Framework 3 is the latest instalment in Mads Emil Nielsen's sequence of graphic scores and recordings. The series includes the Danish composer's own subjective translations of visual materials and sound pieces accompanied by visual notations. On this release he collaborates with Katja Gretzinger and Nicola Ratti. Published as a limited edition art print folder, Framework 3 consists of risographed scores and recordings on 10" vinyl and CD—with recordings by Nielsen, along with graphic scores by Gretzinger and contributions by Ratti.
Raised in a family of architects Nielsen has for several years been occupied with the question of "how do you intuitively sonify an image?" along with the complementary processes of translating sounds and music into illustrations and scores. In early 2019, he produced various drawings and sound pieces which formed the starting point for the three tracks on this 10" vinyl EP. The audio is derived from synthesizer recordings and basic electronic sound sources (sine waves, feedback, noise) and percussive loops combined with recordings made in the studios at EMS (Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm).
The audio material was translated by graphic designer Katja Gretzinger into a series of visual notations made while listening to the music. Gretzinger developed various symbols, forms and structures, such as points, bars, 3D balls, irregular patterns / "swarms" and regular patterns (vertical hatchings). These were combined with found image materials and cut-outs from old prints and layered with large geometric forms, which define the individual character of each of the three parts. The resulting 18-page graphic score is included in the release in the form of risograph printed sheets.
Nielsen then invited musician Nicola Ratti, who is also trained as an architect, to create sonic re-interpretations of the graphic score. Ratti reinterpreted the imagery as a selection of sound elements positioned in a three-dimensional area; which he visualized as the space between the composer / artist, Ratti himself and the loudspeakers. These recordings are included on the CD.
Mads Emil Nielsen is a musician/composer based in Copenhagen, working with basic sound sources, often combined with short percussive and orchestral samples, real sounds and an amplification of machine produced errors. In 2014 he founded Arbitrary, the label and artistic platform on which he released a series of graphic scores and recordings (Framework) and various solo works and collaborations.
Katja Gretzinger is the founder of the Studio Gretzinger, a multidisciplinary studio for graphic design in Berlin. She studied visual communication in Düsseldorf and was researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht.
Nicola Ratti bases his music upon the search for a personal language that is capable of joining together basic song structure, electro-acoustic experimentation, and the use of sounds extracted from the environment in which we live, with a sensibility that ranges from improvisation to the almost artisanal construction of sound. The use of voice and words compete to create a result full of nuance and discovery within compositions which remain open to both formal and emotional points of view.
