Thomas Ankersmit
Encyclopedia
Thomas Ankersmit is a musician and installation artist based in Berlin
and Amsterdam
. Initially an improvising saxophonist, his activities expanded to include live electronic music and installation pieces based on architectural acoustics
and infrasound
. He has been performing solo and in collaboration with other artists such as New York minimalist
Phill Niblock
, Kevin Drumm
, Jim O'Rourke
, Gert-Jan Prins
, Borbetomagus
and Alvin Lucier
since 1998. Since 2003, Ankersmit most frequently collaborates with Niblock and electroacoustic
improviser
Valerio Tricoli.
His saxophone
work focusses on the abstract, timbral extremes of the instrument, combining sustained streams of intense multiphonic
sound with acoustically amplified micro-events occurring inside the instrument.
His electronic music
combines realtime performance on analogue modular synthesizer
s with digital editing and multitrack recording
.
Often working closely with engineers and scientists, his recent performances incorporate a Serge modular synthesizer and a computer with prototype directional
loudspeaker
s to create spots and corridors of sound and silence in three-dimensional space.
Ankersmit's first full length solo CD was released by Touch
subsidiary Ash International
in summer 2010. His other releases include a 3" solo CD, a CD-R with guest contributions by Kevin Drumm
and a split LP with Jim O'Rourke
.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. Initially an improvising saxophonist, his activities expanded to include live electronic music and installation pieces based on architectural acoustics
Architectural acoustics
Architectural acoustics is the science of noise control within buildings. The first application of architectural acoustics was in the design of opera houses and then concert halls. More widely, noise suppression is critical in the design of multi-unit dwellings and business premises that generate...
and infrasound
Infrasound
Infrasound is sound that is lower in frequency than 20 Hz or cycles per second, the "normal" limit of human hearing. Hearing becomes gradually less sensitive as frequency decreases, so for humans to perceive infrasound, the sound pressure must be sufficiently high...
. He has been performing solo and in collaboration with other artists such as New York minimalist
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock is a composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a parallel branch in Ghent, Belgium.-Biography:...
, Kevin Drumm
Kevin Drumm
-Biography:Emerging from the city's improvised music scene, in the 1990s he became one of the world's pre-eminent prepared guitar players. Since then his work has expanded to include electroacoustic compositions and live electronic music made with laptop computers and analog modular synthesizers...
, Jim O'Rourke
Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
, Gert-Jan Prins
Gert-Jan Prins
Gert-Jan Prins is a Dutch musician active in free improvisation.Initially a free jazz percussionist, Prins now focuses on producing and manipulating sound, especially white and pink noise, using a collection of custom-built FM radio transmitters and receivers, similar to the instruments of...
, Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus are a free improvisation/noise music group. They are cited by critics as pioneers of aggressive improvised noise music.- Biography :...
and Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
since 1998. Since 2003, Ankersmit most frequently collaborates with Niblock and electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
improviser
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
Valerio Tricoli.
His saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
work focusses on the abstract, timbral extremes of the instrument, combining sustained streams of intense multiphonic
Multiphonic
Multiphonics is an extended technique in instrumental music in which a monophonic instrument is made to produce several notes at once....
sound with acoustically amplified micro-events occurring inside the instrument.
His 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...
combines realtime performance on analogue modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizer
The modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
s with digital editing and multitrack recording
Multitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
.
Often working closely with engineers and scientists, his recent performances incorporate a Serge modular synthesizer and a computer with prototype directional
Directional Sound
Directional Sound refers to the notion of using various devices to create fields of sound which spread less than most traditional loudspeakers. Several techniques are available to accomplish this, and each has its benefits and drawbacks...
loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
s to create spots and corridors of sound and silence in three-dimensional space.
Ankersmit's first full length solo CD was released by Touch
Touch Music
Touch is a British audio-visual organisation, operating the Touch label. It is the main arm of the London-based multimedia publishing company Touch, established in 1982...
subsidiary Ash International
Ash International
Ash International is a British record company and audio-visual organisation started in 1993 by Mike Harding and Robin Rimbaud. In 1995 Robin Rimbaud left to pursue his music group Scanner full time. Ash International is part of the Touch organisation, founded by Jon Wozencroft in 1981...
in summer 2010. His other releases include a 3" solo CD, a CD-R with guest contributions by Kevin Drumm
Kevin Drumm
-Biography:Emerging from the city's improvised music scene, in the 1990s he became one of the world's pre-eminent prepared guitar players. Since then his work has expanded to include electroacoustic compositions and live electronic music made with laptop computers and analog modular synthesizers...
and a split LP with Jim O'Rourke
Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician and record producer. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene...
.