Petri Kuljuntausta


Petri Kuljuntausta is a Finnish composer, musician, sound artist and author of three books on electronic music and sound art. Since the 1990s he has belonged to a new generation of composers in Finland interested in experimental and electronic music.
Kuljuntausta has composed digital music for experimental films, video art, visual art and dance projects, and made media and sound installations in museums, galleries and concert halls. His works has been performed in many European countries, Australia, Mexico and the USA, and he has made recordings for various labels in Australia, Colombia, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, India, Sweden and the USA. In 2004 Star's End and Inner Space radio shows selected Kuljuntausta's Momentum as one of the most significant CD releases of the year. In 2005 he won an award, The Finnish State Prize for Art, from the Finnish government as a distinguished national artist. NPS, the Nederlandse Programma Stichting, and Yleisradio has produced extensive artistic profiles on Kuljuntausta.
Kuljuntausta is famous for music composed of sounds both natural and extraordinary. In close collaboration with natural scientists, he has composed underwater installations from underwater materials and made music out of whale calls and the sounds of the Northern Lights. In many ways Kuljuntausta's art is based on good knowledge of tradition. Environmental sounds, live electronic music, improvisation and collaborations with Media Artists has influenced him as a composer.
One of his many challenging composition projects is Northern Lights Live, which is based on soundscapes of the Northern Lights and audio feedback. The work was commissioned by the ISEA2004 festival, 12th Symposium on Electronic Arts. Northern Lights Live is a vivid collaboration in the field between art and science, recycling original nature recordings of the phenomena as well as processed aurora borealis sounds. A forty-five-minute-long continuous audio-visual dialogue between nature's own soundscapes and their digitally altered, urban noise-art substitutes were created on stage. In collaboration with zoomusicologist Dario Martinelli, Kuljuntausta released in 2008 a CD entitled Zoosphere. A Musical Encryptation of Animal Sounds, which is entirely based on animal sounds, like the sounds of birds, whales, wolves, shrimps. Kuljuntausta has also composed extensive body of works in the style of Minimalist music. Since mid-1990s he has developed new composition technique based on Phasing. Repetitive music could be heard especially in his film and video soundtracks.
In collaboration with visual artist and experimental film director Sami van Ingen Kuljuntausta has created media installations where the energy of light waves reveal audible sounds, and the sound waves in water reveal moving light figures with the help of laser beams. Soundscapes and environmental sounds are often present in his works. Another distinctive character in his music is the use of feedback noise. Kuljuntausta has developed his own electronic system to generate and control feedback sounds live.
The most extreme musical environment for Kuljuntausta's music is Saturn's moon Titan. When Cassini-Huygens spacecraft started its journey in 1997 from Kennedy Space Center, United States, his composition Charm of Sound was inside the Huygens probe of Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, stored on the CD-rom. When Huygens probe reached its destination on Friday January 14, 2005, Kuljuntausta's Charm of Sound landed on the ground of Titan after travelling seven years and four billion kilometres through Space.
Kuljuntausta has collaborated with composers and artists Morton Subotnick, Atau Tanaka, Richard Lerman, David Rothenberg, Robert Jürjendal, Markus Reuter, Pat Mastelotto, Chris Mann, Jim Nollman, Dario Martinelli, Al Margolis, Helmut Lemke, Ocean-North, Juhani Liimatainen, Juhani Nuorvala, Hepa Halme, Jukka Orma, Markku Veijonsuo, Markus Fagerudd, Rihmasto, John Richardson, and VJ group Random Doctors, and he has produced and coordinated many album projects since late-1990s. In 2011 Kuljuntausta composed soundtrack for the film Five Fragments of the Extinct Empathy, the film was selected as the Best Short Documentary 2012 at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto. Two years earlier, in 2009, Kuljuntausta composed soundtrack for the film Water Cities which won the first prize at III. Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. He has also composed music for the films Texas Scramble, The Blow, Days, and Navigator, all directed by Sami van Ingen.
Kuljuntausta is the author of an 800-page history of Finnish electronic music, On/Off. Eetteriäänistä sähkömusiikkiin . With the book was released a CD compilation, which contains the first Finnish electronic compositions from the years 1958-1963 first time on the CD.
In 2006, Kuljuntausta published his second book, Äänen eXtreme , on his own approach to music and sound. Together with the book was released a DVD, which was simply entitled as Petri Kuljuntausta, which contains almost nine hours of electronic music and sound works composed and performed by Kuljuntausta. His third book, First Wave, on Finnish electronic music was published in English in 2008.
Kuljuntausta is the founder of Charm of Sound association, established in 1995 to support electronic music, experimental music and sound art, and the Finnish Society for Acoustic Ecology which was founded in 1999. Kuljuntausta was the founder and main editor of "..." ezine and he also founded Charmlist emailing-list in 2001, both focused on distributing information on the activities on electronic music and sound art.
During 1997-2005, Kuljuntausta produced a radio programme on electroacoustic music and sound art entitled Charmed Sounds for Yleisradio, Finnish Broadcasting Company. In 2000 Kuljuntausta worked at City University London, Department of Music / Composition, as a Visiting Scholar. During the visit he composed soundscape music from the sounds of London City. One of these works, Vroom!!, was released on Hearing Place, a CD published by Australian label Move Records.
In 2005, Kuljuntausta produced internet albums of Atau Tanaka, Richard Lerman, If, Bwana and Petri Kuljuntausta for Aureobel internet publishing company. Since its start the label has worked as a distribution channel for experimental music and sound art. In 2008, Kuljuntausta worked as an artistic director of the Nightingala festival and invited composers and performers to create music from nightingale song. In 2009, Science Centre Heureka commissioned Kuljuntausta to compose 20th anniversary music for the Science Centre. The original opening music of Heureka was composed by Einojuhani Rautavaara in 1989. In 2012 Aalto university commissioned a work from Kuljuntausta for the university's opening ceremony. Kuljuntausta lecturers regularly on Sonic Art, Electronic Music, and Soundscape Art at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and Theatre Academy.

Concerts, performances (selected)

  • International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2014
  • Avant Festival, 2013
  • Helicotrema
  • Visiones Sonoras festival
  • Insomnia Festival
  • ISEA 2004 festival
  • Expo 2005 World Fair
  • Ars Electronica festival
  • Festival di Musica Acousmatica
  • Jauna Muzika festival
  • Futura festival
  • Synthese festival
  • Electric Rainbow Coalition Festival
  • Eclectica festival
  • 8th Annual Santa Fe International Festival
  • Música electroacústica de Hoy
  • Festival Internacional de Musica de Cadiz
  • Musica Nova
  • Avanto festival
  • Tampere Biennale
  • Finnish National Gallery
  • Kiasma Museum
  • Helsinki Sound 2001
  • View

    Sound galleries, exhibitions (selected)

  • Chapman Gallery / University of Salford
  • Hearing Place
  • Fondazione Nicola Trussardi
  • Three Rivers Arts Festival / SoundscapePGH
  • Collage Jukebox
  • Festival le Bruit de la Neige
  • Video Positive
  • Helsinki Kunsthalle
  • Helsinki City Art Museum
  • Art Fair Suomi 09
  • Korjaamo gallery
  • MuuTen
  • Pipe Hall gallery
  • Lusto Museum
  • Tampere Hall
  • Forum Box gallery
  • Galleri Leena Kuumola

    Radio broadcasts, profiles, projects (selected)

  • Folio
  • Electric Storm
  • Quiet Space / ABC
  • Fieldwork 2SER 107FM
  • Crossover: Sound HR2
  • Foldover WOBC 91.5FM
  • Resonance 104.4 FM
  • Star's End
  • Inner Space
  • Borderline Freien Radio Kassel
  • Difficult Listening
  • NPS-4FM/Muzikale Delicatessen
  • Acoustic Frontiers
  • Springel & Zabrinsky
  • Feedback Monitor
  • Kalvos & Damian
  • Ström / SR
  • Estonian Radio
  • Yleisradio

    Net projects, netcasts (selected)

  • Sound Box 1.0
  • Sound Box 2.0
  • Sound Calendar
  • Le Train Fantôme
  • ARS01 / Arsradio
  • Ääniradio 1 & 2
  • Audio Autographs
  • art@radio
  • Elektra
  • Radio Internationale Stadt

    Selected works

  • QRZ1
  • 3-to-4
  • Blast-off
  • Traces of Sound
  • The Great White Bird
  • Lecture on Site-Specific Art
  • Emergence
  • 1918
  • Hailstorm
  • Marquis
  • Clickz
  • Mexican Cars
  • Irresistible District
  • Grooves
  • Water Cities
  • Heureka!
  • Whistles, Trills & Clicks
  • Heavy Feather
  • Eight Rooms
  • City Noise
  • Waves & Patterns
  • Water City
  • Noise City
  • Wave Motion
  • Nordic Prince
  • Zoomusicological 2
  • 4'33"
  • Collaro 3RC-531
  • Do Not Feed The Artists
  • Muu
  • Northern Lights Live
  • Navigator
  • Cosmic Jam
  • 15'00"
  • Roaring Silence
  • Zoomusicological 1
  • SoundHappensTM
  • Planetarium
  • Code-X
  • A Zoomusicological Essay
  • Aurora Borealis 1
  • Deep Blue
  • Drifting
  • Landing
  • Formations
  • The Mixer
  • Music For Three Bazookas And 12 Steel Sheets
  • Soundscape Miniatures
  • Four Notes
  • In The Beginning
  • Voice Miniatures 2
  • Departs/Arrivals
  • St. Virus City
  • Vroom!!
  • Days
  • Sonic Miniatures 1
  • Canvas
  • Voice Miniatures 1
  • Hysteria
  • Hysteria
  • The Words
  • Free Zone
  • Transitions
  • Video Surveillance
  • Spartacus
  • Freedom
  • Momentum
  • Charm Of Sound
  • The Blow
  • Anchorage
  • April Fool
  • Helsinki Soundscapes 1997
  • Ex Post Facto
  • Still Life
  • Theremin Dream
  • Birdscape Music
  • Violin Tone Orchestra
  • La Mer
  • The Flow
  • Texas Scramble
  • Lux In Tenebris
  • Between Life And Death
  • In A Shadow Zone
  • The Good And The Evil
  • Soundscapes 1''

    Film and video works

  • Primaries, directed by Sami van Ingen, 45'
  • Trails, directed by Anna Nykyri, 7'
  • Five Fragments of the Extinct Empathy, directed by Anna Nykyri, 7'
  • Clickz, directed by Zlatko Ćosić, 1'
  • Stagecoach, directed by Sami van Ingen, 9'
  • Water Cities, directed by Jaana Puhakka 20'
  • Grooves, directed by Sami van Ingen, 30'
  • Whistles, Trills & Clicks, directed by Sami van Ingen, 13'
  • Tomato One / Navigator, directed by Sami van Ingen, 6'
  • Junction, directed by Jacques Coelho, 8'
  • Northern Lights Live, directed by Sami van Ingen, 45'
  • The Days, directed by Sami van Ingen, 16'
  • Video Surveillance, directed by Petri Kuljuntausta
  • The Blow, directed by Sami van Ingen, 21'
  • Texas Scramble, directed by Sami van Ingen, 21'
  • LMCX, directed by Jacques Coelho, 4'
  • Bad Habit, directed by Jacques Coelho, 5'
  • La Planete Étrange, directed by Jacques Coelho, 6'
  • La Planete Sauvage, directed by Jacques Coelho, 7'

    Discography

Releases

  • Petri Kuljuntausta Project: Visions and Play 1992
  • Petri Kuljuntausta: Private, 1997
  • Petri Kuljuntausta: Momentum, 2004
  • Petri Kuljuntausta: Noise City, 2005
  • Petri Kuljuntausta w/ Markus Reuter-Pat Mastelotto: Live In Helsinki, 2006
  • Petri Kuljuntausta: 1994-2005, 2006
  • Petri Kuljuntausta w/ Robert Jürjendal-David Rothenberg: 3Corners Of The World, 2008
  • Petri Kuljuntausta w/ Dario Martinelli: Zoosphere. A Musical Encryptation Of Animal Sounds, 2008
  • Petri Kuljuntausta: Emergence, 2013

    Appears on

  • V/A: Sound Box 1.0, 1998
  • V/A: Sound Box 2.0, 1999
  • V/A: Sounds!, 1999
  • V/A: On-Off - Eetteriäänistä Sähkömusiikkiin / On-Off - From Ether Sounds To Electronic Music, 2001
  • David Rothenberg: Sudden Music, 2002
  • Erkki Kurenniemi: Äänityksiä / Recordings 1963-1973, 2002
  • David Rothenberg: Why Birds Sing?, 2005
  • Jacques Coelho: Video Works 1993-1996, 2006
  • V/A: Là-Bas Biennale, 2010
  • V/A: Muu For Ears, 2009
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 2, 2010
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 3, 2010
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 4, 2010
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 5
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 6
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 7
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 8
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 9
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 10
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 11, 2013
  • V/A: Muu For Ears 12, 2014

    Tracks appear on

  • Charm of Sound on Huygens, 1997
  • In Spe on Hope, 1998
  • Le Train Fântome on Le Train Fântome , 1998
  • Momentum on Looper's Delight Compilation CD: Volume 2, 1998
  • How many does it take... on The Frog Peak Collaborations Project, 1998
  • Momentum on European Loop Project - Phase One, 1999
  • Idea Of Proof on Sounds!, 1999
  • The Waiting Room on Sounds!, 1999
  • False Step on Trace, 1999
  • At The Well on Farm Soundscapes, 2000
  • The Milker on Farm Soundscapes, 2000
  • XY+Z on Sonic Eye, 2000
  • There Was Nothing In The Room on Zero, 2000
  • Stelle's Dream on Virtual Zoo, 2001
  • This Is Piccadilly Circus on Détonants Voyages , 2003
  • Vroom!! on Hearing Place, 2003
  • Navigator on Karta/Terräng, 2004
  • Tampere03 on FreeJazz.org Sampler Vol. 1, 2005
  • Do Not Feed The Artists on New Music Academy Concerts 2004-2005, 2005
  • The Blow on 3 Films, 2006
  • Texas Scramble on 3 Films, 2006
  • Days on 3 Films, 2006
  • Navigator on Belly Of The Whale, 2006
  • Four Notes on Junction, 2006
  • Noise City on Suomalaiset Sävelet, Osa 8 / Finnish Tones, Part 8, 2006
  • La Planète sauvage on Video Works 1993-1996, 2006
  • La Planète étrange on Video Works 1993-1996, 2006
  • Nordic Prince on Yokomono 03: 55 Lock Grooves, 2006
  • Canvas on Clouds Vol. 2 , 2007
  • Momentum on Clouds Vol. 2 , 2007
  • Kolmest maailma nurgast on Ürgne Kaja , 2007
  • Transmission 42 on Ambient. Volume VIII #2. Radio Sampler, 2008
  • Canvas on Art On Location., 2008
  • Heavy Feather on North South Project, 2009
  • Mexican Cars on Muu For Ears, 2009
  • Marquis on Là-Bas Biennale, 2010
  • Maa all on Improtest 2007/2008, 2010
  • Water Cities on Muu For Ears 4, 2010
  • Hailstorm on...menu for murmur, 2010
  • Hailstorm on...menu for murmur, 2010

    Production

  • Sound Box 1.0, 1998
  • Sound Box 2.0, 1999
  • Sounds!, 1999
  • On-Off - Eetteriäänistä Sähkömusiikkiin / On-Off - From Ether Sounds To Electronic Music, 2001
  • Atau Tanaka: Prométhée Numérique, 2005
  • If Bwana: Procession Of Shadows, 2005
  • Richard Lerman: Within Earreach , 2005
  • Là-Bas Biennale, 2010
Kuljuntausta has also produced and/or mastered music and sound art works for CD releases at least from the following artists: Gordon Monahan, Francisco López, Jorge Haro, Disinformation, Charlie Morrow, Jimi Tenor, Incite/, Erkki Kurenniemi, Jukka Ruohomäki, Timo Hietala, Juhani Liimatainen, Jarmo Sermilä, Patrick Kosk, Hepa Halme, Nemesis, Juhani Nuorvala, Chris Mann, Urban Shepherds, Dario Martinelli, John Richardson, Jukka Ylitalo, Teemu Ontero, Inéz, Pekka Sirén, Jukka Mikkola, Tom Ahola, Agnieszka Waligórska, Vesa Lahti, Teemu Mäki, Kalev Tiits, Koray Tahiroglu, Shinji Kanki, Reijo Jyrkiäinen, Bengt Johansson, Henrik Otto Donner, Erkki Salmenhaara, Ilkka Kuusisto, Seppo Mustonen, Usko Meriläinen, Pehr Henrik Nordgren, Martti Vuorenjuuri, Veikko Eskolin, RANK Ensemble, Horst Quartet, Grey Park, Täydellisyys, Koelse, Umpio, Kheta Hotem, Tripolar, Gaia B, Alice Evermoore & Eavesdropper, Sami Klemola, Helena Gough, Jean-Marc Savic, Sinebag, Gintas K, Siri Austeen, Pekka Sassi, Olle Essvik, Goodiepal, Marja-Leena Sillanpää, Child of Klang, Åsa Maria Bengtsson, Ida Lundén, Lise-Lotte Norelius, Mikko Maasalo, Juhani Räisänen, Pink Twins, Juha Valkeapää, Pauli Apollo Ahopelto, Pessi Parviainen, Jakob Nordgren, Juan Kasari, Aleksi Keränen, Taito Kantomaa, Janne Jankeri, Jussi Österman, Jukka Rintamäki, Sebastian Lindberg, Sami Pennanen, Sound Meccano & Evgeniy Droomoff, Gas Of Latvia, Andres Lõo, Taavi Tulev, Lauri Dag-Tüür, Arturas Bumsteinas, Antanas Jasenka, Kaspars Groshevs, John Grzinich, Taavi Kerikmäe, Kiwa, Darius Čiuta, Raul Keller, Antireality & Bernurits, Astma, Lina Lapelyté, Martins Rokis, Raimundas Eimontas, Pekka ja Susiluoto, USO, Lau Nau, Tsembla.

Books by

  • First Wave. A Microhistory of Early Finnish Electronic Music, 443 pp, Like & Rosebud 2008.
  • Äänen eXtreme, 416 pp, Like 2006.
  • On/Off - eetteriäänistä sähkömusiikkiin, 800 pp, Like & Kiasma 2002..

    Articles by

  • "Live-elektroniikasta ja studiosävellysten esittämisestä" in Heidi Soidinsalo : Ääneen ajateltua: Kirjoituksia äänestä, esityksestä ja niiden kohtaamisista. Teatterikorkeakoulun julkaisusarja 44, 2014.
  • "Tacet. Hiljaisuus soivassa taiteessa" .
  • "Kuiskauksia ja huutoja", in Ympäristö ja Terveys, 2:2013.
  • "Sounds from physicist's laboratory". Erkki Kurenniemi's road as a constructor of electronic music instruments. ArtNord magazine, 2012.
  • "Äänellä on värinsä".. Article in the book Korville piirretyt kuvat, commissioned by Radio Theatre / Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE. Publisher: Like Publishing, 2011.
  • "Äänitaide ja kaupunkitila", Musiikin Suunta 2/2011.
  • "Interview with Petri Kuljuntausta" by Dario Martinelli in the book Authenticity, Performance and Other Double-Edged Words, 2010.
  • "Äänitaiteen lyhyt sanakirja". Article in Art Fair Suomi 2009 exhibition catalogue. Artists' Association Muu and Union of Artist Photographers and Photographic Gallery Hippolyte. 2009.
  • "Those Were The Days". Article in Happy Nordic Music Days festival catalogue. Norwegian Society of Composers & Ny Musikk. Oslo. 2009.
  • "Composer Petri Kuljuntausta". Article in Kompositio, the magazine of the Society of Finnish Composers. Helsinki 2008.
  • "" ". A Writing on Silence". Then The Silence Increased exhibition catalogue. Gwilliam, Ben & Helmut Lemke. University of Salford / A Greater Manchester University, Chapman Gallery, 2007.
  • "Linnunlaulun esteettisyyden jäljillä". 2007.
  • "Äänen eXtreme ja kritiikki". Finnish Society for Musicology, Musiikki 2007.
  • "Going with the flow: compositional and analytical perspectives on soundtracks for experimental films",. In the book Richardson, John and Stan Hawkins : Essays on Sound and Vision. Helsinki University Press / Yliopistopaino. Helsinki 2006.
  • "Uljas Uusi Äänimaailma". Ympäristöäänet, äänimaisemat ja radiotehosteet virikkeiden antajina 1950-60-lukujen suomalaisessa akustisessa taiteessa. In book Kuultava menneisyys. Turun historiallinen yhdistys, Historia Mirabilis 3. Turku. 2005.
  • "Kanneltalon elektro ja Helsinki-elektron ensiaskeleet". In book Kulttuurikeskus kohtauspaikkana, edit. Timo Cantell, Maaria Linko ja Satu Silvanto. Helsingin Tieke ja Helsingin kultturiasiainkeskus. Helsinki. 2005.
  • "Sulla musica acusmatica, acustica e sulle interpretazioni della musica digitale". In festival catalogue 1° Festival di Musica Acusmatica, s. 23-26. Amici Della Musica di Cagliari. Italy. 2004.
  • "Somewhere between drama and music". Finnish radiophonic music from its beginnings to the digital age. Finnish Music Quarterly 1/2004.
  • "Äänimaiseman ulottuvuuksia". Korvien puhdistamisesta urbaaniin noiseen, Nuori Voima 1/2004.
  • "Finnish Sound Art". In catalogue of the Blind Sight sound art exhibition. Centerspace VRC, Dundee Scotland & Titanik gallery, Turku. 2004.
  • "Äänitaiteen ja elektronimusiikin extreme", AVEK magazine 2/2003.
  • "The Decade of The Beep", FrameNews 2/2002. Art Exchange Center Frame, 2002.
  • "The First Finnish Electronic Compositions". Internet article. Kiasma 2002.
  • "Soivan taiteen jäljillä" and Sonic Boom, Kuva magazine 6/2000.
  • "‘Charm of Sound': Something new in the Finnish contemporary music scene?", Organised Sound 1997 Vol. 2, no. 1. Cambridge University Press. England 1997.
  • "Semiotiikka, muutoksen logiikka, improvisaatio ja hypermusiikki: musiikin semioottis-looginen analyysimalli", Finnish Society for Musicology, Musiikki magazine 1996:4.
  • "Äänten taide", writing in Lux sonor exhibition catalogue. Helsinki Kunsthalle, 1995.
  • "Improvisointi ja kulttuuri", Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology, Musiikin suunta 1995.
  • "Paradigmaattisen analyysin mahdollisuudet", Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology, Etnomusikologian vuosikirja Vol. 6.
  • "Jazzin määrittelystä", Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology, Musiikin suunta 1992''