Magnets and Ghosts (2020)

11/17/2020Uncategorizedjoowonpark

In this sound installation, the audience searches voices and songs in a room using electromagnetic detectors.

premiered at Light Box (11/16-11/17/2020) and Spread Arts (11/23-11/24/2020)
Magnets and Ghosts is a part of the 2019 Knight Arts Challenge.

Program

Technology enables us to sense undetectable energy fluctuations; we do not see or feel electromagnetic fields in the air, but machines convert them into signals we can hear. I use electromagnetic transducers, sometimes known as ghost detectors, to create a sound installation that turns a room into a storyteller.
When audiences approach a specific part of a structure with a “ghost detecting device,” they can amplify a voice inaudible with naked ears. The installation has multiple electromagnetic fields embedded in different spots, and the audiences can create a piece of music by discovering these energy fields.

Photo and Video by Chien-An Yuan

Citizen Dj Jam (2020)

11/09/2020Uncategorizedcitizen dj, drum machine, electronic ensemblejoowonpark

A quartet improvisation by Electronic Music Ensemble of Wayne State (EMEWS) using Citizen DJ https://citizen-dj.labs.loc.gov/

Performers: Dan Kozlowsky, Mark Whalen, Dylyn Cady, Sean Monaghan

Director: Joo Won Park

Forms to Ponder

08/21/2020Collaborators, Compositions, Researchjoowonpark

Forms to Ponder is a collaborative EP with Theodosia Roussos. The nine tracks in the album relate to each other in many ways. It is a culmination of my musical practice for the last six months.

Program

A form in music connects what we hear now to what we heard before. When we notice the form, we can also expect what may come next. Tracks in this album have forms best expressed with recorded sounds and digital music technology. Amidst the unfamiliar electronic sounds, I hear delightful relationships unfold. Creating and listening to this album was a fun memory game for me, and I hope to share that feeling with you.

The included bonus item is a production map that connects one track to another. More information and an explanation of how and why I made this album is available at www.joowonpark.net/cmpe.

Computer Music Practice: Forms to Ponder

Tracks in Forms to Ponder features audio apps and processes I developed for Computer Music Practice Examples (CMPE). CMPE’s goal is to show how and why I use technology to make music. The only way I know how to create the sounds and forms featured in this EP is by using digital technology. There are musical expressions only possible when sounds turn into data. The video below elaborates this idea with the usual block diagrams and Google slides.

Many – Reverb Ambient Generator

08/14/2020Compositions, Research, Uncategorizedjoowonpark

Many is an app that generates a series of long reverb tones. The reverb time is long enough to sustain a pitch. Use your own sample and choose between five modes to create a continuous (perhaps never-ending) ambient sounds.

download standalone App (Mac OSX) here
download SuperCollider Patch (PC / Mac) here

Demo

Piano Triplets – Park & Starkey

08/01/2020Collaborators, Compositions, Uncategorizedcollaboration, composition, computer music, ep, musicjoowonpark

My friend and musical role model Starkey released a collaborative album. In technical terms, it is a project extended from ISJS. In aesthetical terms, the project is about restraints and forms. Personally, and most importantly, it is two friends saying ‘hey!’ to each other.

Starkey joins friend and composer Joo Won Park for an EP entitled “Piano Triplets” on NOREMIXES. The release showcases Joo Won Park’s unique supercollider processing over Starkey’s production samples. Three unique pieces, each consisting of only three samples: hardware and software synthesis meets piano in these short bursts of experimentation.
Bandcamp album description