Music between Companion Species
Music between Companion Species is a series of concerts conceived and performed for and with dogs, their human companions and other more-than-human presences who may join these sessions.
Inspired by Donna J. Haraway’s Companion Species Manifesto and by cientific studies about dog’s preferences for sound and music, the concerts will take into account these animals’ unique sensibilities and hearing capabilities, through the knowledge of dog hearing specialists.
Curated by Lovers & Lollypops, The monthly cycle of concerts will be presented until the end of the year and will feature an eclectic list of participations, in dialogue: OMNE, Gaspar Cohen & Francisco Babo, Violeta Azevedo & Ariyouok, Lendl Barcelos & Dora Vieira, Cobracoral and João Grilo & Suzana.
Our specialist in animal sound
Amy Bowman
After studying Veterinary Biosciences at the University of Glasgow, Amy Bowman then completed her Ph.D. with the animal rescue and rehoming charity, the Scottish SPCA.
Whilst awaiting to be rehomed, animals are kept in a kennel, an inherently stressful environment for cats, dogs, and other animals. But there are a number of ways in which we can improve or ‘enrich’ the kennel environment.
Amy’s research focused on exploring and quantifying the potential physiological benefits of playing music (audio enrichment) to dogs in kennels. Her original study found that dogs were less stressed when played classical music but that the beneficial effects diminished after seven days – a process known as habituation. Amy then looked at the effect of different genres of music and found that dogs responded best to ‘soft rock’ and ‘reggae’ and that changing the genre of the music reduced the effect of habituation. Finally, Amy looked at different musical characteristics such as tempo and frequency and was able to make suggestions about aspects of music which may be more or less stressful for dogs.
Thursday, June 22, at 7pm
Music Between Companion Species: DJ-set by OMNE
The first performance of this cycle will feature a DJ set by OMNE.
Incorporating different influences, OMNE has been presenting immersive and durational sessions, of contemplative and psychedelic sounds, where the canine sound, and its particularities and sensitivities will be explored.
Incorporating different influences, OMNE has been presenting immersive and durational sessions, of contemplative and psychedelic sounds, where the canine sound, and its particularities and sensitivities will be explored.
Thursday, June 29, at 7pm
Gaspar Cohen + Francisco Babo
As an undercover artistic agent, Francisco Babo likes to use different non-industrial creative expressions – the dull, the tasteless, the coarse, the slow, the counterproductive – to create moments of collective deconcentration and divergent thoughts. Believing in libertarian improvisation, he is currently participating in activities of the Amateur label, the PELE association and other scenographies.
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Gaspar Cohen is an artist and researcher. As a teacher and performer, Cohen interrogates the capital-colonial system that incorporates digital technologies. The work is materialized from logics of concept and space, addressing the illusory movements of reality, the limits of augmentation, and the politics of noise and error.
Wednesday, July 19, 7pm
Violeta Azevedo + Ariyouok
Violeta Azevedo is a sound artist, who oscillates between composition and improvisation. Having as a starting point the transverse flute, her music transports us to a dense and detailed universe, where sound is transformed into singular organisms through her orchestra of electronics and alchemical processes. Using both distorted harmonies and delicate melodies, Violeta Azevedo invites us to immerse ourselves in her world, simultaneously inhabited by shimmering beings and tenebrous energies, in a constant symbiotic harmony.
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Born in Portugal and raised in Cape Verde, Ari began intuitively expressing himself musically as a child, experimenting with beatbox and playing percussion. Since 2012, he has been exploring the Fruity Loops Studio software, discovering a new way of merging the different sounds he's been acquiring. From ancestral cultural roots, to the new cybernetic world, his practice is a mix of influences materialized in live performances, with his loop station and the rhythms of percussion in the darbuka djambe.
Over the years, he has collaborated in several projects, such as the musical production of the album "Meia Riba Calxa" by Tristany.
Sunday, September 24, at 6pm
Lendl Barcelos + Dora Vieira
Dora Vieira is a musician and visual artist who integrates different musical projects such as Milteto, Orquestra de Sopros e Electrónica, Moto-Rotos, Amijas, Judas Triste and Bezbog. In her solo musical work, Dora calls herself Moira Encantada, and highlights the use of resources such as no-input mixer, trumpet, percussion, radio, feedbacks and repetitive sound complexes. This practice also converges in her visual production, through experimental video art projects, video clips, poster and cover design for editions, intermedia performances and installations and respective soundscapes.
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Lendl Barcelos is a sound artist, "kataphysician" and DJ, interested in exploring the vibrating matters, often of the aural dimension, even when these occur beyond normative human limits. Alongside Tarek Atoui, Allison O'Daniel, Myriam Lefkowitz & Valentina Desideri, he was part of the Council's Infinite Ear project, based on the premise that deafness constitutes a specialisation in sound. His work has been presented at Tate Britain (London), Centrocentro (Madrid), Garage (Moscow), Inkonskt (Malmo), Q-O₂ (Brussels), Pedreira (Porto), and has been published by Urbanomic, re:press and MIT.
Wednesday, November 8, at 7pm
Cobracoral
Cobracoral is a project that entwines the voices of Catarina Miranda (Portugal), Clélia Colonna (France), and Ece Canli (Turkey), in a sound cycle where each contributes with her own vocal particularity: Miranda explores orality from a choreographic angle; Colonna conducts research on polyphonic traditions from Asia and the Mediterranean; and Canli investigates expanded voice practices. The result is a constant dynamic of reaction, adaptation, rhythm, and repetition, in search of a balance between voices, patterns, and textures.
Together, they explore the potential of the voice through sound effects - but also gesture - in order to amplify the aural experience suggested by vocal extension, seeking an experience that surpasses the bodies themselves. The physicality and energy, which also shape the sound, resulting in a harmonious fusion of ritualistic chants, oneiric cycles, and contemporary vocal techniques, forming the rhythmic, imagetic, and narrative landscape of this trio.
Sunday, November 19, at 6pm
João Grilo + Suzana
João Grilo is a sound artist, performer, composer and lyricist. Interested in the languages of absurdity and astonishment, he seeks to reclaim a disappearing time for contemplation. Co-creator of the project "HVIT" with video artist Miguel C Tavares and composer of the chamber opera "Pequena História de um Povo com Memória" for Quarteto Contratempus, he has been working on the creation of soundscapes for theatre and dance. His vast list of musical collaborations includes names such as Susana Santos Silva, Pedro Melo Alves, Jeff Williams, João Hasselberg, Jo David Meyer, Mynda Guevara, DJ Firmeza, Joana Castro and Hery Paz.
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Suzana Francês revealed an interest in music from an early age. At the age of three she started playing the violin at the Escola Metropolitana de Lisboa and belonged to the "Violinhos" orchestra, where she gave her first concert at the age of four, at the Centro Cultural de Belém. After her studies in classical music, Suzana has been embracing different musical styles and projects, as was the case with Tristany's "Meia Riba Kalxa", in which she took part as violinist and vocalist, having been on tour nationally and internationally for three years. She has been presenting her solo project, with original compositions in violin, accompanied by Ariyouok in her loopstation and Célio in the guitar.