YIDO, pronounced Why I do, is a draft manifesto on the value and making of art in the 21st century by a 20th century nomad weaning myself off the net and much more besides.

Help me write this manifesto. Add your thoughts, comments, grievances by creating an account on my wiki. When adding comments, I wouldn't mind knowing who you are... that said, your anonymity will be respected.

Beginning

What does a manifesto for this century proclaim if not a halt to all things that ail us? And what of art in this process? More than ever we require the means to shift, or rather, change consciousness towards an appreciation of all things that are, or ought be returned to the commons... including some idea of equity and re-assessment of how we consume, what we consume and how and what resources can be sustained. We are facing unprecedented turmoil.

Ice trees on approach to Wien, Jan 2009

Read the current draft of YIDO.

To sync or drift... a little of each I suspect as this new iteration of the Terminal Quartet sets about to sync three operating systems, two software applications, five computers, one network switch and a single turntable from which we receive tempo from. All this and a CD burn station conceived just for our forthcoming performance, CDs of the completed work, Graz-Stadt Drift, will be available almost as soon as we step off stage. Gotta love open source!

Terminal Quartet Graz debuts 'Graz-Stadt Drift' at Stockwerk Jazz, 29 Jan.

Graz-Stadt Drift is a site specific structured improvisation for three operating systems, four computers and one turntable, conceived of and performed by the Terminal Quartet, originally founded by Australian composer / producer, Andrew Garton.

The Terminal Quartet grew from a Melbourne based project in 2003 to an international Quartet with members that have included Robert Henke (aka Monolake), Ash Wednesday (Einstürzende Neubauten), Ross Bencina (Audiomulch) and Australian luminaries Ollie Olsen, Steve Law, Julian Knowles, Andrew Kettle, Paul Abad, Andrew Kettle, Andy Bagley, Lawrence English and John Grant.

Graz-Stadt Drift will be performed by the Graz chapter of the Terminal Quartet - Josef 'Seppo' Gründler, Ludwig Zeininger, Peter Venus and Andrew Garton.

The Quartet performs structured improvisations. Each performer researches and arranges individual movements in isolation from each other. The completed movements are heard for the first time during performance.

Listen to: Terminal Quartet performances 2003 to 2008.

Supporting the Terminal Quartet is the Garton Zeininger Duo, co-founders of the late 90's European based, Electro Pathological Consort.

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Ondes Martenot

Don't Touch The Art: Sonorium in B-flat minor, by Andrew Garton, is an on site performance for Arts Birthday, 17 January 2009, in collaboration with KunstRadio and performed at the Magical Soundmachines exhibition, Kulturfabrik, Hainburg, Austria.

Listen MP3 Stream: Arts Birthday Mix

It is said that a child's first sound is in B-flat. Some say the tone that resonates across and through the planet is in B-flat minor. A black hole 250 million late years away is said to emit a tone 57 octaves below middle C and its known pitch is B-flat!

If at art's birth, its first sound were B-flat, it is fitting that at this auspicious year, when the earliest of electric sound machines are present, at the turn of a new phase in human industrial history, that a sonnet in B-flat is performed on site at the Kulturfabrik Hainburg.

Garton will perform Don't Touch The Art: Sonorium in B-flat minor for Ondes Martenot33, solo voice, makam (Turkish melodic formulas similar to Western scales / modes) chord generator and hard curve saturation.

Included in the work will be a "sampling" of open licensed sounds and recordings in the key of B-flat, or B-flat minor. As open licensed content is inherently a gift to all within the public commons, so it will come to pass that a compilation of such works will be, in 2009, a gift to Art.

The Ondes Martenot was the 1928 creation of Maurice Martenot. It was inspired in part by Lew S. Thermen, inventor of the Theremin, whom Martenot had met in 1923.

The Ondes Martenot33 is exhibited at Magical Soundmachines, Kulturfabrik, Hainburg, Austria.

Began writing this tune about a year ago. Started out a lot rockier, but by the time I'd got to Cape Town, it slowed down considerably. Its first public debut was performed along with Benguela guitarist, Alex Bozas, who encouraged me to slow it down even more. This version is about as ponderous as it'll get and by far the most gritty to perform.

• 1 guitar
• 1 voice
• 4 days
• Countless tweaks and remixes
• Countless coffees
• Only 1 glass of wine
• 1 shot of schnapps
• Left over curry
• Pack of cigs
• Three countries
• Encouraging feedback

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Comments, feedback, concerns, likes and dislikes, suggestions and encouraging remarks welcome.

KoanPro voice names, samples, pitch range, length and voice types

From 18 August through to 26 September 97, Australia's  The Listening Room presented Sensorium Connect / Body Morph, a generative composition by Andrew Garton and comprised of sounds sampled from performances by Stelarc.

Sensorium Connect was the first Listening Room project entirely produced for online and was streamed for its entire six week duration.

On 11 January 2009 KunstRadio (11.03pm - 11.45pm (CEST & CET) & Online) broadcasts an entirely new version of this work.

Sensorium Re-Connected, a generative composition for for 5 PCs and 2 voices, commemorates the work of The Listening Room and the contribution this piece made to furthering radio and sound art online in Australia.

Listen to Sensorium Re-Connected: mp3 stream.
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