Kenneth Atchley
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Atchley is an American composer
, noise artist and reclusive member of the San Francisco Bay Area
electronic music
community.
Atchley uses temporary water fountain
s as sound-sources and uses analogue electronic
instruments and laptop
s to create his works. Other important factors in his art include sculptures, and environmental and metaphorical elements. Atchley's music and live performances have been featured at various venues and festivals including The Kitchen
, Bang on a Can
, and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival.
In September 1982, Atchley took part in a joint concert called the Rota-League Concert when the League of Automated Music Composers joined forces with an electronic-music band called The Rotary Club.
Atchley worked with choreographer Roseanne Spradlin in 2003 to create Rearrangement (or a Spell for Mortals) as a duet for Walter Dundervill and Athena Malloy. According to the New York Times, the piece "sounds like running water" and "the dancers explore issues of mortality in an appropriately enigmatic setting".
In winter 2006-2007 he composed a set of works for strings. The pieces, collectively titled 7 stillnesses, exploit a range of avant-garde harmonic progressions with emphasis on passages in which a chord is held long enough that its value within the harmonic progression disappears. The title refers not to a determinable number of "stillnesses"; more to the mythic use of number to refer to subjective experiences of stillness and quietude. The writing extends techniques that Atchley developed in his electronic work. In this composition the combined harmonics of an ensemble of string instruments create pared down, absorbing, tonal sound-planes.
In 2009, Atchley performed concert versions of turtle. The primary sound of this work is generated by six sine wave tones in the frequency range from 261.63 Hz and 440.00 Hz. Attending video landscapes are generated by defining and displaying sets of points within a single, germinal image.
Atchley has released several CDs of solo, electro-acoustic-noise works including fountains (published by Auscultare Research). He has also worked closely with other artists to create joint projects such as Sealed Cantus with John Bischoff (released on Bischoff's 23Five CD Aperture). He has also written an opera called Edison's Last Project(ION) and choral works including Lumiere de Main. The libretto and lyrics of these were published in the book Guests go in to Supper.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, noise artist and reclusive member of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
community.
Atchley uses temporary water fountain
Fountain
A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect....
s as sound-sources and uses analogue electronic
Analogue electronics
Analogue electronics are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two different levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal...
instruments and laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s to create his works. Other important factors in his art include sculptures, and environmental and metaphorical elements. Atchley's music and live performances have been featured at various venues and festivals including The Kitchen
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
, Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can
Bang on a Can is a multi-faceted classical music organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1987 by three American composers who remain its artistic directors: Julia Wolfe, David Lang, and Michael Gordon...
, and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival.
In September 1982, Atchley took part in a joint concert called the Rota-League Concert when the League of Automated Music Composers joined forces with an electronic-music band called The Rotary Club.
Atchley worked with choreographer Roseanne Spradlin in 2003 to create Rearrangement (or a Spell for Mortals) as a duet for Walter Dundervill and Athena Malloy. According to the New York Times, the piece "sounds like running water" and "the dancers explore issues of mortality in an appropriately enigmatic setting".
In winter 2006-2007 he composed a set of works for strings. The pieces, collectively titled 7 stillnesses, exploit a range of avant-garde harmonic progressions with emphasis on passages in which a chord is held long enough that its value within the harmonic progression disappears. The title refers not to a determinable number of "stillnesses"; more to the mythic use of number to refer to subjective experiences of stillness and quietude. The writing extends techniques that Atchley developed in his electronic work. In this composition the combined harmonics of an ensemble of string instruments create pared down, absorbing, tonal sound-planes.
In 2009, Atchley performed concert versions of turtle. The primary sound of this work is generated by six sine wave tones in the frequency range from 261.63 Hz and 440.00 Hz. Attending video landscapes are generated by defining and displaying sets of points within a single, germinal image.
Atchley has released several CDs of solo, electro-acoustic-noise works including fountains (published by Auscultare Research). He has also worked closely with other artists to create joint projects such as Sealed Cantus with John Bischoff (released on Bischoff's 23Five CD Aperture). He has also written an opera called Edison's Last Project(ION) and choral works including Lumiere de Main. The libretto and lyrics of these were published in the book Guests go in to Supper.
External sources
- Golden, Barbara. “Conversation with Kenneth Atchley.” eContact! 12.2 — Interviews (2) (April 2010). Montréal: CECCanadian Electroacoustic CommunityFounded in 1986, La Communauté électroacoustique canadienne / The Canadian Electroacoustic Community is Canada’s national electroacoustic / computer music / sonic arts organization and as such is dedicated to promoting this progressive art form in its broadest definition: from “pure” acousmatic...
.