“At this time, I became quite interested in surround sound and began to focus on the history of film sound technology to learn more about mixing and spatialization techniques,” Samartzis says. “I also began a series of investigations into the history of the loudspeaker orchestra and visited the GRM in Paris to learn more about it, and while there visited composers such as Pierre Henry, Michel Chion, and Bernard Parmegiani to gain first-hand knowledge of their concepts and methodologies. I was eventually invited to IRCAM [Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/ Musique] to work with the room acoustics team to compose a new piece based on field recordings of Venice using a variety of microphones including ambisonic, binaural, and hydrophonic systems.” Samartzis’ work with IRCAM continues to bear fruit with the forthcoming release of Unheard Spaces on his own Microphonics imprint, which is based on his recordings in Venice. (A shorter version of the piece appeared on the recent Liquid Architecture compilation distributed with The Wire magazine). In addition, he continues to work with musique concrète and surround-sound pioneer Bernard Parmegiani, whom he has brought to Australia to perform as part of the Immersion festival, a series of events curated by Samartzis that focuses on the theory and practice of surround sound. A split release with Parmegiani is due out early this year. Samartzis is not locked away in the rarified world of the academy and sound studio; he often performs live and collaborates with improvisers such as Kaffe Matthews, Günter Müller, and the former Swiss duo Voice Crack. Samartzis sees these kinds of collaborations and the challenges presented by live performance as particularly fruitful. “There is so much that we don’t know about sound, and my whole practice is devoted to discovering new modes of articulation by working on projects that continually raise questions about the nature of production and presentation as well as listening,” he says. “To achieve this, I tend to be strategic in what I am prepared to do to ensure that the outcome justifies the time and effort, or else I risk becoming a performing monkey on the festival circuit. I think there are enough people already doing this without me joining them.” Susanna Bolle / Grooves 19