Svamp is a regularly-scheduled workshop for music improvisation in Helsinki, Finland. It does not involve money, careers or obligations -- only interpersonal and sound relationships. Svamp sessions may range from collective improvisation to directed exercises or game-playing.
Helsinki franchise of international open education model: "THE PUBLIC SCHOOL is a school with no curriculum. At the moment, it operates as follows: first, classes are proposed by the public (I want to learn this or I want to teach this); then, people have the opportunity to sign up for the classes (I also want to learn that); finally, when enough people have expressed interest, the school finds a teacher and offers the class to those who signed up." -- TPS site
Ptarmigan is an art, project and performance space in Helsinki, Finland. It is a non-commercial alternative space to house ideas that exist outside of the realm of the traditional. Ptarmigan provides a space for adventurous and challenging scenarios, art/sound/performance projects, workshops, classes and social/community events.
CD-R and cassette label for limited production of art-edition releases. Includes releases by John W. Fail (solo and with Ben Reynolds), Oakwhistle, Minn Minn Lights, The Good Anna, Nonhorse, Matt McDowell. Distribution throughout US and Europe.
Solo and group recordings and performances including groups Bat Tarbet (Helsinki/Glasgow) [video 1, video 2], Lied Music (Glasgow), Intro to Pterodactyl (Providence, RI), Land (Pittsburgh, PA). Solo projects as John W. Fail, Oakwhistle, Handshake Garden, The 15,000 Day Boat Trip. Many brief collaborations and workshops. For recordings and performance history, see 'outputs' section. An overview (2007).
Ownership and operation of independent label focusing on avant-garde and experimental music. Releases include CDs and LPs by Car Commercials, Burning Star Core, Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Scatter, Arco Flute Foundation, Earth Trumpet, Need New Body. Curation, production and marketing of releases.
Various and scattered involvements - production and organising, creative work, various participations. Affiliations with Pixelache festival, Mollecular Organization. Personal projects: A Tribute to Augie Leonard Sr. installation (2003); “Mnemelish” DVDr label; postcard project; curation of Garrioch Arms performance space; various concert booking and promotions 1999-present. Also see 'Various musical projects' and output.
The 15,000 Day Boat Trip (Vinyl LP sound recording) 8mm Records, December 2009ECDL '08: Proceedings of the 12th European conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries [link]
Pores in the Porch and Puddles Beneath (CD) Soopa label [Porto, Portugal], January 2007Collaborative CD with Spiral Joy Band
Oakwhistle tour (performances) , October-December 2006European tour including festivals in the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway; additional dates in Sweden, France, Italy, Poland, Germany.
Other Green Worlds (Master's dissertation) University of Glasgow, September, 2006subtitled: Accident and articulation in Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, and Peter Greenaway’s The Falls" [pdf]
In India: audiotourism.2004 (Art booklet with CD-R) Sharks and Pfennigs, May 2006Field recordings of India, recorded and compiled with photo essay.
Lied Music UK tour (performances) , March 2006Live dates in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, London, and Brighton.
Lied Music vs. Boy-Band Tax Returns (LP) Ultra Eczema [Antwerp, Belgium], March 2006Collaborative LP with Boy Band Tax Returns.
The Icewhistle (CD-R) Sharks and Pfennigs, March 2006solo disc of israj improvisations
[pdf]
The Frozen Musics 1999-2005 (4xC-10) Dronedisco, July 2005compilation of 8 projects: Land, Intro to Pterodactyl, Scandalous Falls, Come Cry, Fail/O'Keefe, Handshake Garden, God's Horn, Fail/McDowell
(self-employed)
Various clients and locations / Helsinki , Finland / (and elsewhere)
Organisation and production of creative projects. Curation of Ptarmigan project space, artist-in-residency programme, creative development. Workshop facilitation and instruction; sound recording and performance; freelance writing. Website development involving database creation, customized design and functionality, content management. Network support for small businesses and arts organizations. Various programming tasks in perl/CGI and UNIX shell scripting for the occasional client. Basic website design and personal computing guidance/advice. .
Projects and affiliations:
- Ptarmigan [see 'Projects' above; + development and maintenance of website]
- East of Borneo [back-end and front-end development (Ruby on Rails)]
- Triple Canopy [web development team]
- Version [development]
- Your Art Here (Downtown Brooklyn Partnership) [development]
- Volcanic Tongue [migration from static to database-driven site, development, support]
- Qctqpus [site development and art]
Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute
11 University Gardens / University of Glasgow / Glasgow / G12 8QH / UK
HATII Systems Programmer
Development of arts-based systems for academic and research purposes. Participation in digital preservation programming and research. Workpackage leader on Preservation Planning workpackage of Planets Project. Contributions to 3D-COFORM project. System administration, infrastructure and maintenance. Database development, expansion and support.
Sample output:
- NICE Paintings [development, design, administration]
- DMP Online [development, administration]
141 St. James Road / Glasgow / G4 0LT / UK
Data Architect
System administration and software development (perl, PHP, C) with maintenance for national clients. Administration, support and troubleshooting of software (primarily Debian Linux, PostgreSQL platforms). Design and implementation of internal infrastructure including CRM customisation, Wiki/documentation, apache/Plesk webserver, custom inventory management, backups, and environment standardisation with puppet/OpenLDAP.
140 E. Main St / Lexington , KY / 40508 / USA
Information Technology Technician
Responsibilities include troubleshooting, support, and office maintenance. Administration of Linux and Windows 2000 servers, and support of Windows XP and 2000 desktops. Active Directory administration, Microsoft Exchange mail server, IIS webserver, and library databases including cataloguing software and computer management.
Program in Epidemiology
WPIC / 3811 O'Hara St / Pittsburgh , PA / 15260 / USA
System Programmer/Analyst II
UNIX system administration and custom database/application development. Responsible for security and protection of confidential medical study data, operation and maintenance of all computer systems and administration of PostgreSQL databases. Also provided hardware upgrades and troubleshooting for PCs.
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Additionally: long history in PHP, Perl, and *AMP apps (web/database integration). Basic HTML and web development (CSS, XML, database/CGI, CRM systems). Utilisation of open source software to build network/production infrastructure. UNIX system administration: Debian/Red Hat Linux extensively + FreeBSD, NetBSD, Solaris, others – installation, backups, management, security.
PostgreSQL and MySQL administration and development; Apache/SSL; Cyrus, Scalix and Atmail email systems; Samba; Kerberos; OpenLDAP; PC hardware and software maintenance (Windows 9x/2000/XP, Mac OS X); TCP/IP networking (DNS/bind, NIS, routing); firewall configuration (Cisco PIX/ASA and IPCop).
As a practicing artist: Music composition and performance (electroacoustic improvisation, musique concrete construction, classical piano, guitars and other folk instruments plus viola, israj, harmonium, tenor saxophone, cello, etc.). Leading of workshops relating to arts practices (sound, performance) and seminar-based discussions.
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Master of Literature , English Literature: Modernities (with distinction)
Bachelor of Science , Information Science