Gerhard Eckel
Eckel (* 1962) is a composer and sound artist who takes both an artistic and scientific interest in matters of sound and music. His work includes more traditional forms such as compositions and improvisations as well as more interdisciplinary approaches including sound and media installations using virtual and augmented environment technologies. In his research work he creates and explores new means of artistic expression such as Immersive Audio-Augmented Environments or what he calls an Embodied Generative Music. His next project (together with composer Ramón González-Arroyo) will deal with the Choreography of Sound.
"Music is an essential nourishment for humans," he says. "Creating music is a form of cooking. Listening to music is a form of ingestion. Cooking and eating, as well as composing, performing and listening are conscious and deliberate acts. Cooking and composing create expectation; eating, performing and listening satisfy hunger. What happens to the music after we have taken it in? Digestion is an involuntary and unconscious bodily process. Catabolizer sonifies the music digestion process. It consumes entire pieces of music, chews them, swallows and digest them, i.e. breaks them down into components which are then absorbed."
Eckel's work is supported by the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (IEM, http://iem.at) of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz.