United States
Statement
James Perley is an American composer and interactive media artist who lives and works in San Francisco, CA and Portland, OR. He received his BA in Audio Arts and Acoustics from Columbia College Chicago and his first MFA in Design and Technology from San Francisco Art Institute. He continued his graduate education at Mills College in Oakland, CA where he also completed a second MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media.
He has studied and collaborated with several distinguished artists and composers including Maggi Payne, Kate Short, Les Stuck, Roscoe Mitchell, John Bischoff and Maya Smira (participant in EMPIRE II, VENIZA BIENNIAL 2017). From 2013 to 2015 James was awarded an independent study with Pauline Oliveros and worked on several projects and collaborations including Lead Program Director at the 2014 WHITNEY BIENNIAL. James has also scored various independent films for directors including Eliane Lima (Esquizo Filma) and George Kuchar.
James is currently completing his first solo electronic vinyl titled “CITY HAS NO STARS” and is investigating music residencies globally in music technology. James also works professionally in audio/visual post production, multimedia technology direction, graphic design and web design while operating The RendezVU, an electronic music recording studio and post production facility.
Profile
GlogauAIR resident from April 2018 to September 2018
GlogauAIR Project
MIHI (Musical Instrument for the Hearing Impaired) Custom Instrument/Installation/Performance (2018)
Concept: What if video was audio and audio was video? What if we could control what people see by what we hear and vice versa? MIHI (Music Interface for the Hearing Impaired) aims to be a step in the direction that converges movement of sight with the movement of sound. Originally conceived and inspired while working with Pauline Oliveros in 2015 and while doing music technology research at Mills College in California, MIHI tracks video movement via the camera eye, which, in turn, triggers sound. Then the sound is reinterpreted and changed back into vibration.
During my residency at GlogauAIR, I will aim to extend this idea by implementing haptic feedback to the user and audience, utilizing vibration technology that mimics and simulates sound. This extension will enable persons with hearing loss to not only perceive music, but also to participate as a composer/performer. Using vibration methods, similar to the way we receive “silent” notifications on our smart phones and mobile devices, this project proposes a new modality for the hearing impaired to appreciate and understand music and sound, translating music theory and acoustic sensation to an individual with hearing loss.
There are many areas of the human body that respond to SPL (sound pressure level) and vibration similar to the ear. The chest, arms, legs, abdomen and jaw respond to various vibrations in tandem with sounds. The cochlea in the inner ear is part of a major sensory system that enables us to hear sounds the way we do, but other sensory systems of the body also are stimulated and respond to acoustic vibrations that can help us experience sound, navigate music, and have visceral experiences through alternative sensory and biofeedback processes.
CV Summary
EDUCATION
- 2015 MFA Electronic Music Composition and Recording Media, Mills College, Oakland CA
- 2012 MFA Design and Technology, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
- 2005 BA Audio Arts and Acoustics in Recording, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago IL
WORKS, PERFORMANCES, EXHIBITION
- 2017 CITY HAS NO STARS: SLIVR DREAMS , The RendezVU, 2017
- 2017 Solo electronic performance, “CITY HAS NO STARS,” Analog Theater, Portland OR
- 2017 Film Screening and Film Score “Sherry” Direct by Eliana Lima, Roxie Theater, San Francisco CA
- 2017 Solo electronic compilation, “CITY HAS NO STARS”
- 2017 Music direction and film score, “Sherry,” Directed by Eliana Lima, CalArts
- 2016 Solo electronic music performance, Analog Cafe, Portland OR
- 2015 Solo interactive music and video performance of “VANISH” Signal Flow MFA concert, Mills College, Oakland CA
- 2015 Guest performer with John Driscoll, (David Tudor Composer-In-Residence), Mills College, Oakland CA
- 2015 Solo Performance, Life Changing Ministry, Oakland CA
- 2014 Album design, art direction and publication Deep Listening Band “Dunrobin Sonic Gems”, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- 2014 Guest Performer with Pauline Oliveros and Thingamajigs at Berkeley Arts Museum, Berkeley CA
- 2014 Solo Performance using custom built electronic instrument “Rattle” at the Center for New Music, San Francisco CA
- 2014 Solo Performance with FM Transmitter Glass Harmonica at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy New York
- 2014 Production Coordinator and documentation for Pauline Oliveros’ “Deep Listening Room,” Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art, New York NY
- 2013 Duet Performance with Joshua Marshall “CESS/POOL” at the Northern California Performance Platform, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
- 2013 Performance California Electronic Music Exchange Concerts Performance, “CONJURE”, Mills College, Oakland CA
- 2013 Collaborative performance in Kate Short’s “Oculus” installation, Mills College, Oakland CA
- 2012 Studio performance of “A Bell In View”, The Hill Studio, San Francisco CA
- 2012 Music direction and film score, “Leonora,” Directed by Eliane Lima
- 2012 Installation and Interactive Performance, “Laid” Design and Technology Salon, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
- 2012 Video and sound installation featured in ArtPad San Francisco “HASNT HAPPENED SINCE”, San Francisco, CA
- 2011 Phantasmagoria, Swell Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA
