Wikipedia

Olivia Louvel

Olivia Louvel is a French-born British composer and artist whose work is presented in the form of sound recordings, sound art installations, video art and live performances. She won an Ivor Novello Award in Sound Art at The Ivors Classical Awards 2023 for LOL, a sonic intervention delivered through the public address system of Middlesbrough's CCTV surveillance network, reflecting the state of political affairs in Britain.[1]

Olivia Louvel
Artwork for SculptOr
Artwork for SculptOr
Background information
GenresElectroacoustic Music, Experimental Music, Sound Art
OccupationsComposer, sound artist, producer, vocalist, visual artist
InstrumentsComputer, DAW, vocals
LabelsCat Werk Imprint, Optical Sound, Angelika koehlermann, Ici, d'ailleurs..., Parallel Series, Bella Union, Classical Remix, RēR Megacorp
Websitewww.olivialouvel.com
Awards: Ivor Novello Award 2023 Sound Art
Olivia Louvel in Lulu in Suspension

Previously, The Sculptor Speaks, a resounding of a 1961 tape of Barbara Hepworth's voice, was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award in the Sound Art category at the Ivors Composer Awards 2020.[2] She was interviewed by Stuart Maconie on his BBC Radio 6 programme Freak Zone about her "compelling sculpture-inspired work" on Barbara Hepworth.[3]

She has presented her work at Towner Eastbourne, The Hepworth Wakefield, Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Resonance FM /Extra, King's Place in London, De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea, Ikon Gallery, IKLECTIK, Earsthetic Festival in Brighton Dome, Brighton, and at Brighton Digital Festival.

Education

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Louvel studied at the National Superior Conservatory of Dramatic Arts of Paris and had the opportunity to work with Klaus Michael Grüber and Michel Piccoli in a reworking of a Luigi Pirandello play.[4] She holds a Master's degree in Digital Music and Sound Arts,University of Brighton.

Composition and audio-visual works

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  • Luna Parc Hotel (2006) composition

In 2003, with her first computer, she produced her debut album Luna Parc Hotel, released on Angelika Koehlermann in 2006.[5] With guest appearances by Michael J.Sheehy and Sébastien Libolt.

  • Lulu in Suspension (2008) composition, video art

Inspired by silent-movie star Louise Brooks and her book Lulu in Hollywood. Released as a digipak CD on Optical Sound Records and Fine Arts,[6] run by French artist Pierre Beloüin.

  • Doll Divider (2010–11) composition, video art

Initially released as a digital version on Ototoi Music and Optical Sound. Doll Divider[7] was originally inspired by A4 paintings which she made using pages from fashion magazines and repainting on top of the photos of the models. Collectively these paintings are called "Processed Dolls". Following her Qwartz Album Award in 2011, she created her label Cat Werk Imprint. "Doll Divider" was re-released as a limited-edition vinyl, enhanced and remastered version.

  • ō, music for haiku (2007–12) composition, video art, artwork

A soundtrack based on haiku by poet Bashō, released on Cat Werk Imprint. The limited edition CD is adorned with a hand-drawn "Magic Fish Dog", a character invented by Louvel. Screened at Festival Electron, Geneva, in 2008.

  • Beauty Sleep (2014) composition, video art

A suite of songs complemented by a series of experimental short films shot in West Sussex, reinventing herself as a bird-woman. "Bats" was remixed by Simon Fisher Turner.[8]

  • Mixtape (2014)

An exclusive mix for EB Radio Electronic Beats, featuring her remix of Antye Greie's Poemproducer.[9]

  • Afraid of Women (2016) audiovisual

Louvel contributed a "compelling audio-visual" [10] Afraid Of Women to the female:pressure campaign—curated by Antye Greie-Ripatti to raise awareness for the special de facto autonomous zone in northern Syria, Rojava. Released and screened at CTM Festival, Berlin. Produced using sampled sounds and re-fragmented images sourced from the internet, an attempt to highlight the formidable solidarity and courage of these women fighting on the front line against IS.[11]

  • Data Regina (2017) composition, 3D videos, online platform

Louvel "packaged experimental electronic music, new media art, and 16th century conflict into multimedia art", exploring the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, through an interactive digital platform and an album release.[12]
"A multimedia suite by composer Oliva Louvel digs deep into the psychic warfare between the 16th century British Queens. (...) The refined melodies of Louvel's intimate vocals and Fiona Brice's lyrical violin stand in fragile opposition to a backdrop, based largely around processed tambour samples, of harsh percussive rolls and looming reverberations. It evokes not only the brutality of the battles that peppered the UK in the 16th century but the sense of surveillance and paranoia that both women must have experienced." Abi Bliss, The Wire, February 2017.

  • Not A Creature of Paper (2019) composition

Commissioned by avant-garde ensemble Juice Vocal, a Louise Labé inspired composition, premiered at Kings Place, London.[13]

  • SculptOr (2020) composition

A suite of nine pieces based on Hepworth's extensive writings.
"Armed with an algorithmic chisel and mallet, Louvel repurposes writings by the late English sculptor Barbara Hepworth (...) SculptOr is a highly conceptual and meta-referential piece, a sort of meditation on artistic practices." Antonio Poscic, The Quietus.[14]

  • The Sculptor Speaks (2020) radio broadcast, audiovisual

A resounding of a 1961 tape by Barbara Hepworth, premiered on Resonance Extra Resonance FM,[15] and followed by an audio-visual iteration. "The sculptor's cut-glass Received Pronunciation might be off-putting for the modern ear, but waves of technological manipulation have eroded its edges, turning it into a dreamy meditation on the nature of creativity."Deborah Nash, The Wire. Exhibited at Towner Eastbourne in 2023.[16]

  • doggerLANDscape (2023) composition, video art

A multimedia suite comprising an album and a video art form based on Doggerland, the land that used to stretch between today’s coast of Britain and Europe. Around 8000 years ago, the river Thames was then connected to the Rhine.
"doggerLANDscape is a taut, charged and insightful collection that poses significant questions, at least in my mind, about political identity, ideological and material borders, and the ways in which our geological environments shape our lives and thinking." Johny Lamb, The Quietus.[17]

Installations

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  • The Whole Inside (2019)

A generative sound mural of nine speaker drivers and data projection, exploring an explicit sociopolitical agenda: the violent misogyny of incel communities.[18] Installed at the Sound Diffusion Lab, DMSA, University of Brighton.[19] Seected for the Longlist at the Aesthetica Art Prize 2021, and is featured in the Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology: Future Now.[20]

  • The Sculptor Speaks (2020)

Presented in 2021 at the Hepworth Wakefield museum as an audio-visual installation alongside the 10th anniversary exhibition 'Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life'.[21]

  • Doggerland Channels (2022, 2023)

A generative sound-relief based on the ancient land which once linked Britain to the continent. The cartographic sound art installation for voice and data projection throws a net over the North Sea, revealing the rivers which used to connect us to the continent – when the Thames flowed into the Rhine. Premiered at Phoenix Art Space for the Sound Art Brighton festival.[22] Installed at Middlesbrough Art Week 2023.

  • Wave Dome (2022)

A white noise and radio waves installation for a Willow Dome experience at Stanmer Organics for the first Sound Plotting festival.[23]

  • LOL (2022)

A sonic intervention delivered through the public address system of Middlesbrough's CCTV surveillance network, reflecting the current state of political affairs in Britain, produced with Kersten Glandien, artistic director of Sound Art Brighton for Middlesbrough Art Weekender.[24] The Ivors Academy jury remarked: “LOL is a provocative, disruptive and impactful work, deftly constructed with humour”.[25]

Live performances

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In April 2007, she performed in the electronic kiosk conceived by Cocktail Designers/architect Olivier Vadrot [26] at Festival en boîte, Bibliothèque de la Part-Dieu, Lyon, France (F).[27]

In November 2018, she toured throughout the UK presenting a headline audio-visual set of Data Regina for Synth Remix, an event curated by Benjamin Tassie under Sound and Music's Composer-Curator scheme, also featuring Jo Thomas. [28]

Louvel has opened for artists such as Semiconductors & Eartheater at De La Warr Pavilion (2019),[29] Japanese avant-garde artist Phew,[30] Planningtorock at the Earsthetic Festival Brighton Dome,[31] and Recoil for various concerts on the European Selected tour (2010).[32]

Initially trained in classical singing, she began to work as a singer for the flying trapeze circus Les Arts Sauts, performing at 12 metres in the air a Meredith Monk composition. She toured with them for three years, with notable performances at Festival de la Batie in Geneva, and Festival of Perth in 1995.[33]

Collaborative practice

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Under the moniker of The Digital Intervention, she worked with Paul Kendall (long term Mute Records collaborator) on the album Capture, which was released in 2003.[34] With Paul Kendall as The Digital Intervention, they produced the piece "When the sea will rise II'" or Acoustic Cameras, a project which invites sound artists to annex the real-time flow of webcams located in various places around the world.[35]

Along with Daria Baiocchi, Fiona Hallinan, La Cosa Preziosa, Vicky Langan, Úna Lee, Jenn Kirby, Claudia Molitor, Gráinne Mulvey and Rachel Ní Chuinn, Louvel contributed to the collaborative art project "Mean Time" with her composition "25 minutes and 21 seconds". The event was broadcast live on Nova, RTÉ Lyric FM from Richmond Barracks, Dublin.[36]

Louvel performed with the Mi.Mu gloves '54 bones', a gesturally based performance art for an audience of one at Onca Gallery for Brighton Digital Festival 2018, in collaboration with Duncan Cabral, Jaimie Moore and Dominic Rae. [37]

Awards and grants

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Discography

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Albums

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  • Luna Parc Hotel. 03.2006, digipak CD with booklet. Angelika Koehlermann.
  • Lulu in Suspension. 01.2008, deluxe digipak CD & digital. Optical Sound.
  • Doll Divider. 02.2010, digital. Ototoi + Optical Sound.
  • Doll Divider. 06.2011, 12" vinyl & digital (enhanced & remastered version). Cat Werk Imprint.
  • ō , music for haiku. 12.2012, CD with hand drawn artwork & digital. Cat Werk Imprint.
  • Beauty Sleep. 09.2014, digipak CD (DVD size). Cat Werk Imprint.
  • Data Regina. 02.2017, digipak CD (DVD size). Cat Werk Imprint.
  • SculptOr. 02.2020, digipak CD (DVD size). Cat Werk Imprint.
  • doggerLANDscape. 11.2023, 10" vinyl, digital, art. Cat Werk Imprint.

EPs

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  • Bats by Night, 02.2015, digital. Cat Werk Imprint.

Collaborations

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  • Capture as The Digital Intervention (with Paul Kendall), 2003, CD. The Parallel Series + 0101 + Ici D'Ailleurs.

Compilations

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  • 2013. Pussy Riot Freedom. female:pressure.Track featured ' Doll Divider'.[42]
  • 2016. Music, Awareness & Solidarity w/ Rojava Revolution. female:pressure. Track featured 'Afraid of Women'.[43]
  • 2017. Mind The Gap. Gonzo Circus. Track featured 'Good Queen Bess'.[44]
  • 2022. Sound Art Brighton. ReR Megacorp. Track featured 'Doggerland Channels'. [45]

Remix

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  • 2016. Paris Multiplié for Fiona Brice 'Postcards Reframed'. Bella Union.[46]
  • 2021. Pathetique N.8 for CHAINES 'Beethoven Simulator'. Classical Remix.[47]

References

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  1. ^ "Winners of The Ivors Classical Awards 2023 announced". ivorsacademy.com. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  2. ^ "The Ivors Composer Awards 01 Dec 2020". ivorsacademy.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Olivia Louvel Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone". bbc.co.uk. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Klaus Michael Grüber est un mystique". Letemps.ch. 21 November 1998. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ^ "OLIVIA LOUVEL - "Luna Parc Hotel"". monkeymusic.at. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Olivia Louvel, Lulu in Suspension (OS.027) CD". optical-sound.com. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  7. ^ "LISTEN: Olivia Louvel-Doll Maker". Thequietus.com. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  8. ^ "INTERVIEW: Olivia Louvel". Thequietus.com. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  9. ^ "EB radio presents Olivia Louvel". electronicbeats. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  10. ^ "Is The Islamic State 'Afraid Of Women'?". electronicbeats.net. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Is The Islamic State 'Afraid of Women'?". electronicbeats.net. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  12. ^ "Multiple Media: Olivia Louvel On Music, Art & 17th Century History". thequietus.com. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Juice Vocal Ensemble: Voices of Venus". kingsplace.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Olivia Louvel SculptOr [Hepworth Resounds]". thequietus.com. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  15. ^ "The Sculptor Speaks". Resonance Extra. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  16. ^ "O Olivia Louvel The Sculptor Speaks". townereastbourne.org.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Olivia Louvel doggerLANDscape". thequietus.com. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  18. ^ Louvel, Olivia (2020). "A Generative Sound Mural, The Whole Inside: Sounding the Body". Leonardo Music Journal. 30. direct.mit.edu: 29–32. doi:10.1162/lmj_a_01080. S2CID 212726537.
  19. ^ "Graduate Show 2019: Olivia Louvel: Digital Music and Sound Arts". Blogs.brighton.ac.uk. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Future Now 2021 Aesthetica Art Prize". aestheticamagazine.com. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Olivia Louvel: The Sculptor Speaks". hepworthwakefield.org. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Sound Art Brighton: Doggerland Channels". phoenixbrighton.org. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  23. ^ "Sound Plotting. A day of sound art, improv music, biosonics and dancing at Stanmer Organics". lost-property.org.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Shoppers left spooked after 'Boris Johnson sounding' voice is randomly played in town centre". yahoo.com. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  25. ^ Taylor, Mark (14 November 2023). "Winners of The Ivors Classical Awards 2023 announced". The Ivors Academy. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Cocktail Designers' music furniture". lespressesdureel.com. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  27. ^ "Festival En Boite". Bm-lyon.fr. 1 April 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  28. ^ "Synth Remix: Celebrating the Pioneering Women of Electronic Music". 7 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Semiconductor and Eartheater". dlwp.com. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  30. ^ "PHEW, debut live in London + Olivia Louvel". iklectikartlab.com. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  31. ^ "earsthetic Planningtorock". brightondome.org. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  32. ^ "Olivia Louvel predskokanom Alana Wildera". depechemode.sk. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  33. ^ "Olivia Louvel". Chain D.L.K. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  34. ^ ""The Digital Intervention – Capture" release". forcedexposure.com. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  35. ^ "Acoustic Cameras". acousticcameras. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  36. ^ ""Sound Art celebrates the female revolutionary spirit"". thesampler.org. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  37. ^ ""Digital Gestures, Human Contact"". onca.org. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  38. ^ "Qwartz Award Winners Announced". Thewire.co.uk. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  39. ^ "Qwartz – Paris Réseau international pour les musiques électroniques et nouvelles". Sacd.fr. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  40. ^ Taylor, Mark (18 October 2023). "Nominees announced for The Ivors Classical Awards 2023". The Ivors Academy. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  41. ^ Taylor, Mark (14 November 2023). "Winners of The Ivors Classical Awards 2023 announced". The Ivors Academy. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  42. ^ "All-female EDM and digital art collective female:pressure have released a new compilation album in aid of Pussy Riot". thegirlsare.com. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  43. ^ "female:pressure release Rojava Revolution compilation for International Women's Day". factmag.com. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  44. ^ "MIND THE GAP #124". gonzocircus.com. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  45. ^ "Sound Art Brighton Festival Catalogue". soundartbrighton.com. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  46. ^ ""FIONA BRICE shares Gonjasufi 'Glastonbury' remix" release". bellaunion.com. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  47. ^ "IBeethoven Simulator". 9 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
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