adolar | Harald Guenter Kainer

 

adolar | Harald Guenter Kainer
GrDl 105 | Gruen Digital > [order]
MP3 & FLAC

Reviews

 

Adolar was part of the exhibition ‘Luftblicke’ in October 2011 in Graz (Austria), curated by Birgit Bauernfeind and Katharina Lehmann. The exhibition aimed at changing or rather challenging our habitual perspectives, raising the question of what happens when we avoid ordinary ways of viewing.

 

The sound installation Adolar is inspired by a view into the night sky. The basic structure was derived via specific relationships between stars and the earth. Data, such as the brightness or the distance of the stars, was transferred to diverse musical parameters and processed on various audio channels.
Due to the fact that the audio loops being played into- and coming back from the room consist of different lengths, new constellations of sounds are continuously evolving, or rather the material is continually illuminated in new ways. Whilst spatialisation serves the purpose of focusing on the viewing direction, it is also intended for the viewer to move about the room in order to being able to react to the situation he is confronted with, thereby further adding to the experience of a variety of different perspectives. The objective is to enlarge the space acoustically and to create both more and less nuanced sound patterns simultaneously.

 

Excerpts:

1

MP3

2

MP3

3

MP3

 

1 Track (79′36″)

 

Sound Art Series by Gruenrekorder
Gruenrekorder / Germany / 2012 / GrDl 105 / LC 09488

 


 

Reviews

 

Scott W | Musique Machine
Adolar, an album-length audio component of the ‘Luftblicke’ in October 2011 in Graz (Austria), marks the entrance of Austrian Harald Guenter Kainer onto the contemporary academic drone scene. Structured around data specifying distances between Earth and various stars, Adolar is an experiment in contrasting sonic representations of distance. At the exhibition, loops of varying length colluded in various combinations to assist the listener’s attention toward contemplation of these vast spans of emptiness which lie between heavenly bodies. The listener’s movement between rooms was intended to bolster this affect and likely was intended to highlight the ephemeral qualities of the random and unique sound-events.

 

Heady conceptual frameworks appear to be the modus operandi of the Gruenrekorder label, and Adolar fits snugly in with their ever-widening catalog. Often the “high art” component of such works is taken to be more important than actual listenability, but this is fortunately not the case here. I presume that the album version of Adolar is merely a sizable excerpt from the event, as the structural stability of the piece throughout its duration adheres to the concept of the combination and re-combination of the same basic sounds. The result is hardly as boring as it sounds, however. A plentitude of silent and near-silent portions between the “events” aids in capturing a massive, dark, timeless mood. The soft, atonal drones have a somewhat time-stretched and gritty exterior but are presented to us without much other embellishment. Pacing and attention are pivotal for enjoying a drone journey such as this, but this works equally effective in a purely ambient function as well.

 

This first mass-released work by Kainer demonstrates a major achievement and hopefully will demarcate the beginning of a fruitful career in sound-related endeavors. It’s impossible to say, but if previous examples of academic-minded musicians serves as any example, this may be the last piece of this variety in Kainer’s catalog – who knows what other capabilities he has yet to reveal.

link

 

Guillermo Escudero | Loop

This is part of the German label Digital series which is dedicated to sound artists exploring field recordings and experimental electronics. Austrian Harald Günter Kainer studied composition and music theory and graduated in electroacoustic composition at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. His publications include instrumental and electronic compositions, sound and video installations, soundtracks and poetry. ‚Adolar‘ is a sound installation inspired by the night view at the sky and formed part of the exhibition ‚Luftblicke‘ held in Graz in 2011. This is a minimalist composition synthetic sounds produced few ambient layers that are interwoven as they appear and disappear. The music is appropiate to create a pristine atmosphere, penetrating and disturbing.

link