Bill Thompson
And the Sky Breaks Open
These works were recorded late at night during long solo improvisations. A small table lamp illuminated the Moog guitar laid flat on a table surrounded by assorted found objects and guitar pedals whose multicoloured lights blinked delicately in the near shadows. Time moved slower. A sense of stillness and solitude provided a quiet contrast to the sounds pulsating around the room. Each take made as if it were an actual performance, the rule being always to finish the set. As much about training t…
Black Earth Tongue
Bill Thompson is a sound artist and composer. His work is concerned with various aspects of perception and embodied presence. Using found objects, field recordings, repurposed electronics and digital media, his installations encourage active attention to each moment. He applies this same strategy within his compositions which often include sustained tones, densely layered textures and indeterminate or improvised structures.Although trained as a guitarist, Thompson has worked primarily with live …
Shifting Currents
The recordings for the piece were gathered over the course of a year from Huddersfield, Stirling, Aberdeen (United Kingdom), and s’Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands). These were used to create an installation consisting of over 100 tracks that were remixed in real time during each performance. The set up varied from show to show, sometimes playing through 6 speakers and 3 subs, and at other times, through 12 speakers etc. The performers were positioned at the centre of the audience, who in turn, we…