A note on : 10 years of sound poetry - HIPOGLOTE podcast

This is something I’m really happy with - a podcast in the remarkable HIPOGLOTE series, thanks entirely to the amazing Tiago Swabl - which recounts my ten years in sound poetry this year, 2010 to 2020. A unique audio document, I was invited to provide performances and commentary explaining my path though the noise poems as part of their Carte Blanche series.

It traces my first steps as part of the post Bob Cobbing Writers Forum, my early improvised vocalisation work with Ben Morris and Dylan Nyoukis and at the British Museum, then my travels around Europe working with Zuzana Husarova and Maja Jantar amongst others, then my Soundings project with Wellcome Library, my participation in the Palais de Tokyo sound poetry retrospective and works with British artists I admire like Nathan Walker and the legendary Phil Minton. All this with brand new works made for the show, loads of solo works I’ve dug out of my archive and cover versions of Cobbing and bp nichol, also new for this ambitious hour.

It’s pleasing to not only have had the invitation, but to have Tiago’s editorial assistance (he did it all!) in making this document. It succinctly looks back on so much work I’ve found myself doing in a field which has always intimidated / excited me and it’s made me realise things, in making this summation, that had escaped me. More than anything, it’s made me realise I want to do more sound poetry. https://www.mixcloud.com/Hipoglote/183o-hipoglote_2020-08-17_-carte-blanche_-steven-j-fowler/

A note on: Soundings #6 with Sharon Gal

The Soundings project comes to an end for the time being this October with the 7th instalment and the end of the Hubbub residency and I've had an extraordinary time collaborating with 6 artists so far, the latest being Sharon Gal, a major figure on the London experimental music scene since the late 80s.

This is a work I'm very proud of. Sharon's work has been a real influence on me, so it was brilliant to work so closely with her developing a series of performances, embedded in some unusual and industrial / suburban hidden spots of west london, for film. Again working with Ed Prosser, who has filmed most of soundings to great effect, we spent a brilliant day roaming from Kilburn to Kensal, along the grand union canal and into wormwood scrubs, playing with soundscapes, found sounds and instruments. We utilised the possibilities of film, performing in scenes of a sort, to create something original in the edit. Such a privilege to have this opportunity, and once again responding to materials given by Wellcome Library in response to prompts given by Hubbub curators.

A note on: filming Soundings #6 with Sharon Gal

The Soundings project comes to an end for the time being this October with the 7th instalment and the end of the Hubbub residency and I've had an extraordinary time collaborating with 6 artists so far, the latest being Sharon Gal, a major figure on the London experimental music scene since the late 80s. Sharon's work has been a real influence on me, so it was brilliant to work so closely with her developing a series of performances, embedded in some unusual and industrial / suburban hidden spots of west london, for film. Again working with Ed Prosser, who has filmed most of soundings to great effect, we spent a brilliant day roaming from Kilburn to Kensal, along the grand union canal and into wormwood scrubs, playing with soundscapes, found sounds and instruments. We utilised the possibilities of film, performing in scenes of a sort, to create something original in the edit. Such a privilege to have this opportunity, and once again responding to materials given by Wellcome Library in response to prompts given by Hubbub curators.

A note on: Praxis at Parasol Unit, performing alongside Maja Jantar, Sharon Gal et al

I'm really excited to perform at Parasol Unit on March 3rd, as part of Simon Pomery's brilliant new series Praxis alongside a remarkable lineup, including two artists who've influenced me so much, Maja Jantar and Sharon Gal. http://parasol-unit.org/poetry-innovations-praxis

I'll be presenting a brand new performance piece and then collaborating with Sharon and Maja, responding to Julien Charriere's exhibition, currently in situe at Parasol Unit, a gallery and institution I've admired for years. Nice this is the occasion I first get to perform there, and here is the last time Maja and I collaborated, for Soundings. 

PRAXIS is an innovative poetry and sound art series curated by Simon Pomery and Lala Thorpe of the Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art, as part of the Poetics Research Centre Events at Royal Holloway. The inaugural PRAXIS will be held at Parasol on Thursday the 3rd of March, 2016, 7-9pm. 

Maja Jantar is a multilingual and polysonic voice artist living in Ghent, Belgium, whose work spans the fields of performance, music theatre, poetry and visual arts. A co-founder of the group Krikri, she has been giving individual and collaborative performances throughout Europe and experimenting with poetic sound works since 1995 – weaving operatic, poetic, noise, and abstract influences together to vocal sound works. https://majajantar.wordpress.com/

Sharon Gal - Artist, vocal experimentalist, musician, composer, and founding member of Resonance 104.4 FM. Her solo works have been released by Ash International/ Paradigm records/ Chocolate Monk / Emanem / Ecstatic Yod /American Tapes & The Tapeworm Labels, with the recent Voice Studies, on My Dance the Skull. http://www.sharon-gal.com/

Steven J Fowler is a poet, artist, curator & vanguardist. He has published multiple collections of poetry and been commissioned by Tate Modern, the British Council, Tate Britain, Highlight Arts, Mercy, Penned in the Margins, the London Sinfonietta and the Wellcome Collection with Hubbub group. He is the poetry editor of 3am magazine, curator of the Enemies project, and teaches at Kingston University. Enthusiasm was published by Test Centre in 2015.  http://www.stevenjfowler.com/

The event also features performances and readings from the excellent Will Montgomery http://selvageflame.com/ Robert Hampson, Gareth Damian Martin jumpovertheage.com and Simon Pomery himself  http://cargocollective.com/simonpomery  

Mahu - Opening Night - In Sound

Thanks to Daniela Cascella, Sharon Gal & all the readers. A beautiful way to open the exhibition, and so many discoveries.