Scott Gibbons (born March 2, 1969) is an American-born composer and performer of
electroacoustic music. His work is notable for its rigorous use of single and unexpected objects as sole instrumentation (for example Unheard : Sonic arrangements from the microcosmos, which uses only sounds recorded at the molecular level using the prototype of a new type of microphone; and music for the 120th anniversary of the
Eiffel Tower which incorporated sounds of the tower itself). Gibbons has also created many works for large-scale spectacle with
Groupe F to accompany fireworks, which embraces the sound of
pyrotechnics as a part of the musical arrangement.[1]
Critical response
"Gibbons' tendency to understatement is extraordinary. What he shows us seems to be... not the event itself, but the trail." - The Wire
"It's not really possible to say how it sounds, only that it does. Knowing what it sounds like is a particular kind of knowledge that only seems to be useful, or even exist, at the time of hearing itself." - Nicholas Ridout, Performance Research [2]
"Scott Gibbons' music... feels as if it is happening inside your own head." - The Guardian[3]
Lilith
Lilith is an American
dark ambient music group formed by Scott Gibbons in 1986. Early self-released albums contained little or no text to suggest authorship or titles, and were rooted in homemade audio devices and modified consumer electronics. By the early 1990s, Lilith's music had developed in a sombre minimalist direction, with growing research into extended compositions focused around very low frequencies. On signing with the
Sub Rosa label, the name Lilith was taken after Earth's
fictitious invisible moon to reflect that the music often suggested more than it revealed.
Most of their works use single sound sources for instrumentation; for example rocks on "Stone" (Sub Rosa: 1992). Unlike other artists working in similar directions, Lilith would perform in concert, and released two albums which were recorded live.
Scribble by
Golan Levin, Scott Gibbons and Gregory Shakar (2000) - a performance on Levin's AVES gestural audio-video synthesis software.
Subterranean Sky (2001) with sculptor George DeMerle.
Dialtones by
Golan Levin, Scott Gibbons and Gregory Shakar (2002) - a performance for more than 200 cell phones.
Tragedia Endogonidia by
Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio (2002–04) - music and sound for a series of eleven episodes, eleven video documents, an atlas room and numerous outgrowths.
Feu d'Artifice by Scott Gibbons and
Groupe F (2003) - music arranged and performed using only captured sound and samples of
pyrotechnics.
The Cryonic Chants by Scott Gibbons and Chiara Guidi (2005) - a vocal concert on a text which was
formulaically created by a goat.
Flame Tornado (2005) with Kevin Binkert - music arranged and performed using only captured sound and samples of Binkert's flame vortex device.
Scott Gibbons (born March 2, 1969) is an American-born composer and performer of
electroacoustic music. His work is notable for its rigorous use of single and unexpected objects as sole instrumentation (for example Unheard : Sonic arrangements from the microcosmos, which uses only sounds recorded at the molecular level using the prototype of a new type of microphone; and music for the 120th anniversary of the
Eiffel Tower which incorporated sounds of the tower itself). Gibbons has also created many works for large-scale spectacle with
Groupe F to accompany fireworks, which embraces the sound of
pyrotechnics as a part of the musical arrangement.[1]
Critical response
"Gibbons' tendency to understatement is extraordinary. What he shows us seems to be... not the event itself, but the trail." - The Wire
"It's not really possible to say how it sounds, only that it does. Knowing what it sounds like is a particular kind of knowledge that only seems to be useful, or even exist, at the time of hearing itself." - Nicholas Ridout, Performance Research [2]
"Scott Gibbons' music... feels as if it is happening inside your own head." - The Guardian[3]
Lilith
Lilith is an American
dark ambient music group formed by Scott Gibbons in 1986. Early self-released albums contained little or no text to suggest authorship or titles, and were rooted in homemade audio devices and modified consumer electronics. By the early 1990s, Lilith's music had developed in a sombre minimalist direction, with growing research into extended compositions focused around very low frequencies. On signing with the
Sub Rosa label, the name Lilith was taken after Earth's
fictitious invisible moon to reflect that the music often suggested more than it revealed.
Most of their works use single sound sources for instrumentation; for example rocks on "Stone" (Sub Rosa: 1992). Unlike other artists working in similar directions, Lilith would perform in concert, and released two albums which were recorded live.
Scribble by
Golan Levin, Scott Gibbons and Gregory Shakar (2000) - a performance on Levin's AVES gestural audio-video synthesis software.
Subterranean Sky (2001) with sculptor George DeMerle.
Dialtones by
Golan Levin, Scott Gibbons and Gregory Shakar (2002) - a performance for more than 200 cell phones.
Tragedia Endogonidia by
Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio (2002–04) - music and sound for a series of eleven episodes, eleven video documents, an atlas room and numerous outgrowths.
Feu d'Artifice by Scott Gibbons and
Groupe F (2003) - music arranged and performed using only captured sound and samples of
pyrotechnics.
The Cryonic Chants by Scott Gibbons and Chiara Guidi (2005) - a vocal concert on a text which was
formulaically created by a goat.
Flame Tornado (2005) with Kevin Binkert - music arranged and performed using only captured sound and samples of Binkert's flame vortex device.