A conversation with Paul Stapleton: improvisation, instrument design and practice-as-research
A conversation with Paul Stapleton: improvisation, instrument design and practice-as-research
When: April 3rd, 2017 - 15:30
Where: NuSom - Sala 12
Dr Paul Stapleton is an improviser and sound artist originally from Southern California, currently based in Belfast. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Sonic Arts Research Centre where he supervises research in improvisation, performance ecosystem design and site-specific sound art. Paul designs and performs with a variety of modular metallic sound sculptures, custom made electronics, found objects and electric guitars in locations ranging from Echtzeitmusik venues in Berlin to remote beaches on Vancouver Island. His album FAUNA (2013) with saxophonist Simon Rose has received acclaim from music critics such as Ken Waxman (Jazzword), Mark Corroto (All About Jazz), and Marc Medwin (New York City Jazz Record). His sound design and composition work as part of the immersive audio theatre piece Reassembled, Slightly Askew (2015) has received widespread critical praise, including 4 star reviews in The Guardian, Time Out London and the Evening Standard. Paul’s published academic writings can be found in a broad range of peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings and books including: Contemporary Music Review; Computer Music Journal; Media International Australia; Body, Space & Technology Journal; The International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME); Collision: Interarts Practice and Research; and Law, Violence, Memory: Uncovering the Counter-Archive. Other major works-in-progress are the distributed instrument project Ambiguous Devices with Tom Davis, and the Translating Improvisation research group co-directed with Sara Ramshaw including an AHRC-funded project on the role of improvisation in child protection law in Northern Ireland.
Suggested readings: