Archives
Monster Rotations
Much of the album sound design was made using Symbolic Sound Kyma.
Purchase Monster Rotations on Bandcamp.
Stream on Spotify.
Relay of Memory
The sonic impact of radio on the Americana landscape is profound. Fireside chats, Radio theatre, Payola, DJs, drive-ins, elevator Musak, waiting room noise––the vast consumerism and reach of radio continues to this day. Yet, what happens when we smash two artists (Kenny G and Nickelback) together into one spectral stretched fantasy using the transmission medium that gave life to their careers? Are we doomed to phase out our history with background noise? Or are we undulating with the beat of cultural reclamation and signification? Sending us adrift inside the electrical coils of the radio, Lying in Fireflies Besides Brown Curls and other original compositions attempt to recount a personal connection to memory, lust, and the power of radio to receive a new transmission.
Relay of Memory was exhibited at the Edith Langley Barrett Art Gallery, Utica, NY. The exhibition was supported by funds from the Oregon Arts Commission.
Chromatic Shift Audio Plugin
Chromatic Shift is an audio plugin (AU and VST3) that uses three interpolating delays to pitch shift audio.
The range of the plugin is two octaves below and two octaves above the original audio.
A window delay (5ms to 50ms set outside playback) changes audio quality at more extreme settings. Default is 20ms.
Chromatic Shift was built using the JUCE Framework (C++).
Download the VST/AU Plugin.
Wildfire
Wildfire is a 48-foot long speaker array that plays back a wave of fire sounds across its 48-foot span at speeds of actual wildfires. The sound art installation strives to have viewers embody the devastating spread of wildfires through an auditory experience.
The work was installed at the Edith Langley Barrett Art Gallery in Utica, New York. The work ran Sept. 19 – Dec. 8, 2019 as part of a solo art exhibition entitled, “Impact! works by Jon Bellona.” Wildfire was part of SPRING/BREAK Art Show in NYC March 3 – 9, 2020 curated by Megan C. Austin and Ashlie Flood.
Wildfire was made possible through the University of Oregon Center for Environmental Futures and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Impact! exhibition was supported by funds from the Oregon Arts Commission. Additional support made possible from the Edith Langley Barrett Art Gallery.
Public Final Report for University of Oregon Center for Environmental Futures.
Photo Credit: Janelle Rodriguez
I mixed-down the forty-eight foot, 16-channel work into stereo (2-channel). An embedded Spotify player is below, but the stereo version may be found on Apple, Amazon, YouTube or wherever you stream music.
Impact! Exhibit
IMPACT! features six site-specific sound and data-driven installations that use technology to provoke questions about humanity and our effect on the world around us. Works in the show include Wildfire (2019), Relay of Memory (2019), Distance-X (2017-8), Aqua•litative (2016), #Carbonfeed (2014), and Sound Memorial for the Veterans of the Vietnam War (2003).
The exhibition is organized by the Barrett Art Gallery at Utica College. The exhibition is supported by funds from the Oregon Arts Commission. The Edith Langley Barrett Art Gallery programs are made possible with support from the Utica College School of Arts and Sciences and private contributions.
Media File Reported to Oregon Arts Commission (2019)
#Ferguson on UVA Percussion Ensemble CD released on Innova
UVA Percussion Ensemble, Speed of Sound (UVA Music @100)
https://www.innova.mu/albums/uva-percussion-ensemble/speed-sound
Speed of Sound celebrates both the Centennial of the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia (UVA) and the Bicentennial of the entire institution. I-Jen Fang, the Director of the UVA Percussion Ensemble, curated this album, showcasing UVA composers and performers. These include faculty, as well as alumni, graduate and undergraduate students, with all of the music created between 2014 and 2017.
Informatics
Purchase Informatics EP on Bandcamp.
Awash
Awash depicts the life, color, and environment of the High Desert. The kinetic sound sculpture emanates audio from the region, while flowing as a singular mechanical wave overhead. Awash, like the High Desert, is shaped by many forces interacting in complex ways; the work is ecological – physical movement interacts with sonic vibrations. Sounds interact with the physical environment. Visual elements intermingle with acoustic elements.
The High Desert Museum commissioned Harmonic Laboratory for the work as part of its Desert Reflections 2019 exhibit. The exhibit went on to win the 2019 Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Award for Exhibition Excellence. Press release for the award.
Jon Bellona, electronics, software, field recording, Skinner church organ recording, sound editing, visual design, engineering
John Park, kinetics, visual design, engineering, schematics
Jeremy Schropp, field recording, visual design, engineering
Kevin Davis, Skinner church organ recording
Software 1.17
Purchase Software 1.17 EP on Bandcamp.