His immersive and mesmerising works such as the world-wide hit Siren, Ethometric Museum and his monumental outdoor work Chorus aim to make contemporary music accessible and engaging for a wide audience. Siren toured the world with significant British Council support.
Ethometric Museum won him the 2012 British Composer of the Year for Sonic Art. Force Field was awarded an honorary mention in the 2008 Prix Ars Electronica. He is a Professor of Sound Art at Oxford Brookes University. Ray is an associate artist of OCM (Oxford Contemporary Music).
“As an artist I explore my fascinations with the world. I am fascinated by themes that include the emergence of the scientific method, the development of technology, and the way science represents our view of the universe. I have a childlike fascination with radios, radio waves, magnetism. There is a magic in the act of turning on a radio and receiving signals through the Ether or in holding two magnets in your hands and feeling this invisible force pulling your hands together or pushing them apart.
Physicality is essential to the work and it is inherent in both the structures I build and the sound that is created. I build machines that make sound. The fact that they often move means that the sound itself is being modulated by the movement. In my approach, it is not possible for me to have the sound in any way separate to the physical structure, object, or machine that produces the sound.
Live performance is an important part of what I do. I am intrigued by the relationship that emerges between the performers as operators and workers of the machine and the machines themselves. As humans, we relate to other humans more than we relate to machines, but we also want to breathe life into inanimate objects. Combining kinetic machines with performers who work with, look after, monitor, control these devices enables the audience to start creating their own narrative about the work.”
Doors for this event will open at 18.30. The talk will begin at 19.00 with time for Q&A afterwards. Drinks will be available from the bar next to the entrance to the New Wing of Somerset House.
The venue is located on the ground floor of Somerset House and is fully wheelchair accessible with an accessible toilet. If you have any other access requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate them.
If you have any questions about this event please contact info@musichackspace.org.
Channel is Somerset House’s new curated online space for art, ideas and the artistic process.
