroying human interaction.

Creative Communication

In the last week I've splurged a bit and updated my studio. The last couple of years I've been on the move constantly travelling so having anything more than a laptop and headphones has been unrealistic. I've indulged my appetite for electronic equipment and boosted the share price of roland by investing in some:

DS-90 monitors -

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/msg/143437604.html 4

and a VM-3100 mixer -

http://www.platinum-records.com/ROLAND-VM3100-prod6141.htm 5

Now I just have to spend some time navigating the digital underworld of the display screen.

I love playing around with sequencers and synths, especially jamming with other people to see what comes out of it. I find this more stimulating than working on something myself. To me that is what it is about, dialogue/ communication.

1. Warren Burt."Artist Talk: Composition, Sound and Visual Art." Lecture presented at Electronic Music Unit, EMU space, University of Adelaide, 9 March 2006.

2. ibid

3. ibid

4.orange county craigslist > musical instruments > DS-90 Powered Digital Monitors by Roland last modified: Sun, 19 Mar 22:31 PST. Date accessed 03/04/2006

5. "Home > Studio Gear > Multi-track Recorders.> ROLAND VM3100." Platinum Records Light and Sound. Date accessed 03/04/2006.