Ian Baxter
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Sound Artist

Installations - Playing the Weather

Playing the Weather was an installation realisation of the score Playing the Weather held at BLOC Space in February 2008. Six repeating loops of glockenspiel, guitar feedback, organ drones, circuit bent casio tones and acoustic guitar diads (two note chords) were prepared, deriving their notes from the procedures described in the playing the weather score. A CDr of the elements will be available through quiet records soon. The visual element of the installation had three parts. Firstly, the equipment itself, six CD players (one for each loop to facilitate them falling out of sync), DVD players and projectors, the PA system and its speakers. The speakers in each corner, with their leads radiating from a central anarchic pile of the equipment. Secondly a wall display of the newspaper pages from which the notes were derived and the transcriptions I made from them and a collection of quotes and the score by way of explanation of what was going on. Finally, two projections of world satellite weather imaginary lifted from the met office website, offering a backdrop which changes slowly and subtly, like the music. An unplanned consequence of using the projectors as the sole lighting was a rather erie, cold light, this was coupled with the timing of the exhibition in the middle of a particularly cold snap with frozen snow all around the entrance to the gallery.