Sonic artist warps gramophone

Sonic artist Kent Macpherson is fascinated by the sounds inanimate objects produce.

Using the latest technologies, he works to capture the sighs, groans and whistles of bridges, buildings, wind turbines – and pianos.

A teacher at Wintec, Macpherson lectures on  audio post-production, sound design, audio technology and music production the School of Media Arts’ music department.

Macpherson’s interest at the moment is sonic art, which is recording, capturing and documenting sounds around us using contact microphones similar to those used in live performances.

“I’m an entrepreneur. I am an ideas man. I’m a practitioner and a researcher. As a researcher I can evolve my interest in sonic art.”

In one of his live performances Macpherson used the sound of an old gramophone, and processed it with modern-day process mixers.

“Essentially it’s a fun time making noise,” he states. Macpherson  took that fun to a live performance, and the results were controversial.

Gramophonics was a sonic art show performed at The Meteor. It was an improvised sonic project involving the abuse and digital manipulation of old 78s on a 1920s picnic gramophone. He says he  does not know what is going to happen in the complete 20-minute performance.

But it was what happened after the performance that interested  Kent. “It was a polarising experience. It was really dark and I could hear this group of people telling me to ‘F’ off. Literally saying ‘F?#$ Off!’ and at the other side of the stage was another group of people saying, ‘No. You f%!# off!’”

He says this all in good faith. Macpherson lets the bad reaction roll off him. “I got booed. It was funny. A few of my students saw it too. They found the heckling funny as well.”

He says  the fact that he  “polarised” the 30-40 people in the audience was completely satisfying.

“I don’t want to offend people…but I also don’t want to be surrounded by adulation either. So that was perfect.”

Macpherson keeps himself busy as an artist, and recorded and released a solo album, As the Ice Fell We Became Light, this year. As a sonic artist, he experimented heavily while producing this album.

“I’ve always been interested in the sonic aspects of music, rather than lyrics and pop melodies. I’ve always been interested in things that were a bit more challenging, darker, and sonically interesting,” Macpherson said.

And it shows in his album.  One track, Ella on the Wheel at Night, featured the squeaking of the wheel his daughter’s mouse ran on at night.

“I thought, that’s got a rhythm to it. I can use that.”

Kent describes the album, which was a two-year labour of love, as “spiritual”, and says it was an opportunity to work outside his comfort zone.