Summer of Listening

Happy summer everyone. Thanks for opening this email and at least skimming the first line 😉

I had an amazing time in Europe these past two months. I did a 3-week tour with William “Bilwa” Costa which took our Un/Natural Fields project to Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Austria and Poland with support from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. After that, I did another set of shows with singer Katrine Faber in Germany and Denmark. I’m still waiting on some documentation to be posted, but I will share some live recordings and videos soon. I have plans to collaborate on more projects with both artists in 2019.

Faber McDermott performing at Spektrum in Berlin. Photo by Carl Krüger

I’ll be back in Berlin for a three-month residency at GlogauAIR working on and (finally) presenting a version of Echozoo this fall. Until then I’ll be in Philadelphia and I’m doing a series of workshops and concerts in the coming weeks centered around mindfulness and listening.
 


COURTS

Photo by Shawn Theodore, a fellow Artist in Residence

Before I get into the workshops, if you’re in Philadelphia this week, please check out the closing party for an amazing photo and sound installation I was honored to be a part of. I was an artist in residence at the Village of Arts and Humanities SPACES program. As part of that residency, I created music and sound design (along with the band Ill Doots) using people’s voices and basketball court field recordings from the Hartranft neighborhood in North Philadelphia exploring the culture of the past, present, and future of the courts for the show, Home Court: The Hartranft Basketball Court Revival. Check out the SPACES website for more info. The closing party is Wednesday, July 18, 6-8pm at The Village of Arts and Humanities gallery space.
 


Art of Listening Class

The Art of Listening
Springboard Studio
530 Carpenter Ln, Philadelphia, PA 19119
Sunday, July 22, 11 am – 4 pm
Suggested Donation/Danā $20
Event Info

A day-long class exploring meditative states of listening consciousness led by composer and dharma teacher Michael Reiley McDermott. Through listening, we can develop an intimate connection to our environment, each other and ourselves. In this day-long retreat, Michael will take us through listening exercises, periods of silent meditation, Dharma talks, performance scores of singing and sounding and a sound walk. The practices of Listening Consciousness are rooted in Theravada and Zen Buddhism, vipassana meditation, the Deep Listening techniques of Pauline Oliveros, Thich Nhat Hahn and the music and philosophy of John Cage.

No meditation or musical experience necessary. Beginners are welcome.


Healing Frequencies


Healing Frequencies
with Maraliz Campos and Michael Reiley McDermott
Magick City
37 Box St. Brooklyn, NY
August 4, 9pm-11:30
$15 / pre-show // $10 / door
Facebook Event | Tickets

A night of healing frequencies and intentional dialog about listening, time and consciousness. Maraliz Campos and Michael Reiley McDermott, sound practitioners/musicians, present a discussion and concert and sound journey across aural landscapes with filtered and reimagined field recordings from Michael’s recent travels and artist residencies in Thailand, Myanmar, India, Germany, Latvia, Iceland, United States and Brazil.

Part two is a meditative ambient journey from Paraguayan-American artist Maraliz with crystal/Himalayan bowls, rattles, original samples, synth, vocals, tuning forks, etc.


Listening Bodies


Listening Bodies
with Monica Gentile (Lake Studios Berlin) and Michael Reiley McDermott
Mascher Space Cooperative
155 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Philadelphia
August 11th, 11am – 3pm
$10 / Before August 1 // $15-20 / After August 1
Tickets | Facebook Event A workshop exploring states of consciousness and embodiment. Open to dancers, musicians, artists, yogis, and meditators.

Europe Summer Tour 2018

Hello from beautiful sunny Berlin. I just returned from Kaunas, Lithuania where I was in rehearsals with William “Bilwa” Costa for our upcoming tour, more on this below and this week’s overnight sleep concert at Lake Studio Berlin!

“Meditating on Sound” in Kaunas at Pirmi Šilainiai. Photo by Daina Dieva


Overnight Sleep Concert

This Saturday I’ll be playing an overnight concert of ambient music for sleeping, dreaming, being and becoming. The space at Lake Studios Berlin is perfect for a deep night’s sleep listening subconsciously to slowly evolving soundscapes. The space has high ceilings with long skylights that will allow natural night elements to paint the sky. Also, there’s a surround ceiling mounted sound system. It’s in the quiet Friedrichshagen neighborhood of East Berlin which is very tranquil. Please join me for a night of serene lullabies and inner exploration.

Please bring a pillow, blanket or sleeping bag. Lake Studios has plenty of tatami mats to sleep on. Arrive at 21h to secure a spot, have some tea and get to know the other concert goers. Music will start around 22h.

OVERNIGHT SLEEP CONCERT with MICHAEL MCDERMOTT
19 May at 21h to 20 May at 6h
Lake Studios Berlin
Scharnweberstrasse 27, 12587 Berlin, Germany
15-25€
Facebook Event


The Unheard Sea

While preparing sounds for this sleep concert, I got inspired to re-score a film by friend and collaborator Alex Bond. Alex did the live video projections for my first two sleep concerts. I love his work and think this new music goes well with his hazy visual dreamscape of oceanic disintegration.

Watch the Video


Un/natural Fields Tour

I’m very excited to team up with my old colleague and friend William “Bilwa” Costa for a tour through the Baltics and Central Europe. 

Un/natural Fields is a new project in which Michael McDermott and William “Bilwa” Costa juxtapose two solo projects, the organic imagined landscapes of the McDermott’s Echozoo works in progress and Costa’s unnatural field recordings. Together they create an imaginary listening experience akin to magical realism.

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/bilwa/sets/un-natural-fields

Madame Claude, Berlin, Germany May 21
MOKS, Mooste, Estonia May 24
MIM stuudio, Tallinn, Estonia May 25
UNDER / Electronic Musik Festival, Riga, Latvia May 26
Skaņas dienas (Sound Days) Festival, Liepaja, Latvia May 30 – June 2
BB 15, Linz, Austria, June 5
Rozkurz, Wroclaw, Poland, June 7
Osobliwy Poniedziałek, Krakow, Poland, June 8
Kolonia Artystów, Gdaǹks, Poland, June 10