Dr Antti Saario

Qualifications

Year	Qualification	Awarding body
2002	PhD Musical Composition	University of Birmingham
1997	BSc (Hons) Electronic Music and Mathematics	University of Keele

Honors and awards

Year	Description
2003	Bullet Train Ballad no.1 (2002) [7’], fixed media. Finalist in Bourges 2003 TRIVIUM A – Degre II Studio Category.
2002	Bullet Train Ballad no.1 (2002) [7’], fixed media. 1st prize absolute for 'Electro-acoustic, analogical and digital music' section of the IV International Contemporary Music Contest "Città di Udine" competition 2002 (1500 euros, public performance and realization of a CD of the concert), Udine, Italy.
1998	Soft Lies, Soft Icons (1997-8) [12’], fixed media. Seventh place in the Prix Scrime acousmatic composition competition, Bordeaux, France.

Research interests and expertise

• Sound recording 
• Audio and music production practices and associated technology innovations, with a particular focus on creative and critical application transducers
• Composition: electroacoustic, fixed media, post-acousmatic and studio composition
• Sound, audio and listening praxis
• Soundscape ecology
• Collaborative and nomadic creative methods
• Sound and affect theory 
• Sound based performance practice: electronic music performance, mixed media sound making, installation, and post-acousmatic performance
• Black Metal: production, black metal theory, blackened affect

Research Topics

• Black Metal
• Composition
• Performance
• Praxis
• Production

Current research students

Dinah Hayward (PhD candidate): Aural diversity and composition practice
Thomas Hull (PhD candidate): Soundscape ecology and composition practice 
Amble Skuse (PhD candidate): Disability and composition practice (3D3 funded)

Previous student supervision

Dr Philip Reeder: Composition (AHRC Funded) 
Dr Tom Slater : Composition, Sound art

Number of research students supervised to completion

2

Research degrees examined

Associate Director of Postgraduate Studies, Lancaster University, 2008-2010
Internal Examiner (PhD), Musicology, Lancaster University, Dec 2010
External Examiner (PhD), Cheung, Kaho PhD Rapid Transit Systems: a portfolio of music compositions, University of Manchester, February 201.   
External Examiner (PhD), Jansch, Adam PhD Towards the open outcome record: a portfolio of works exploring strategies of freeing the record from fixity (2011) , University of Huddersfield, March 2012
Internal Examiner (PhD), Musicology, University College Falmouth/University of Plymouth, July 2012
University of York (2021) McNeill, Adams PhD Articulating the Dancefloor: Examining spatial, social and sonic identities of contemporary club culture through an interdisciplinary creative practice

Number of research degree examinations

4

Areas of teaching

• Sound Recording
• audio and music production
• Studio composition
• music technology theory and practice
• Professional Practice
• sound art
• audio theory
• Contextual studies

Courses taught

• BA (Hons) Creative Music Technology
• BA (Hons) Music
• BA (Hons) Popular Music
• PhD Supervision

Engagement with organisations which contribute to the development of educational, cultural or socio-economic policies in Cornwall

Cornwall Music Education Hub (CMEH) Strategic Advisory Board Member
Cornwall Music Network(CMN) Board Member

Consultancy and facility services

Delivery of HEIF Business Assists (incl. recording, production and creative consultancy) for Cornish artists, business and musicians (2011-15)

Independent professional practice

Creative output

Antti’s praxis focuses on fixed media composition and its experiential, critical and performative application in interdisciplinary, collaborative and multi-media contexts.  
Commissions by YLE (Finnish Broadcast Company), Frieze Art Fair/Channel 4 film, Cecis Art Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Duo Roche/Zöllner, Nuffield Theatre and London Musicians Collective (LMC).

Full project details and list of performances, broadcasts and media releases available on request.

Recent

World Premiere and performances of GhXsts by Eva Zöllner and Heather Roche in UK (York, Leeds, Belfast) and Portugal (Seia) 
Installation and VIP performance of Public Dreaming: Europe. Almost. A Fantasy. at the Nordic Bienniale of Contemporary Arts: Momentum 9 'Alienation', Norway
Screening tour of Hoover Diaries, New Zealand  

Forthcoming

• Split LP release with Stephen Grew (piano: UK), Summer 2018
• Live performances at Jaguar Hotel, London, June 2018
• EP release of Crescendo of Doom with Heikki Helanterä (drums: FIN), Late 2018
• Dangers of reading too much presented by A|R (Aero Ionian Risk) performance-installation, Arkadia International Bookstore, August 2018, Helsinki, Finland

 

List of compositions

Fixed & mixed media composition

GhXsts (2017) 8:30, stereo fixed medium and score for unspecified forces Work commissioned by Duo Roche/Zöllner.  
Public Dreaming: Europe. Almost. A Fantasy (2017) c.45’ live laptop performance at Momentum 9 – Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art: Alienation  
Public Dreaming: Europe. Almost. A Fantasy (dreamscape) (2017) 110:15 stereo fixed medium soundtrack for a ‘sleep structure’ and public sleep clinic by Amanda Newall (NZ) and Leon Tan (NZ)  
Hoover Diaries (2014-16) 45:00 stereo fixed medium soundtrack and post-production for HD video Director and project leader Amanda Newall (NZ)  
Don’t Leave Stay a While Longer… (2011), Open duration stereo fixed medium composition and sound design for Ivars Drulle’s Cecis Art Festival commissioned multimedia installation. Old Cesis Brewery, Cesis, Latvia, Summer 2011.
The Darktown Cakewalk: Celebrated from the House of FAME (2010) Sound consultant and audio production supervisor, sound recording, remixing and a collaborative composition with Philip Reeder (UK) for Frieze Art Fair/Channel 4 film commission and series of 13 hour performances conceived and directed by Linder Sterling, feat. Stuart McCallum (Cinematic Orchestra)  
Nomadische Luftspiegelung für Eva (2008) 9:30 stereo fixed medium and accordion Commissioned by Eva Zöllner (GER)  
Aboriginal Terraformations (2008) stereo fixed medium for HD video Collaborative video and research project with Ola Johansson (SWE), Amanda Newall (NZ) and Stephen Pritchard (AUS)  
The Hollywoods: We are Legion – Mixed Reality Jockeying (2007) Stereo fixed medium compositions Collaborative multi-media art and research project with Amanda Newall (NZ) and Leon Tan (NZ)  
Pilgrim Sunrise, Pagan Sunset (2007) score for unspecified forces and fire Commissioned for the Guthrie & Streb Summer 2007 Extravaganza www.gutrhieandstreb.com     Frames for One  (2004-07) stereo fixed medium soundtrack for a dancer and video Video by Olaf Knarvik (NOK), Dance and Choreography by Gitte Bastiansen (NOK)  
Bullet Train Ballad no.1 (2002) 7:18, stereo fixed medium Winner of 1st prize absolute for "electro-acoustic, analogical and digital music" section of the IV International Contemporary Music Contest "Città di Udine", 2002, Udine, Italy Contemporanea 2002 : Interensemble (Taukay123), CD Yachtclub vol.1 – Alkumeri Yachtclub (Yacht001), CD     Crystal Man (2002) (remix) 1:00, stereo fixed medium Released on Bottoms Up Limited Edition CD featuring 51 remixes of the work of Professor Jonty Harrison  
Portrait Concrète: Jo Hamilton in fixed media [21'36" x 44.1 kHz/s x 16bit] (2001) 21:36 stereo fixed medium  
G&T Swimmers (2001) c. 11’ stereo fixed medium Commissioned by Aldeburgh Festival CD release on Viewpoint ‘Works from BEAST – vol.3’. Sargasso Records  
Invisible Tattoos (2000) c. 25’ stereo fixed medium  
nausea (1999) c. 17’ stereo fixed media  
Kuollut Radio (1998) c. 4’ stereo fixed medium Produced to form a part of LMC commissioned Ways of Hearing by David Prior (UK), Dugal McKinnon (NZ), Ian Chuprun (CAN) and Antti Saario (FIN), for John Peel Festival, London, 1998.  
B-Side (1998) 3:15 stereo fixed medium CD release on Spike ‘Works from BEAST – vol.1’. Sargasso Records CD release on Presence II. PeP  
Soft Lies, Soft Icons (1997-8) 12:03 stereo fixed medium  

IN COLLABORATION w/Martin Iddon (UK) as [zygote]
 
The Doll's House, (2014) 15:45 stereo fixed medium  
A Game of You with The Doll’s House, (2012) c. 15’ animated video score, stereo fixed medium audio and an ensemble Video by Adam Gregory York.  
5 closed vessels, (2011) Stereo fixed medium  
complicity simplex, (2011) 8:06 video score & stereo fixed medium audio   Video by Adam Gregory York.  
virtuoso, (2009) c. 80’ stereo fixed medium  
proposition 6a: ceci n'est pas une machine de guerre (Refrain), (2008) 9:52 stereo fixed medium, with optional amplified piano and live electronics CD release on Sound Report: The Comfort of Strangers (Sound Network, 2008)  
dead white male, (2008) stereo fixed medium  
dead white male (edit), (2007) stereo fixed medium  
closed vessel: Ausstrahlung, (2007) 1:00, stereo fixed medium DVD release on FrammentAzioni (Taukay, 2009) CD release on Soundtrack to a Catastrophic World (cantaudio32, 2010)

IN COLLABORATION w/Taina Riikonen (FIN) as Aero Ionian Risk (A|R)
 
INK(ED) - Ihoon Kaiverrettua: Thoughts, Deeds, Vibrations (2013) c.50’, stereo fixed medium, multi-lingual radio programme Commissioned by YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company)  
Visceral Logic Romances with the Facts and Fiction of the Conceptual Machine (2012) multimedia performance for Arkadia International Bookstore, Helsinki, Finland  
Aero Ionian Risk at Nudge (2011) Multi-channel open duration sound installation Commissioned by consumer awareness company Nudge, with support from Apple, Finland and Genelec loudspeakers. Nudge, Design District, Helsinki, Finland, April 2011  

IN COLLABORATION w/Iain Armstrong (UK) as Anvil & Stirrup  

Run Blood, Blodlopp no 3 (2012), soundtrack HD video.  
Anvil & Stirrup, ThousandUnfold (2010) [3’], fixed media  
Boom Boom Boom (BudDub mix) (2001), [9’] remix of the Jo Hamilton original. Original track produced by Jon Cotton.  

WORKS FOR STAGE/PERFORMANCE ONLY    

Making Space: When The Curtain Falls (2007) 21:00, an acousmatic play for multichannel playback system and blacked-out space  
Flocking: an improvatorio (2007) for voices, string quartet, fixed medium and live-electronics Collaborator on and a co-researcher in the ACE, PRSF and LCC funded research project into group free improvisation led by Steve Lewis (feat. Maggie Nicholls, Phil Minton, Cleveland Watkiss, Beth Allen, David Prior, Four Candle quartet)  
Unprepared (2007) a collaborative performance, interactive environment and concept for stereo fixed medium, live-electronics (Saario) and keyboards (Stephen Grew).  
Tok Tok#2 (2006) c. 60:00, multi-media performance-cum-installation with Phil Dadson (NZ) and Amanda Newall (NZ)  
Europa; Woman (2006) c. 60:00, stereo fixed medium composition and sound design Karen Foss Quiet Works dance company production.  
quiet,red (2004) c. 60:00, stereo fixed medium composition and sound design Karen Foss Quiet Works dance company production.    

 

Professional audio work

Freelance audio production, engineering and creative consulting since 2001 (clients include TV2 (Norway), Linder Sterling (UK), Erototox Decodings (USA)).

Publications

Riikonen, T, Saario, A, (2011). Listening to the Replayed Touch: A Strata-aural Manifesto. Body, Space & Technology, Vol. 10/01.
Riikonen, T, Saario, A, (2011). Äänen kosketus. Kybervärähtelevä manifesti. [The Touch of Sound. A Cyber-vibrating Manifesto.]
Nuori Voima 1 (2011): 24–25.  
Riikonen, T, Saario, A, (2011). Listening to the Recorded Touch: Towards Visceral Methodologies of Mixed Media Sound Making. [Paper presentation] sforzando!, EMS/EMF Conference, NYC, USA, June 2011.    •  

Social, community and cultural engagement

Keynotes and Invited Speeches:
Cornwall Music Education Hub, Post 16 Conference, AMATA, Falmouth University, October 2016   
Environmental Utterance, Falmouth University, September 2012
Breathing, Sibelius Academy in collaboration with Uniarts, Musiikkitalo, Helsinki, Finland, Septemer 2011
Cecis Art Festival, Old Cesis Brewery, Cesis, Latvia, Summer 2011      

Engagement with professional associations and societies

Audio Engineering Society (AES) Member
Association for the Study of the Art of Record Production (ASARP) Member
Cornwall Music Education Hub (CMEH) Strategic Advisory Board Member
Cornwall Music Network (CMN) Board Member
The Music Producers Guild (UK) Member