Embark on a pioneering sonic exploration through a newly penetrated world in which it is possible to hear the restless jostling of atoms and molecules. Scott Gibbons' haunting music is comprised entirely and exclusively from an entirely new type of microphone that allows scientists to listen to sounds at the molecular scale. This "micro-ear" is being developed at the University of Glasgow by scientists Prof Miles Padgett in the School of Physics & Astronomy and Prof Jon Cooper in the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering. The sounds from this microphone are sampled, filtered, overlaid and processed in a quest to recognize and suggest patterns and stories from a place far beyond our species' natural powers of perception. The author of the concert's visual effects is Romeo Castelucci.
Scott Gibbons has been composing electronic and electro-acoustic music for more than 25 years, with a two-fold exploration into the possibilities of natural acoustic sound on the one hand, and those of audio technology on the other. Although he is a seminal and influential composer of DarkAmbient and micromusic, his work is not so easily pigeonholed. His compositions demonstrate an acute balance between delicacy and physicality, often focusing around frequencies that are at the outermost limits of human hearing, and embracing quietness as a central element. A series of early releases on the Sub Rosa label - based only on singular natural sound sources such as stones and wind - has received praise from all over the world and provided inspiration for many "single-source" artists in their wake. He has created many unique electronic instruments for use on stage and has earned a strong reputation for his live performances. In fact his first live album - 1999's Field Notes - was one of All-Music Guide's "Best Albums of the Year" across all music genres.
Gibbons is currently creating a new composition comprised entirely of sounds at the molecular level, using an entirely new type of microphone which is revealing a world never-before heard by the human species. He is also collaborating with Romeo Castellucci using audio recordings of a human cremation around a performance of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Throughout 2012-14, he is working with the pyrotechnic artists of Groupe F on a series of individual projects around the theme of "Migrations", which began in 2012 at the Festival d'Avignon and will be taking place throughout Europe, Asia, and Australasia. He also continues to create and modify his own instruments and sound tools, such as a vintage 1950's valve (tube)-driven drum machine which he has modified to be played as a MIDI synthesizer.