Gregory Kramer
Berlin, Germany / UK
Gregory Kramer
Dead Drone Dreaming
sonified mask, microphone, speaker, soundtrack, 2020
A murmuring skull. A remnant. A revenant. A gasping husk. An artifact on autopilot. A relic. Remains. Deteriorate.
Sonified mask; a wearable instrument capable of converting sound to electronic signal, and vice versa via a microphone/speaker (wrapped in COVID mask) built into mouthpiece. Plays a performed soundtrack made of electronic noise, radio detritus, and television static. Fabricated from reused materials: plastic jug, radio speaker, bottle caps, string, vacuum hose, surgical mask, audio connector
Audio can be heard here:
https://soundcloud.com/gregkramer/dead-drone-dreaming/s-OlbVgrt7UsH
- Gregory Kramer
*
Taking inspiration from his archaeological curiosity of abandoned places, Gregory Kramer searches for ghosts among the ruins and seeks to unearth evidence of forgotten histories through sound. He creates sound works, sometimes as Bliss Freaks, using various sources including field recordings, found materials, electronics, musical instruments and radio transmissions, and also incorporates projected video and other visuals to produce immersive environments.
Recently, he had works broadcast on Discorder magazine and CiTR’s 24 hours of Radio Art on FM 101.9, Vancouver, BC. This summer, he will have work in AUDIOSPHERE: Social Experimental Audio Pre and Post Internet; a group exhibit at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
In 2019, he presented a site-specific sound work in Félix Blume and Musica-Impulse Centre of Music’s program in Belgium at the twilight of the Klankenbos Nocturne festival. He had a soundwork in “res-o-nant” a light and sound installation at the Jewish Museum, Berlin and an installation in the Ol’ Factory: Memory Though the Senses exhibit at Coral Street Arts House in Philadelphia. His work was also broadcast on Resonance FM 104.4 London and CiTR FM 101.9, Vancouver, BC.
In 2018, he released Uhren, an album of twelve, individual clocks composed of time related materials on Pharmafabrik, and he released Fading Station, an album under the name Bliss Freaks, on Monotype Series. His Barbed Wire works were broadcast on Cashmere Radio’s Wanderlust program, Berlin, and he co-created “Lovelace’s Tribute”, an installation at Odetta gallery, New York City along with Matti Havens, as part of Fever Songs and Creative Tech Week. He performed Silent City Blizzard, as part of the New Sound Works and Experiments program at Signs and Symbols gallery, New York City. He also self-released The Domestic Trade in Rhino Horn, an album composed from shortwave radio recordings and Out of the Cave Moonblind.
In 2017, he released Barbed Wire, an album of sound works composed from barbed wire recordings made in the Limpopo region of South Africa and had a track on Linear Obsessional Recordings’ compilation, A View from a Hill. His work was featured on WebSYN radio, France, and he created a video installation for “The Endless and Mobile Beautiful Collapsible Labyrinth”, a group show at Flux Factory. He collaborated with Noopur Singha for the sound in her dance piece, “Full Feeling Photosynthesis” (performed at Setia Darma Museum of Masks and Puppets in Bali) and had two sound installations shown in a Sotheby’s group show. His sound works were selected for the Helicotrema festival in Venice, Italy, Borealis experimental music festival in Bergen, Norway, ResonanceFM in London, England, and the radio program, “Short Waves, Long Distances” on WGXC 90.7-FM in New York. He had three works selected for 2017’s Radiophrenia program including a preview of the upcoming album, Uhren, and he performed in the Limited Resources series. He also composed a sound work for the Linear Obsessional Recordings compilation, A View From a Hill (named for a ghost story by MR James).
In 2016, he composed and performed “Vampire State Building”, an eight channel surround sound work using lobby recordings from New York landmark buildings, as part of RFG Presents: Sonic Arts program and composed two Bliss Freaks pieces for a compilation curated by ATTN:Magazine. He had three pieces selected for 2016’s Radiophrenia program in Scotland, one of which was featured on BBC 6’s Freakier Zone and had five pieces broadcast on the RFG radio program in Brooklyn. One of his pieces was exhibited at Hamline University’s dronesTruck sound art exhibition in Mineapolis/St. Paul, and he released the albums Phoenix, and Lobbies on Impulsive Habitat.
In 2015, he participated in Francisco Lopez’s Sonic Mmabolela workshop/residency for sound artists and composers in Limpopo, South Africa, and one of his sound works was selected for the 2015 Sonom International Sound Art Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, available on compilation CD. Also in 2015, he released the album Minotaur, and created a sound and video installation as a manifestation of the first track on the album. This installation was part of a show curated by Maja Rajenovich and was on display at the Chashama gallery, where he also performed. Two of his pieces were featured on The Centre for Contemporary Arts’ Radiophrenia program (87.9 fm) in Glasgow, Scotland, and one of his sound works was in Noopur Singha’s dance performance, Stigma Scripture, as part of the Movement Research program.
In 2014, he was selected to participate in a 14-Day Experimental Co-Lab on Site Specific Art, funded by the Norwegian Cultural Council, on Skomvær Lighthouse island, and one of his audio pieces was radio broadcast in a forest in Scotland as part of the Dark Outside program. He was a featured composer in Vox Novus’ 60×60 New York Minutes mix, also part of The New School’s 2014 Earlids show, and had a composition featured on Ear To Earth’s 2012 tribute to John Cage. He was also interviewed for Art Habens Art Review-Summer 2014.
In his early career, after moving from Philadelphia to New York, where he received a BFA in Film/Video from Pratt Institute, Gregory honed his musical skills playing in the rock, experimental and noise scenes and garnered favorable reviews from the likes of Metal Maniacs, Pitchfork.com and Signal to Noise with his band, Wetnurse. Decibel magazine gave Wetnurse’s self-titled album a 9 out of 10 and voted Wetnurse’s Invisible City album #8 out of their Top 40 Extreme Albums of 2008.
He also exhibited drawings as part of Draw, an internationally, touring group show including work by Richard Serra, David Byrne, Ozzy Osbourne and R. Crumb; shown at Fuse Gallery, New York City; Stolen Space Gallery, London; Gallery Lombardi, Austin; Shooting Gallery, San Francisco; currently on view @ Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, and he had a solo drawing show at Beaner Gallery in Brooklyn in 2013.
Sonified mask; a wearable instrument capable of converting sound to electronic signal, and vice versa via a microphone/speaker (wrapped in COVID mask) built into mouthpiece. Plays a performed soundtrack made of electronic noise, radio detritus, and television static. Fabricated from reused materials: plastic jug, radio speaker, bottle caps, string, vacuum hose, surgical mask, audio connector
Audio can be heard here:
https://soundcloud.com/gregkramer/dead-drone-dreaming/s-OlbVgrt7UsH
- Gregory Kramer
*
Artist Bio
Taking inspiration from his archaeological curiosity of abandoned places, Gregory Kramer searches for ghosts among the ruins and seeks to unearth evidence of forgotten histories through sound. He creates sound works, sometimes as Bliss Freaks, using various sources including field recordings, found materials, electronics, musical instruments and radio transmissions, and also incorporates projected video and other visuals to produce immersive environments.
Recently, he had works broadcast on Discorder magazine and CiTR’s 24 hours of Radio Art on FM 101.9, Vancouver, BC. This summer, he will have work in AUDIOSPHERE: Social Experimental Audio Pre and Post Internet; a group exhibit at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
In 2019, he presented a site-specific sound work in Félix Blume and Musica-Impulse Centre of Music’s program in Belgium at the twilight of the Klankenbos Nocturne festival. He had a soundwork in “res-o-nant” a light and sound installation at the Jewish Museum, Berlin and an installation in the Ol’ Factory: Memory Though the Senses exhibit at Coral Street Arts House in Philadelphia. His work was also broadcast on Resonance FM 104.4 London and CiTR FM 101.9, Vancouver, BC.
In 2018, he released Uhren, an album of twelve, individual clocks composed of time related materials on Pharmafabrik, and he released Fading Station, an album under the name Bliss Freaks, on Monotype Series. His Barbed Wire works were broadcast on Cashmere Radio’s Wanderlust program, Berlin, and he co-created “Lovelace’s Tribute”, an installation at Odetta gallery, New York City along with Matti Havens, as part of Fever Songs and Creative Tech Week. He performed Silent City Blizzard, as part of the New Sound Works and Experiments program at Signs and Symbols gallery, New York City. He also self-released The Domestic Trade in Rhino Horn, an album composed from shortwave radio recordings and Out of the Cave Moonblind.
In 2017, he released Barbed Wire, an album of sound works composed from barbed wire recordings made in the Limpopo region of South Africa and had a track on Linear Obsessional Recordings’ compilation, A View from a Hill. His work was featured on WebSYN radio, France, and he created a video installation for “The Endless and Mobile Beautiful Collapsible Labyrinth”, a group show at Flux Factory. He collaborated with Noopur Singha for the sound in her dance piece, “Full Feeling Photosynthesis” (performed at Setia Darma Museum of Masks and Puppets in Bali) and had two sound installations shown in a Sotheby’s group show. His sound works were selected for the Helicotrema festival in Venice, Italy, Borealis experimental music festival in Bergen, Norway, ResonanceFM in London, England, and the radio program, “Short Waves, Long Distances” on WGXC 90.7-FM in New York. He had three works selected for 2017’s Radiophrenia program including a preview of the upcoming album, Uhren, and he performed in the Limited Resources series. He also composed a sound work for the Linear Obsessional Recordings compilation, A View From a Hill (named for a ghost story by MR James).
In 2016, he composed and performed “Vampire State Building”, an eight channel surround sound work using lobby recordings from New York landmark buildings, as part of RFG Presents: Sonic Arts program and composed two Bliss Freaks pieces for a compilation curated by ATTN:Magazine. He had three pieces selected for 2016’s Radiophrenia program in Scotland, one of which was featured on BBC 6’s Freakier Zone and had five pieces broadcast on the RFG radio program in Brooklyn. One of his pieces was exhibited at Hamline University’s dronesTruck sound art exhibition in Mineapolis/St. Paul, and he released the albums Phoenix, and Lobbies on Impulsive Habitat.
In 2015, he participated in Francisco Lopez’s Sonic Mmabolela workshop/residency for sound artists and composers in Limpopo, South Africa, and one of his sound works was selected for the 2015 Sonom International Sound Art Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico, available on compilation CD. Also in 2015, he released the album Minotaur, and created a sound and video installation as a manifestation of the first track on the album. This installation was part of a show curated by Maja Rajenovich and was on display at the Chashama gallery, where he also performed. Two of his pieces were featured on The Centre for Contemporary Arts’ Radiophrenia program (87.9 fm) in Glasgow, Scotland, and one of his sound works was in Noopur Singha’s dance performance, Stigma Scripture, as part of the Movement Research program.
In 2014, he was selected to participate in a 14-Day Experimental Co-Lab on Site Specific Art, funded by the Norwegian Cultural Council, on Skomvær Lighthouse island, and one of his audio pieces was radio broadcast in a forest in Scotland as part of the Dark Outside program. He was a featured composer in Vox Novus’ 60×60 New York Minutes mix, also part of The New School’s 2014 Earlids show, and had a composition featured on Ear To Earth’s 2012 tribute to John Cage. He was also interviewed for Art Habens Art Review-Summer 2014.
In his early career, after moving from Philadelphia to New York, where he received a BFA in Film/Video from Pratt Institute, Gregory honed his musical skills playing in the rock, experimental and noise scenes and garnered favorable reviews from the likes of Metal Maniacs, Pitchfork.com and Signal to Noise with his band, Wetnurse. Decibel magazine gave Wetnurse’s self-titled album a 9 out of 10 and voted Wetnurse’s Invisible City album #8 out of their Top 40 Extreme Albums of 2008.
He also exhibited drawings as part of Draw, an internationally, touring group show including work by Richard Serra, David Byrne, Ozzy Osbourne and R. Crumb; shown at Fuse Gallery, New York City; Stolen Space Gallery, London; Gallery Lombardi, Austin; Shooting Gallery, San Francisco; currently on view @ Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, and he had a solo drawing show at Beaner Gallery in Brooklyn in 2013.
