Gordon Monro - Pieces

This page lists some pieces by Gordon Monro, and some collaborations.

General comments on my musical work

General comments on my work with images and animation

Most of the pieces listed here are available either from me or from the Australian Music Centre.

Pieces marked with the Creative Commons logo are available under a Creative Commons Licence. This includes most of my pieces in fixed form (tape, CD, DVD). Details are on the pages for individual pieces.

Installations
Abstract video pieces
Abstract tape pieces
Soundscapes or collages
Pieces with live electronics
Instrument or voice plus tape
For conventional instruments or voices (without electronics)
Collaborations

Installations

Cloud Drum

Interactive installation: Realtime video and surround sound (2008).

An installation in which a visitor can set a virtual drum in motion.
Some still images.
Go to the download page for a short video showng "Cloud Drum" being triggered.

Evochord

Installation: Realtime video and sound (2005).

An installation in which a genetic algorithm tries to evolve a harmonious chord.
Some still images.
Go to the download page for some video documentation for "Evochord".

Abstract video pieces

Triangular Vibrations

Video on DVD with surround sound, duration 7 mins 4secs (2007).

An abstract animation based on the vibrations of an idealised drum.
Some still images.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Triangular Vibrations".

Dissonant Particles

Video on DVD with surround sound, duration 7 mins 3 secs (2004/5).

An abstract video, consisting of moving particles which repel one another according to a psychoacoustic law. The sound and images are derived from the same process.
Some still images.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Dissonant Particles".

Red Grains

Video on DVD with surround sound, duration 5 mins 50 secs (2003/4).

An abstract video, consisting of moving red grains of light. The sound and images are derived from the same process. The sound is obtained by granular synthesis.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Red Grains".
Some still images.

Rainbow Snake Dry River

Video transferred to DVD, with stereo sound, duration 12 mins (video 1998, audio 1995).

The soundtrack is my piece Dry Rivers. The video consists of abstract images derived from the soundtrack.
Some still images.

Abstract tape pieces

(As usual, "tape" means any fixed audio medium.)

Firefly

Ringtone, duration 17 secs (2006)

A short piece of algorithmic electronica.
Listen to it on the download page.

What are You Really Thinking?

Multichannel tape piece, duration 5 mins 0 secs (2004)

A sonification of brainwave data.
Go to the download page for a stereo soundfile for "What Are You Really Thinking?"

Peer Pressure

Tape piece, duration 5 mins 0 secs (2000/1)

This piece is a simulation of a process which allows a large number of fireflies to flash together in unison. Can a few mavericks resist the relentless pressure of the group, once it forms?
Go to the download page for a soundfile for "Peer Pressure".

The Voice of the Phoenix (1)

Tape piece, duration 5 mins 5 secs (1996)

This piece is digitally synthesised, and consists of the output of a (discrete version of a) chaotic oscillator.
Go to the download page for a soundfile for "The Voice of the Phoenix (1)".

Mandala 1086

Tape piece, duration 6 mins 35 secs (1996)

Consists entirely of sine waves. An interpretation in sound of a mathematical formula which, when interpreted geometrically, produces a mandala-like diagram.
Go to the download page for a soundfile for "Mandala 1086".

Dry Rivers

Tape piece, duration 12 mins 0 secs (1995)

This piece was done entirely by digital synthesis with fractal waveforms, and consists of interacting percussive rhythms.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Dry Rivers".

Dry Choices

Tape piece, duration 5 mins 25 secs (1993)

This piece consists of a few "dry" sounds heavily digitally processed. It exists as an independent work, but was part of the audio-visual piece "Dry Solace", about the Somalian civil war and the Australian Army's presence there (directed by Martin Wesley-Smith).

Parabolic Monody (Solo for Heebiephone)

Tape piece, duration 6 mins 10 secs (1993)

A virtuosic piece for the biventral heebiephone, an instrument which requires that the player have two mouths and at least five arms.

Study in Dimension 1.245

Tape piece, duration 5 mins 15 secs (1992)

A MIDI sequence piece. The melodic fragments in the piece and the overall shape of the piece were obtained from a fractal curve.

Soundscapes or collages

Peace and Quiet

Surround sound tape piece, duration 9 mins 10 secs (2002).

A soundscape of Kangaroo Island, South Australia; a quiet and peaceful place (usually).
Go to the download page for a stereo extract from "Peace and Quiet".

You Have No Saved Messages

Tape piece, duration 9 mins 45 secs (1995)

Synthesised voices over a background of answering machines, voice mail, modems, and the like.

The Train on Platform No. 4 (But It's So Obvious)

Tape piece, duration 5 min 30 secs (1992)

A collage of sounds recorded at Redfern railway station, Sydney on 15th May 1992.

Pieces with live electronics

Starfish

Laptop improvisation with video projection, duration 12 mins approx (2005).

The performer sings into a microphone; the sound is processed by a network of delay lines which the performer controls with a video game controller. The network is projected for the audience to see.

New Stars

For vibraphone and glove-controlled synthesiser, duration 10 mins (1994)

This is a partly improvised piece with a strong visual element, as the performer with the glove has to make large and sweeping gestures. Collaboration with Alice Cohen.

Horse Eats Consciousness

For baritone voice and digital delay, duration 5 mins (1992)

This piece consists entirely of syllables from the words "Horse Eats Consciousness" (which is the title of a poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti).

Old Tom's Numerical Prophecies

For SATB choir and two Yamaha TX81Z synthesisers, duration 8 mins (1991)

A setting of four verses from the sequence "Charms and Prophecies for a Tarot Pack", by Thomas Shapcott.

Instrument or voice plus tape

Many Worlds Theory

For harpsichord and tape, duration 11 mins 10 secs (2001).

The inspirations for this piece were the "many worlds theory" in quantum mechanics and 30 bars of a piece by J.S. Bach.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Many Worlds Theory".

Lament Over Jerusalem

For cello and tape, duration 8 mins 35 secs (1998).

This piece is an abstract setting of a text from the Book of Jeremiah (later set again in For Death has Climbed in Through Our Windows). The tape part consists of recorded cello sounds, processed by means of wavelet transforms.
Go to the download page for an extract from "Lament Over Jerusalem".

The Voice of the Phoenix (2)

For bass flute (or contrabass flute) and tape, duration 11 mins 35 secs (1997)

The tape part is digitally synthesised, and consists of the output of the same chaotic oscillator used in The Voice of the Phoenix (1).
Go to the download page for an extract from "The Voice of the Phoenix (2)".

Its Claws Lifted Up to Pray

For contralto voice and tape, duration 4 mins 15 secs (1994)

A setting of the poem "Sparrow Fall" by Dorothy Hewett.