Flying Violonist

Interview
by Simon Grab

Patricia Bosshard, a violonist and composer from Lausanne, is a floating musical nomad between Free Improvisation, Composition, Electroacoustic Experiments, Musique Concrète and Noise Electronics. Her diverse projects show a deep sense of musical research, always considering space as a substantial part of composition.

In the video interview (in french) she talks to norient about sound environments, notation of noise, swiss traditional music, privat concerts and her ongoing project MRI.


Coyote

Coyote – Patricia Bosshard (violon, kbow), Dragos Tara (max/msp)

In her recent work «Coyote» , inspired by Joseph Beuys, she explores the possibilities of controlling sounds with the kbow, a violin bow built by Keith McMillen with 5 embedded sensors translating gestures into data (speed, hair pressure, grip pressure, accelerometer, bow length).

Coyote – Patricia Bosshard (violon, kbow), Dragos Tara (max/msp)

Video by Fazia Benhadj.


Flying Violonist

Photo: Hold Up – Audiovisual Performance, Patricia Bosshard: compositions, violon, & acrobate, Nicolas Wintsch: vidéo, vjing & scénographie, James d’O: electro acoustique & enregistrement sonore en direct, Jean-Claude Blaser: technique de vol

Bosshard, who is also part of the Dynamo group, attaches herself to ropes, flying through the air while playing her violin, always in the research of sound in space. Together with Nicolas Wintsch, a videoartist specializing on large scale videomapping and James d’O (electro acoustique, electronics), they explore the boundaries of architecture, image and sound.

Vertige – Audiovisual Performance

Flying Violoniste


MRI – Sound Spatialisation

In collaboration with Simon Grab, Patricia Bosshard performs live electronics in a surround sound environment. They have both been delighted of the harsh sounds of the MRI scanner, when they ended up in the magnetic resonance tube at a hospital due to an accident. Bosshard and Grab, always in the research of the unheard, translate this unusual acoustic situation into music. They use exclusively sound recordings from an MRI scanner (Magnet Resonance Imaging). In the tradition of the Musique Concrète they leave the raw material in its own radicality. The actual transformation is being achieved by layering these rich and complex sounds. Grab and Bosshard compose a varied and dense universe, which stylisticly goes from minimal ambient sounds to harsh noise. In concert the 2 musicians present their sound in a elaborated surround system. The audience is surrounded by various speakers and subwoofers.

MRI – Patricia Bosshard & Simon Grab, live at Landbouwbelang Maastricht 2012 (photo: Bert Janssen)

MRI – Patricia Bosshard & Simon Grab, live at Landbouwbelang Maastricht 2012

Video by Bert Janssen

MRI – Patricia Bosshard & Simon Grab, «Fiction»

MRI – Patricia Bosshard & Simon Grab, live at Landbouwbelang Maastricht 2012 (photo: Bert Janssen)

INSUB META ORCHESTRA

Founded in September 2010, the IMO is a large ensemble of improvisers gathering together around 45 musicians from all over Switzerland and further afield. Born out of the amorphous Insubordinations label and collective that has been publishing and promoting the varied forms of experimental improvisation since 2006. The orchestra aims to develop collective listening and playing, highlighting microclimatic sonorities, the addition of subtle layers and working towards a single sound which is driven by a shared idea carried by the impressive group of musicians making up the orchestra. With over 20 concerts and two residencies under its belt the IMO has been able to weave a unique and astonishing path. The IMO tends to a way of working where instruments lose their traditional function and sound to become abstract sounding objects establishing a non-hierarchical relation between them. (Text from here)

IMO – Music released by Insubordinations, a label from Geneva dedicated to improvised and electroacoustic music.

IMO are: Patricia Bosshard - Andreas Glauser - Antoine Läng - Béatrice Graf - Benoît Moreau - Bertrand Gauguet Brice Catherin - Bruno Crochet - Christian Müller - Christian Neff - Christoph Schiller - Christophe Berthet - Coralie Lonfat - Cyril Bondi - d'incise - Daniel Tyrrel - Dorothea Schürch - Dragos Tara - Eric Ruffing - Filippo Provenzale - Gérald Perrera - Gérald Zbinden - Gaudenz Badrutt - Gregor Vidic - Hans Koch - Heike Fiedler - Ivan Verda - Jacques Demierre - Jamasp Jhabvala - Loïc Grobéty - Louis Schild - Luc Müller - Marc Jufer - Marie Schwab - Otto Von Rhinau - Raphaël Ortis - Regula Gerber - Rodolphe Loubatière - Sébastien Branche Steve Buchanan - Teresa Hackel - Thierry Simonot - Thomas Peter - Vinz Vonlanthen - Wanda Obertova - Yann Leguay.


M2 – Metro Station Jingles in Lausanne

Before the new metro in Lausanne was finished in 2008, Patricia Bosshard asked the reponsible people at TL (Public Transport Lausanne) to compose the metro station jingles. Together with sound engineer David Scrufari they recorded local sounds and sound environments and produced the short pieces. The station announcements were spoken by Renato Häusler, who shouts the hours from the cathedral tower in four directions since 2002 (a tradition that goes back to 1405, originally to alarm the people of fire, nowadays announcing the hours between 22h-2h).

Jingles


Other Collaborations

Music

MUR//MUR live 2008 by James d'O electronics, Patricia Bosshard violon électronique

Link

Video

Live @ Improstor, Novi Sad: Jonas Kocher (accordion), D'Incise (laptop, objects), Patricia Bosshard (violin)

More information, sounds and videos about and by Patricia Bosshard here.

Biography

Simon Grab, the co-founder of ganzerplatz soundstudios has been an active musician and producer in a wide range of musical contexts. As a composer and sound artist he produces music & sounddesign for feature films, documentaries, theatre and radio. In live performances and installations he uses the venue as an acoustic playground. He likes exploring new grounds by negating existing borders. Follow him on Youtube, Instagram, or BandCamp.

Published on February 05, 2013

Last updated on August 18, 2020

Topics

Digitization
Music Production
All Topics

Snap

print as pdf