Mark Fell premieres Seven Facts in Logical Space—his new multichannel project for Lampo and the Chicago Architecture Biennial. The piece features 24 speakers positioned around Preston Bradley Hall, placing electronic sound in dialogue with the acoustic and architectural space.

Conceived as a sonic framework for Chicago bassoonist and improviser Katherine Young, the piece develops Fell’s concern with the spatial distribution of synthetic sound in response to the architectural environment and the interplay of geometries. Fell describes Seven Facts in Logical Space in terms of the relationships between shapes and textures, between the oblique network of synthetic lines and the visceral, organic pacing of Young’s turbulent acoustic timbres.

In contrast to many spatial pieces, the work does not employ any surround-sound systems to create the appearance of sonic movement around the space and audience. The UK composer uses “concrete” approaches to the treatment of sonic and musical space that reject illusion and decoration in favor of the objective presence of material form.

Mark Fell (b.1966, Rotherham, England) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Sheffield, England. After studying experimental film and video art at the local polytechnic he reverted to earlier interests in computational technology, music and synthetic sound. In 1998 he began a series of critically acclaimed record releases on labels including Mille Plateaux, Line, Editions Mego and Raster Noton. Fell is widely known for exploring the relationships between popular music styles, such as electronica and club musics, and typically academic approaches to computer-based composition with a particular emphasis on algorithmic and mathematical systems. Since his early electronic music pieces Fell’s practice has expanded to include moving image works, sound and light installation, choreography, critical texts, curatorial projects and educational activities. He has worked with a number of artists including Yasunao Tone, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Okkyung Lee, Luke Fowler, Peter Gidal, John Chowning, Ernest Edmonds, Peter Rehberg, Oren Ambarchi and Carl Michael von Hausswolff.

The diversity and importance of Fell’s practice is reflected in the range and scale of international institutions that have presented his work, which include Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona; La Casa Encendida, Madrid; the Institute of Contemporary Art, London; Royal Festival Hall, London; Serpentine Galleries, London; the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Melbourne; Artists Space, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Lampo, Chicago; Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie, Karlsruhe; Hangar Bicocca, Milan, and others. Fell’s work is in the collection of Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in Vienna and has been recognized by Ars Electronica in Linz.

Mark Fell last appeared at Lampo in November 2013, when he premiered One Dimensional Music without Context and Meaning.

As a bassoonist and improviser, Katherine Young (b.1980, Ypsilanti, Mich.) amplifies her instrument and employs a flexible electronics set-up. The curious timbres, expressive noises, and kinetic structures of her electro-acoustic music explore the dramatic physicality of sound, shifting interpersonal dynamics, and associations with the familiar and the strange. Ensemble Dal Niente, Wet Ink, Talea, String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Spektral Quartet and Fonema Consort have performed her music. Collaboration is central to her practice, and she has documented such work on numerous recordings. At Oberlin, Katherine studied bassoon performance and comparative literature; she completed her masters in composition at Wesleyan University, working with Anthony Braxton, Ron Kuivila and Alvin Lucier.

In November 2014 Katherine Young performed in the Lampo series with the L.A. duo Lucky Dragons.

Presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial