John Hudak
John Hudak has been interested in sound and music from the age of four when he began to play a variety of instruments. At the University of Delaware (BA, English 1981) and Naropa Institute for the Arts (1979), he studied video, photography, creative writing and dance. He then began to create taped soundtracks for his solo performance art pieces. In recent years, he has concentrated on sound, particularly natural sounds.
Hudak’s current sound work focuses on the minimalism and repetition of sounds below the usual threshold of hearing, sounds that are filtered out or considered non-musical. These sounds are recorded, deconstructed and processed, their rhythms and textures being the basis for aural manipulations. In recent years, I have concentrated mainly on sound, particularly on natural and simple sounds, that form the basis of digitally manipulated audio works. My current work focuses on the rhythms and melodies that exist in our daily aural environments. These sounds usually remain hidden, as we tend to overlook their musical qualities; or, their musical qualities are obscured through mixture with other sounds. This work takes the form of audio CDs, web-based projects, mixed-media installations and performances. In simplified terms, what I am doing could be considered reframing and transforming sound in our environment so it can be noted, admired, and valued.