radio care | resonant futures

During a week's long trip in Nantes, FR, Marinos Koutsomichalis facilitated a 2-day workthop / training school, participated in roundtables, gave a talk on "radio care", and improvised live with Radio-Noise Collective and Alexandra Niaka employing DIY antennas and instrument from the post-human radio project.
During a week's long trip in Nantes, FR, Marinos Koutsomichalis facilitated a 2-day workthop / training school, participated in roundtables, gave a talk on "radio care", and improvised live with Radio-Noise Collective and Alexandra Niaka employing DIY antennas and instrument from the post-human radio project.

βόρτεξ

Five years after its inception, ρομπότα project concludes with the production of the penultimate non-identical copies. These include nine copies in green handmade lokta cover with calligraphies in green ink and silk-screen printing in green ink, as well as a few other copies with blank ink in different handmade covers.
Five years after its inception, ρομπότα project concludes with the production of the penultimate non-identical copies. These include nine copies in green handmade lokta cover with calligraphies in green ink and silk-screen printing in green ink, as well as a few other copies with blank ink in different handmade covers.

NON-MACHINES @ BAUHAUS

I have been involved in the Non-Machines conference as part of the organisation team as well as a participant with two talks and a performance with a special version of my Mörk Materia (cameraless 8mm film, amplified 8mm projector). Non-machines invites us to rethink the relations between machines and non-machines,…
I have been involved in the Non-Machines conference as part of the organisation team as well as a participant with two talks and a performance with a special version of my Mörk Materia (cameraless 8mm film, amplified 8mm projector). Non-machines invites us to rethink the relations between machines and non-machines, using a change of perspective: from one which sees the relationship between machines and non-machines as competing powers, to a more equitable and non-competing relationship among all entities. The conference has been organised as part of the COST project Toolkit of Care (that I am the Action Chair of) and explores how technology suggests new relationships between artists and their tools. How can and should machines and non-machines relate to each other? How can the use of new methods and tools help us experience the environment? How can, or should, we care for and with machines and non-machines? Does thinking about our relationship with tools suggest ways of thinking more generally across boundaries of difference?

Antenna Monochord

DIY instrument in the context of the post-human radio (on the making)…
DIY instrument in the context of the post-human radio (on the making) project. More info soon.

A Certain Kind of Freedom

In part soundwalk, in part performance art, in part punk archaeology, in part getting lost in the dark; 'Άφρικα: A Certain Kind of Freedom' is a nocturnal rumination bringing together historical bewilderedness with first-person embodied experience of a place. The artist leads a night walk towards and inwards Agios Achillios island in Small Prespa Lake – near the borders of Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia – and back. En route, the walking audience is exposed to wildlife sounds and animal vocalisations, to orchestrated drama, and to historical records directly or indirectly concerning the broader area and its significance during the…
In part soundwalk, in part performance art, in part punk archaeology, in part getting lost in the dark; 'Άφρικα: A Certain Kind of Freedom' is a nocturnal rumination bringing together historical bewilderedness with first-person embodied experience of a place. The artist leads a night walk towards and inwards Agios Achillios island in Small Prespa Lake – near the borders of Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia – and back. En route, the walking audience is exposed to wildlife sounds and animal vocalisations, to orchestrated drama, and to historical records directly or indirectly concerning the broader area and its significance during the Greek civil war. Most notably, the latter concern previously unreleased/uncirculated CIA documents that have been released under 'The Freedom of Information Act' 5 U.S.C. § 552. This region has been the theater for many violent fights and atrocities that are deemed of the bloodiest pages in Greek history and that still seem reverberate contemporary politics/tenets. The involvement of the USA in these events is regarded as the first implementation of the Truman Doctrine and, thus, the first act of the imminent Cold War. Given the substantial involvement in Greek affairs for several decades to follow, Greece is generally thought of as one of the first instances of USA-controlled state-building. The area surrounding Prespa Lakes is only scarcely inhabited ever since. Yet, it remains a vibrant wildlife habitat rich in vegetation, forests, and wild mammals (such as boars, bears, deers). The Small Prespa Lake, in particular, hosts several different species of birds, frogs, toads, reptiles, and fish. 'ΑΦΡΙΚΑ: A Certain Kind of Freedom' attempts to (re)situate history, contemporary ramifications thereof, and own subjective sense-making within this unique habitat, inviting the night-walking audience to contemplate on 'freedom' – conceptual, imaginary, or actual freedom.

Distress, Ruins, Debris, Amalgams

A short essay as an attempt to revisit — through informal photographic documents, poetic sketches, and autobiographical notes — a field exploration of a certain part of the Heraklion seafront that took place the morning of the 5th of November 2020.
A short essay as an attempt to revisit — through informal photographic documents, poetic sketches, and autobiographical notes — a field exploration of a certain part of the Heraklion seafront that took place the morning of the 5th of November 2020.

A Certain Kind of Freedom

Scouting expedition on broader are surrounding Lake Prespa on the borders between Albania, Greece, and N. Macedonia; working on the ongoing peripatetic project 'A Certain Kind of Freedom' to be presented in a few months time. The area suggests itself for creative explorations of all sorts.
Scouting expedition on broader are surrounding Lake Prespa on the borders between Albania, Greece, and N. Macedonia; working on the ongoing peripatetic project 'A Certain Kind of Freedom' to be presented in a few months time. The area suggests itself for creative explorations of all sorts.

Cartagena Aesthico Week

I have been involved in a number of activities in Cartagena, ES the week 02-06 May 2023. As Work Group Leader in the Erasmus+ Aesthico (Aesthetics and Ecology in Technological Education) I have been responsible for organising a 'Repair/Reuse Hackathon' (Fablab SEDI-CUT-CT) and a 2-day Intensive Study Programme for trainers/teachers (Universidad…
I have been involved in a number of activities in Cartagena, ES the week 02-06 May 2023. As Work Group Leader in the Erasmus+ Aesthico (Aesthetics and Ecology in Technological Education) I have been responsible for organising a 'Repair/Reuse Hackathon' (Fablab SEDI-CUT-CT) and a 2-day Intensive Study Programme for trainers/teachers (Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena) with an international consortium of academics. I also participated in talks and a radio interview. Finally, with Alexia Achilleos we exhibited our 'Cyprus as AI Saw It: Reinventing the Colonial Gaze' installation in the concurring Festival De Arte Emergente MUCHO + MAYO 2023.

Machines of Sentient Resonance

A DIWO Experiment Where workshop participants are asked to give flesh to illustrations of non existent machines generated by a state of the art AI text-to-image generation pipeline. AI responds to ‘machine of sentient resonance’ and other similar prompts with pictures of haphazard apparatuses that are subsequently made real by…
A DIWO Experiment Where workshop participants are asked to give flesh to illustrations of non existent machines generated by a state of the art AI text-to-image generation pipeline. AI responds to ‘machine of sentient resonance’ and other similar prompts with pictures of haphazard apparatuses that are subsequently made real by the students that are, additionally, required to come up with (real or fictional) functions/uses for/of them.

Mörk Materia

Mörk Materia revolves around cameraless photography/cinematography experimentation and the creative utilisation of…
Mörk Materia revolves around cameraless photography/cinematography experimentation and the creative utilisation of the darkroom as a production means all by itself. Employing a variety of techniques, B&W chemistry, gelatin film and RC or FB photopaper all kinds of abstract imagery is created from scratch. Highly experimental in their essence sessions of a sort make heavy use of expired silver-based materials, misuse of chemistry, and ad-hoc/haphazard methods. On this continuum, Mörk Materia celebrates unconditional exploration of the literal/material foundation of photography.

Ioannina Field Report

We've spent several days around Ioannina along with members from Medea Electronique collective, Afroditi Panayotakou, and Doros Polydorou, gathering data and considering the specifics of a new multimedia work pivoting on Ioannina Lake and the surrounding landscape. Our exploration activities ranged from radio-walks to 360º photo/videography, stereoscopy, underwater audio/video recordings, interviews, and other.
We've spent several days around Ioannina along with members from Medea Electronique collective, Afroditi Panayotakou, and Doros Polydorou, gathering data and considering the specifics of a new multimedia work pivoting on Ioannina Lake and the surrounding landscape. Our exploration activities ranged from radio-walks to 360º photo/videography, stereoscopy, underwater audio/video recordings, interviews, and other.

Machines of Mantic Stain

A hybrid open-ended do-it-with-others workshop revolving around experimental making, irrational tonalities, resonant impromptu data scratching, post-digital utopias, and weird speculative artefacts. John Bowers leads an experimental laboratory on a continuum spanning almost 2 days with groups of students, resident researchers, invited artists, and the local public succeeding and blending with…
A hybrid open-ended do-it-with-others workshop revolving around experimental making, irrational tonalities, resonant impromptu data scratching, post-digital utopias, and weird speculative artefacts. John Bowers leads an experimental laboratory on a continuum spanning almost 2 days with groups of students, resident researchers, invited artists, and the local public succeeding and blending with one another so as to engage with creative tactics and outputs as part of a broader hybrid event – your own 'Machine of Mantic Stain' in central Limassol.

Alfred (& Plinky)

'Alfred' is a DIY dipole coil antenna I made to experiment with radio reception/transmission at 20 and 17 meters. Alfred also has a young brother - that is, Plinky (not shown here) - made to radiate at 70cm.
'Alfred' is a DIY dipole coil antenna I made to experiment with radio reception/transmission at 20 and 17 meters. Alfred also has a young brother - that is, Plinky (not shown here) - made to radiate at 70cm.

Deep is the new dark

Marinos Koutsomichalis participated in this year's prestigious Ars Electronica festival as part of the 'STWST48x8 48 Hours Disconnected Connecting' anti-white cube exhibition and series of performances. He exhibited (and performed) Sentience, published a text of his in Versorgerin and performed live as part of the DEEP()MESS - open.ended dis.connected (a MEDIA()MESS…
Marinos Koutsomichalis participated in this year's prestigious Ars Electronica festival as part of the 'STWST48x8 48 Hours Disconnected Connecting' anti-white cube exhibition and series of performances. He exhibited (and performed) Sentience, published a text of his in Versorgerin and performed live as part of the DEEP()MESS - open.ended dis.connected (a MEDIA()MESS follow-up). Overall it's been both a very productive and creative week – messy, hybrid, provocative and 'deep'.

Imposion | Confusion

Two days of abstract sonicscapes, electroacoustic noises, ‘hertzian’ irrationalities, and untamed frequencies.…
Two days of abstract sonicscapes, electroacoustic noises, ‘hertzian’ irrationalities, and untamed frequencies. With live performances and impromptu improvisations by Solar Return (Julien Ottavi & Jenny Pickett), Dimitri Savva, Marinos Koutsomichalis, Emiddio Vasquez, Andreas Kitsi, and Anastasia Melandinou.

κηροζίνη, ακτίνες, ΡΟΜΠΟΤΑ

Text sketches & notes from/for various (non)places, in miscellaneous languages and language hybrids. Silk-screen printed in handmade Nepalese paper of various qualities, in traditional Japanese bookbinding style with side sewing, and also featuring Japanese calligraphies by the author. Self-published in a limited edition of 57 number non-identical copies; of which 5 are to be buried in special locations and so as to invite process of decay and decomposition transform them into something else.
Text sketches & notes from/for various (non)places, in miscellaneous languages and language hybrids. Silk-screen printed in handmade Nepalese paper of various qualities, in traditional Japanese bookbinding style with side sewing, and also featuring Japanese calligraphies by the author. Self-published in a limited edition of 57 number non-identical copies; of which 5 are to be buried in special locations and so as to invite process of decay and decomposition transform them into something else.

Extreme electronic music

Three electronic music compositions by Marinos Koutsomichalis and Kasper T. Toeplitz; the…
Three electronic music compositions by Marinos Koutsomichalis and Kasper T. Toeplitz; the outcome of their 2016 studio sessions in Paris, FR. W piwnicy / στο υπόγειο has been self-released by the artists in an edition of 300 glass-mastered cds in 2022.

Intersections between AI and ethics

EthicAI=Labs is a joint project by the Goethe-Institutes in Athens, Bucharest, Ankara, Sarajevo, Sofia, and Zagreb, opening a cross-genre space for critical conversation on AI and ethics in Southeast Europe. In this context, a three day ideation took place in Sofia BU where participants worked together in teams so as…
EthicAI=Labs is a joint project by the Goethe-Institutes in Athens, Bucharest, Ankara, Sarajevo, Sofia, and Zagreb, opening a cross-genre space for critical conversation on AI and ethics in Southeast Europe. In this context, a three day ideation took place in Sofia BU where participants worked together in teams so as to their pitch project ideas.

MADLab, Piksel, STWST & Apo33 meet

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Fabrique (île de Nantes, FR) 10 artists/hackers from 4 different research labs –MADLab (Limassol CY), Piksel (Bergen NO), STWST (Linz, AT), Apo33 (Nantes, FR)– at the intersection of intermedia arts, DIY, DIWO, and mediactivism come together to realise a unique improvised 2hour…
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Fabrique (île de Nantes, FR) 10 artists/hackers from 4 different research labs –MADLab (Limassol CY), Piksel (Bergen NO), STWST (Linz, AT), Apo33 (Nantes, FR)– at the intersection of intermedia arts, DIY, DIWO, and mediactivism come together to realise a unique improvised 2hour long multimedia performance. Together, they interpret the media and the networks on the current situation of the world and intervene as a research group employing audio, image, language, light, objects, and their own bodies.

Speculative fiction workshop

16 aeons ago humans living on planet Earth decided to abandon language. You are these humans’ mute descendants, currently inhabiting a suspended timespace with a finite edge. In order to ensure your survival you must return to Earth, but before, you must unveil the mysteries of this decision and steer…
16 aeons ago humans living on planet Earth decided to abandon language. You are these humans’ mute descendants, currently inhabiting a suspended timespace with a finite edge. In order to ensure your survival you must return to Earth, but before, you must unveil the mysteries of this decision and steer a path toward new futures.

Reinventing the colonial gaze

A hybrid AI system is trained on text from colonial handbooks of Cyprus and employing a custom image dataset to generate new colonial ‘gazes’ of Cyprus upon demand. Output text and imagery is used in a number of physical and digital artefacts and events: a physical book comprising AI-generated text and imagery, smartphone applications for iPhone and Android, and a multimedia installation. The project is part of a wider artistic project thematic concerned with decolonial re-interpretations of the island’s history. The endeavour employs an AttnGAN text-to-image generation model and a RNN text generator. The latter is trained on text from…
A hybrid AI system is trained on text from colonial handbooks of Cyprus and employing a custom image dataset to generate new colonial ‘gazes’ of Cyprus upon demand. Output text and imagery is used in a number of physical and digital artefacts and events: a physical book comprising AI-generated text and imagery, smartphone applications for iPhone and Android, and a multimedia installation. The project is part of a wider artistic project thematic concerned with decolonial re-interpretations of the island’s history. The endeavour employs an AttnGAN text-to-image generation model and a RNN text generator. The latter is trained on text from colonial handbooks of Cyprus, originally published when Cyprus was still part of the British Empire and reflecting an overly orientalist gaze of the (then) newly annexed British colony. Cyprus is presented therein as a degenerate country whose people are in urgent need of salvation. Trained on such a corpus, the model may then generate new colonial descriptions of Cyprus. These then become the input of a GAN-driven text-to-image pipeline. This subsystem relies on a bespoke dataset that is meant to reflect the local reality since, not surprisingly, the readily available image databases largely fail to account for Eastern Mediterranean landscapes/culture (they generally produce images that are more reminiscent of the Western cities that host the big tech companies that distribute them).

Hertzian audio trigger

‘Stahlblock’ is a DIY reductionist multichannel instrument (4 stereo + 8 mono) that may trigger up to 32 audio recordings of arbitrary duration. Stahlblock is to be used in future live audio performances. UI/UX is designed by Marinos Koutsomichalis. The instrument is implemented and built by Marinos Koutsomichalis and CommonsLab.
‘Stahlblock’ is a DIY reductionist multichannel instrument (4 stereo + 8 mono) that may trigger up to 32 audio recordings of arbitrary duration. Stahlblock is to be used in future live audio performances. UI/UX is designed by Marinos Koutsomichalis. The instrument is implemented and built by Marinos Koutsomichalis and CommonsLab.

A (post-)pandemic distributed utopia

In the wake of multiple lock-downs and extraordinary political manoeuvring affecting everyday…
In the wake of multiple lock-downs and extraordinary political manoeuvring affecting everyday life globally, this project inquires the possibility of a (post-)pandemic distributed utopia – the possibility of a new hybrid public/private space wherein fragmented aspects of the everyday are juxtaposed and orchestrated in ever-creative fashions.

Exploring the contemporary Ancient Messene

Tactics against Antiquity probes the making and unmaking of intra-personal and extra-personal place-hood, history, and memory. Inspired by the ancient practice of ‘peripatos’ – both as a political act and as a strategy for epistemic inquiry – the artist leads a walk through the ruins of ancient Messene, presenting the audience with audio documents of, and with creative responses to, his own personal (un)makings at play. Tactics against Antiquity draw on found audio, folk traditions, abstract sound synthesis, dark ecology, politicised narratives, transgressive audioscape juxtapositions, tactical silence, speculative ethnography, and real time exploration of various acoustic, electromagnetic, and geophysical phenomena…
Tactics against Antiquity probes the making and unmaking of intra-personal and extra-personal place-hood, history, and memory. Inspired by the ancient practice of ‘peripatos’ – both as a political act and as a strategy for epistemic inquiry – the artist leads a walk through the ruins of ancient Messene, presenting the audience with audio documents of, and with creative responses to, his own personal (un)makings at play. Tactics against Antiquity draw on found audio, folk traditions, abstract sound synthesis, dark ecology, politicised narratives, transgressive audioscape juxtapositions, tactical silence, speculative ethnography, and real time exploration of various acoustic, electromagnetic, and geophysical phenomena in-situ, in this way intending to bring forth a post-historical and meta-phenomenological perspective of the ‘contemporary’ ancient Messene.

A long-form algorithmic mesh of sinusoid glissandi modulated in real time employing true random numbers and streamed online on Anulios server

A self-generative live streaming algorithmic composition to be live-streamed 24/7 via Anulios…
A self-generative live streaming algorithmic composition to be live-streamed 24/7 via Anulios server for a period of several months.

Subordinate approaches to composition and sound synthesis spanning a 20 years old archive

Selected audio from the artist's archive, spanning a period of two decades and concerning rarities and obscurities of all sorts: tape manipulations, algorithmic studies, demodulated radio-frequencies, DSP, field recordings, modular synthesisers, instrumental works, etc.
Selected audio from the artist's archive, spanning a period of two decades and concerning rarities and obscurities of all sorts: tape manipulations, algorithmic studies, demodulated radio-frequencies, DSP, field recordings, modular synthesisers, instrumental works, etc.
A reductionist speculative ‘infra-instrument’.

クツォミハリスマリノスの混乱、東京のコンサート

Composed on the occasion of the artist's concert at 神楽音 (Tokyo, JP 2019), an live performance piece employing THEBRICK and pivoting on an extensive selection of audio from the artist's archive – among others, featuring Serge, Buchla and Arp2500 synth recordings as well as data sonifications.
Composed on the occasion of the artist's concert at 神楽音 (Tokyo, JP 2019), an live performance piece employing THEBRICK and pivoting on an extensive selection of audio from the artist's archive – among others, featuring Serge, Buchla and Arp2500 synth recordings as well as data sonifications.

A hybrid Supercollider/Buchla feedback loop

Originally recorded at EMS Stockholm in 2012; released just now.
Originally recorded at EMS Stockholm in 2012; released just now.

Non-compositional stratagems for self-elimination

Originally recorded at EMS Stockholm in 2012; released just now.
Originally recorded at EMS Stockholm in 2012; released just now.

Rough-hewn, post-optimal and user-unfriendly infra-computer

A DIY instrument utilised in a number of projects to facilitate miscellaneous…
A DIY instrument utilised in a number of projects to facilitate miscellaneous live multimedia acts.

A sacred space

Having to refrain from travelling for prolong periods of time and, thus, experiencing a dramatic shift to other than the ordinary ways to present my work, I launched Anulios server into space (https://anulios.space) on February 10th 2021 and in order to facilitate artistic projects during the Covid-19 pandemic and onwards.…
Having to refrain from travelling for prolong periods of time and, thus, experiencing a dramatic shift to other than the ordinary ways to present my work, I launched Anulios server into space (https://anulios.space) on February 10th 2021 and in order to facilitate artistic projects during the Covid-19 pandemic and onwards. Anulios is a powerful unix server, physically located in Nuremberg (DE) and accessible worldwide; it enables me to experiment with everything network related, from file exchanges, to net-music, to interactive audiovisual improvisations to long-form algorithmic audio/video installations, and other. Anulios has already aided realise a few such recent projects. Anulios has then become the spiritual satellite of my creative ecosystem; I consider it a sacred space.

Lockdown Dys/U-topias

A Marinos Koutsomichalis podcast commissioned by 'Otoliths in Flux' show in Movement Radio (GR). Inspired by the ongoing pandemic it zeroes in on audio material loosely concerning imposed, voluntary, or accidental isolation, seclusion, and imprisonment. Featured among others are pandemic ambiences, quarantine testimonies, prison camp compositions, confinement reports, post-apocalyptic audioscapes,…
A Marinos Koutsomichalis podcast commissioned by 'Otoliths in Flux' show in Movement Radio (GR). Inspired by the ongoing pandemic it zeroes in on audio material loosely concerning imposed, voluntary, or accidental isolation, seclusion, and imprisonment. Featured among others are pandemic ambiences, quarantine testimonies, prison camp compositions, confinement reports, post-apocalyptic audioscapes, mine improvisations, bedroom noises, reclusive practices, sonic explorations of sequestered territories, and (networked) methodologies to subvert and to undermine confinement.