Yiorgis Sakellariou is a Greek sound artist whose practice is founded upon the digital manipulation of field and found recordings. Active since 2003, Sakellariou only performs in complete darkness. In honor of Sakellariou’s recent residency at the Agosto Foundation, we’re highlighting his work this January with a series of personal recordings selected by the artist himself. Sakellariou has provided notes for each track below. Somehow Familiar In the 1997 movie Contact, which is based on the homonymous novel written by astrophysicist Carl Sagan, we see the character of Ellie Arroway spending her entire childhood listening to the sounds of radio waves. She becomes devoted into a quest for truth and scientific progress, but deep inside she is searching for a signal from her dead father, hoping to find it in the received data. Like Ellie, when we listen to the sounds of electromagnetic waves turned into sound waves, we are not only listening to the pulses and vibrations of the Earth but also to a reflection of our own memories and dreams. The piece is based on magnetospheric sounds. Audio data is courtesy of CARISMA, operated by the University of Alberta, funded by the Canadian Space Agency. Composed in 2014. Untitled Excerpt of an improvised performance on the church organ of Sv. Salvator in Prague. Recorded during a residency at Školská 28 Gallery on December 9, 2015. Special thanks to Pavla Nešverová and Michal Kindernay. From a Piner – Part 1 This is the opening track of the CD From A Piner, released on the label Lab For Electroacoustic Media, and was part of a series of electronic experimental music concerts that took place in Small Music Theatre in Athens. Sound sources: computer feedback, real time sampling, sine waves. Composed in 2004. Released September 1, 2005 Produced by Ektopia and Yiorgis Sakellariou, artwork by Paranormale. Full album free download here. Mecha/Orga Unreleased track, based on sounds of various sources. Composed in 2011. Klaipėda (Excerpt) From the album Klaipėda, released on CD by Unfathomless in 2014. Based on environmental recordings from Klaipėda, composed in 2012. More info here. Školská 28 Unprocessed recording that was made in the Školská 28 yard on December 21, 2015. Noon Excerpt of an audio diary, recorded in Prague on December 27, 2015, during a residency at Školská 28 Gallery. Jemaa El-Fna, 7.30pm This recording from Marrakech was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever made. As usual, I tried to be as discreet as possible and used a pair of small omni microphones which I clipped to my backpack. However, I could never go unnoticed as people were constantly approaching me, usually to sell me something. I am completely unfamiliar with the idea of actively participating in the recording, and that created a bit of frustration. I am still not certain if some people understood that I was recording and how—and if—it changed their whole attitude towards me. Nonetheless, it was obvious that some of them had “objections” about my behavior. I was called a German because “Germans never smile... Bloody Germans” (7’30’’) and my overall attempt to not interact was not very welcomed. No doubt, though, the soundscape is unique and fascinating, and I hope the recording documents a bit the sonic chaos of music, street performances and crowd noise. Recorded by Yiorgis Sakellariou. January 22, 2015. From the online album “Recordings from Marrakech.” Complete collection, free download here.