The Ears Outside My Listening Room - Info

Composed and produced by Colin Black

The Ears Outside My Listening Room is an oral history in the form of a musical/radiophonic composition (in four segments Family, City, Country & Creation). It’s a work featuring real Australians. It takes a snapshot of our country, our people, our time, our diversity, our culture and tries to preserve it in an album of emotive musical, sonic collage. Music entwines the recordings of authentic Australian speaking voices and soundscapes to make a patchwork sonic quilt that can be passed between the generations.

The work was made during the composer’s residency with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s The Listening Room program, ABC Radio in 2002.  This residency was supported by the Australia Council for the Arts New Media Board.


Musicians: The Electra String Quartet, Jeremy Barnette, Robbie Siracusa, Colin Black, Emile Nelson, Ari Erlich

Sound engineer:  Andrei Shabunov

Additional engineering and recordings by Colin Black, Russell Stapleton and Steven Tilley

Executive Producer: Robyn Ravlich


Duration 51’00”



This project has been assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, it's arts funding and advisory body.

About The Composer/Sound Artist

Internationally recognised composer/sound artist Colin Black won the prestigious Prix Italia Award (2003) in the category Best Music Radio – Composed Work for his major work, “The Ears Outside My Listening Room” which he composed and produced. In 2004 Black was invited by The National Radio Company of Ukraine to help adapt this work for a Ukrainian audience

In 2004 Black was commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to co-produce & compose two major audio/musical works with a Greek theme for their Olympic programming. In the same year Black was invited to talk about radio arts and his work on London's Resonance 104.4FM.  His electro acoustic compositions were selected for performance at events including the Festival Synthese Bourges and Rencontres Musiques Nouvelles, Lunel France, 60x60 Pacific Basin Regional Concert Los Angeles USA, Zèppelin 2004-Festival de Arte Sonoro Barcelona, Spain and Hipersonica 2004 in Sao Paulo Brazil.  He also created a dynamic multi-site soundscape including the Starcourt Theatre Space sound installation “Floodscape” for the NORPA 2004 production of “The Flood”.

In previous years Black’s works have also been selected for performance at events including "En Red O 2000" music festival Barcelona Spain, the Festival Synthese Bourges France, The Literature Sound Barrier 2002 in Wien, Austria, Sydney University’s Live Wires concerts ‘97, ‘98, Melbourne’s Extatic Concert for the Next Wave festival ‘98 and Wellington’s Extatic Concert ‘99.  A finalist in the Australian National Digital Arts Awards ‘98, his experimental composition “118, 120 122” was exhibited at Brisbane’s Institute of Modern Art.  The Parramatta Heritage Centre’s "Parramatta: People & Place" exhibition features Black’s original soundtrack installation, “Tradition Street” which is to be exhibited for seven years.

Black is a graduate of the UNE Contemporary Music Degree and has an Honorary Graduate Diploma of Musical Directing and Composing for TV from AFTRS (Australian Film, Television and Radio School). He has been invited to be on the judging panels for the Tropfest Film Award, Australia (for Best Composition for a short film) and for the national APRA music industry awards.

In 2005 with the support of the Australian Government, Black will commence writing a new major musical/soundart hybrid work for performance with a broadcast on ABC radio (Australia).


Black’s Nominations, Awards and Fellowships include:
2003    Prix Italia Award, Best Music Radio – Composed Work
2002    ABC Radio, New Media Arts, Artist in Residence Fellowship 2002
2000    Australian Guild Screen Composers Screen Music Awards
           Nomination for Best Music for a Station ID or Promo
1998    National Digital Arts Award finalist
1996    NCEIA Award - Best Experimental Song
1996    NCEIA Award Nominee for Best Instrumental Song
1994    NCEIA Award - Best Instrumental Song


< more  data >
http://www1.tpgi.com.au/users/cydonian/c_black.html

“The Ears Outside My Listening Room” - Credits

International Awards:
* International Prix Italia Award for Best Music Radio – Composed Work 2003

International broadcasts on the following networks:
* Australian national broadcast on ABC Classic FM
* Special Australia Day, national broadcast on ABC Radio National, Australia
* Swedish Radio broadcast on “Monitor” program
* Dutch National Radio (VPRO Radio), Cafe Sonore program
* Extract broadcast on Klara, Flemish Cultural Radio’s , “Mixtuur” program
* Radio New Zealand, RPM program
* Extract broadcast on BBC Radio 4
* Extract broadcast on BBC Radio 3
* SAfm,  (SABC, South Africa)
* Extracts broadcast on Fbi 94.5FM (Australia)
* DeutschlandRadio Berlin, HörspielWerkstatt program
* NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation), “Ikke mer lydkunst” program
* Radio New Zealand, Sound Lounge program
* CBC Radio Two (Canada)
* National Radio Company of Ukraine to adapt “The Ears Outside My Listening” for broadcast on Ukrainian Radio.

Online audio stream:
* Dutch National Radio (VPRO) website’s audio stream at; http://www.vpro.nl/programma/cafesonore/afleveringen/15336458/