Attunement, 2018 in collaboration with Olivia Webb @olivia.webb.art
To this date one of my favourite collaborations! We created this work during our stay at the Toi Pōneke Sound Art Residency in Wellington, and then toured the work to the USA for NIME 2018.
8-channel sound (30-minute continuous loop), HD video (various durations). This project also includes a series of listening workshops and a publication.
Attunement is a collaborative project with Olivia Webb that explores new modes of listening and being with others in the world. The project was first presented in January 2018 as an exhibition (8-channel sound installation + 2-channel HD video) alongside public ‘listening’ workshops, talks, performances and a publication of listening exercises.
The project explores the process and ethics of listening and becoming attuned to others. The verb ‘attune’ usually describes the act of making something harmonious, as in the tuning of an instrument. Attunement is also a state of relation to an object, environment or other people. To become attuned is to engage in a two-way sympathetic and empathetic exchange. In this project, attunement is used as a technique for exploring ways of being with others in the world.
Vital to this exchange is the practice of embodied listening and what Pauline Oliveros calls deep listening. Listening is central to human interaction, yet habits within Western culture tend to privilege speech and being heard over listening to and receiving others; we are quick to neglect listening and disregard its significance.
We developed a series of performances and sound based exercises that involve an exchange of breath and voice. These performances follow simple instructions. For example: Breathe in time with somebody else, sustain this until it is a comfortable and natural breath for you. Sing along with somebody else, a melody that only they know, becoming the voice of another. These exercises and more are available for you to practice for yourself in the Attunement publication.
For more information please visit flowilson.com/attunement
'Prelude to a Requiem', my new ambient bio-release* is now available via Saplings Records on Bandcamp. All my warmth and gratitude to Saplings Records and to Oliver Peryman (Fis) for the incredible support <3
Available via link in my bio 🌱
Prelude to a Requiem is a journal of my experiences in coping and processing anticipatory grief. At the end of 2017, my life was significantly and suddenly affected when a loved one was given three months to live. As I moved cities to be closer to this person, I took field recordings of my environment as a kind of diary, eventually working them into the composition.
In my experience having grown up in New Zealand (specifically as a Pākeha/ New Zealand European) it struck me then there are not many ways people speak openly with each other about grief, unless they have experienced grief themselves. Prelude to a Requiem is my offering of a sonic space for anyone who might need their grief to be held, at least for a little while.
A note on the bio-digital release: each sale from this record will plant approximately 55 Mangrove trees with Eden Projects. Artwork by Oliver Peryman.
Humbled to announce that I am a recipient of this year’s @theartsnz Springboard Awards! Very stoked to have @jjhenderson2019 as my mentor too 🔊
It’s a huge honour, I hope I do you all proud back home ❤️❤️❤️
I cannot emphasise enough how much I loooove to see my work embodied by dancers! Here, the incredible @danceplantcollective used my track 'Step' for their piece 'Entwined', a performance commissioned for New Zealand Maritime Museum. Got a wee snippet to share for ya xo
----Credits-----
Choreography and performance by Dance Plant Collective
Visuals and technical delivery by Nocturnal
Music by Flo Wilson
Videography and editing by Ollie Tressider
Props loaned by the New Zealand Maritime Museum
Costumes by RUBY
Commissioned by the New Zealand Maritime Museum for Bright Nights AKL
When I turned myself into a 4 channel sound installation earlier this year :)
Really wanna develop this idea further tbh… (without batteries in my pants lol)
On Tuesday 7 November, 2023, a group of Aotearoa artists unite to release TAUTOKO G*ZA, a compilation of new and/or unreleased tracks to stand in solidarity with G*za and the occupied W*st B*nk.
The artists on this compilation are horrified by the current situation in P*lest*ne and the recent escalation of violence by the Isr**li state. The genocidal blockade and repeated airstrikes have resulted in mass loss of civilian life on an unprecedented scale. These atrocities form part of a long legacy of forced displacement, which began under British imperialism and has continued under the Isr**li apartheid regime since 1948.
We stand in solidarity with the struggle for Pal*st*nian liberation and join the calls for an immediate ceasefire and end to the illegal military occupation. There is absolutely no justification for the brutal crimes and genocide being carried out against the Pal*st*nian people.
Available exclusively as a digital release via Bandcamp, all funds raised from the compilation will go to Medical Aid for P*lest*nians (MAP), an NGO working to support growing critical health needs resulting from Isr**l's ongoing bombardment and complete siege on G*za.
This siege has dramatically escalated since October 7th, and we recognise that much of the aid is currently not entering the region. We therefore ask listeners to engage in a range of actions in solidarity. These include but are not limited to:
• Writing to politicians and various cultural institutions urging them to call for an immediate ceasefire and sever diplomatic ties with Isr*el.
• BDS - Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions. E.g. boycotting brands who have shown support for Isr**l (such as Starbucks, McDonalds and Disney).
• Sharing online content made by P*l*st**nians to counter the pro-Isr**l bias in mainstream media coverage.
• Contacting media organisations to challenge particular instances of misinformation and/or disinformation.
• Joining and/or organising local rallies and protests.
• Staying up to date with the latest calls for action.
Released November 7, 2023
Mastered by Ike Zwanikken.
Album art by Molly McLennan.
Feeling so nourished after a deeply profound week in the Pyrenees, surrounded by the most open-hearted and generous artists! So many beautiful folks 🗻Thank you so much @visiblecloaks for guiding us and sharing so freely. My brain and heart are both very full 💜🥹
Biggest shouts out to @camp_fr for hosting such a beautiful residency! Truly an experience like no other x
📷 by @ideoforms@ryancarlile@visiblecloaks & me
★flo wilson
★echo 13.10
@iamflowilson (she/they) is a composer, performer and artist from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (NZ). Their creative work spans choral-based experimental electronic performance, immersive sound and video installation whilst utilising spatial sound design heavily throughout their practice.
Their work has been shown internationally (USA, AUS) and locally (NZ) including NIME and Spark Arena. They released their debut EP, '(Please) Keep Breathing', with a 2018 tape release on label mfmp.
Flo's latest major sound work 'Prelude to a Requiem' was released bio-digitally through Saplings Records in 2022. They have played support to Suzanne Ciani, Baths, Dan Deacon, and holds a first-class honours degree in Sonic Arts from Te Kōkī – NZSM.
✩ echo ᵉᶜʰᵒ ͤ ͨ ͪ ͦ
@acudmachtneu
20.00 – 05.00
★ 𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙴𝚃 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺 𝙸𝙽 𝙱𝙸𝙾 ★
Background art + logo: @aiuraken
Edit: @sailorhoon.kmph
🔊Time to spill the beans!!🔊 Extremely stoked to share I have been named one of five recipients for this years @apraamcosnz Professional Development Award! Honestly can’t stop smiling, it’s still sinking in 🥹 thank you APRA AMCOS and mystery panel!! Feeling blessed af xo
