OH4168: Part 1. Interview with Alan Lamb in 2015 by John Bannister.

Summary

Alan Lamb is an artist, composer, and sound sculptor and is best known for his installations of large scale Aeolian harps and improvised electronic devices (Infinite Music Machines), designed to explore the more patterned and beautiful sounds derived from chaos (classical). In this interview, he discusses how his interest in New Music originated; he discusses his numerous collaborations and perfomances; and his many compositions based on the resonance of 'singing wires' - 'wire music'. He speaks at length about his interest in recording the sound of wind cut by wire; his discovery of a method of “strumming” instrument length wires using pulsed and fluctuating magnetic fields; creating chaotic sytsems; Aeolian sounds; his music machines (also known as infinity machines, chaos machines, etc) which have been used by new music groups such as the Decibel Ensemble; collaborating with Peter Sculthorpe , Sarah Hopkins; and his known works - for example Primal Image. He speaks of the development of the New Music scene in Western Australia; Ross Bolleter, Cathie Travers, Tos Mahoney, Roger Smalley, Club Zho, Tura, and helping to establishing the new music group - EVOS.