Olivia Block

“Block is an electro-acoustic and modern instrumental composer whose recorded compositions combine layered, processed wind and string instruments with processed sounds from sections of field recordings she has collected from various natural landscapes. Her performances include minimalistic scored musical sections played live by a quintet accompanied by taped material , often sounds of field recordings, or the same quintet previously recorded and electronically manipulated. block herself “plays” found objects and instruments (trumpet). The resulting surrealistic sonic landscape and the contrast between these elements create a paradoxical element to the work. In all of her recent works she emphasizes comparisons between organic or “real” sounds and electronic ones, and she demonstrates how electronic technology imitates natural evolution using similar sounds from both worlds. She also explores the difference between “sound” and “music” and the creation of experience through emotional, subjective or intellectual, objective means. olivia block is self-taught, and began her process in the art-pop band The Marble Index, where she sang, played guitar, and created abstract tapes for parts of the songs. She left the band in 1995 and began concentrating on electro-acoustic compositions. Soon after she joined Alial Straa, an improv-and experimental group with John Grznich and Seth Nehil. The trio held site specific performances around Austin using sounds that existed at the site and homemade instruments. Among her influence she cites Feldman, Ligeti, Conrad, G. Toniutti, Gagaku, Baca, Eric B & Rakim, N. Roeg, A. Goldsworthy and non-academic intuitively minded artists and composers. Pure Gaze is olivia block’s first release and Sedimental feels this work will clearly place her in the realm of composers to pay very close attention to heading into the next century.”