Ultra-red
Encyclopedia
Ultra-red are a sound art collective founded in 1994 by two AIDS
activists. Originally based in Los Angeles, the collective has expanded over the years with members across North American and Europe. Members in Ultra-red range from artists, researchers and organizers from different social movement
s including the struggles of migration, anti-racism
, participatory
community development
, and the politics of HIV/AIDS.
along with artist Terre Thaemlitz
, Ultra-red are also part of a wave of young conceptual artists
who combine participatory art with their own commitments to political organizing
. Other artists working in a similar vein include Chicago's Temporary Services
, Berlin's Kein Collective and, in New York, LTTR. Following their remixes of Thaemlitz' Still Life with Numerical Analysis in 1998, Ultra-red joined Thaemlitz on the German label Mille Plateaux
for their first two albums; Second Nature: An Electroacoustic Pastoral (1999) and Structural Adjustments (2000). Through these releases and others, Ultra-red developed a kind of ambient sound activism combining situationist radicalism with the sound research techniques of the acoustic ecology
movement. In 2004, Ultra-red launched their own creative commons
online label, Public Record, to showcase works of politically-engaged ambient music. In additional to Ultra-red, other artists to appear on Public Record include Elliot Perkins (formerly "Phonem") and Sony Mao.
Although the group is unapologetic about its Leftist
political commitments, the name Ultra-red apparently designates no affiliation with any specific political party or organization.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
activists. Originally based in Los Angeles, the collective has expanded over the years with members across North American and Europe. Members in Ultra-red range from artists, researchers and organizers from different social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
s including the struggles of migration, anti-racism
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
, participatory
Participatory action research
Participatory action research – or action research – is a recognized form of experimental research that focuses on the effects of the researcher's direct actions of practice within a participatory community with the goal of improving the performance quality of the community or an area of...
community development
Community development
Community development is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities....
, and the politics of HIV/AIDS.
Artist activists
With an art they describe on their website as "Exploring acoustic space as enunciative of social relations," Ultra-red develop explicitly political art projects sometimes in the form of radio broadcasts, performances, recordings, or installations. Known for their militant brand of political ambient musicAmbient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
along with artist Terre Thaemlitz
Terre Thaemlitz
Terre Thaemlitz is a musician, public speaker, and owner of the record label. His work critically combines themes of identity politics - including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race - with an ongoing critique of the socio-economics of commercial media production...
, Ultra-red are also part of a wave of young conceptual artists
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
who combine participatory art with their own commitments to political organizing
Community organizing
Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. A core goal of community organizing is to generate durable power for an organization representing the community, allowing it to influence...
. Other artists working in a similar vein include Chicago's Temporary Services
Temporary Services
Temporary Services is an artist collective of three people based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. They have been collaborating on art projects, public events, publications, and exhibitions since 1998....
, Berlin's Kein Collective and, in New York, LTTR. Following their remixes of Thaemlitz' Still Life with Numerical Analysis in 1998, Ultra-red joined Thaemlitz on the German label Mille Plateaux
Mille Plateaux
Mille Plateaux is an influential electronica record label founded 1993 by Achim Szepanski in Frankfurt, Germany. It is known for mostly releasing minimal techno, glitch music and other experimental electronic music.-History:...
for their first two albums; Second Nature: An Electroacoustic Pastoral (1999) and Structural Adjustments (2000). Through these releases and others, Ultra-red developed a kind of ambient sound activism combining situationist radicalism with the sound research techniques of the acoustic ecology
Acoustic ecology
Acoustic ecology, sometimes called ecoacoustics or soundscape studies, is the relationship, mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment. Acoustic ecology studies started in the late 1960s with R. Murray Schafer and his team at Simon Fraser University as part of the World...
movement. In 2004, Ultra-red launched their own creative commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
online label, Public Record, to showcase works of politically-engaged ambient music. In additional to Ultra-red, other artists to appear on Public Record include Elliot Perkins (formerly "Phonem") and Sony Mao.
Although the group is unapologetic about its Leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
political commitments, the name Ultra-red apparently designates no affiliation with any specific political party or organization.