About TouchGrass
Concept Designer, Zohreh Gervais
“TouchGrass grew from a desire to create a Covid-safe, accessible, collaborative project for audiences and creators from across Canada. The dream was to create an immersive augmented reality experience that would allow users to interact with local landmarks in an artistically enhanced way. Covid changed the way audiences and artists engage with the arts - there was a huge shift towards digital entertainment in lieu of live entertainment. I wanted to bridge the gap between our comfort zones, to link familiar outdoor spaces and familiar devices with a totally unfamiliar artistic experience. I also wanted to create something that audiences actually had to go outside to interact and play with; not something to watch passively. TouchGrass was developed to be a communal artistic adventure that can be experienced alone or shared with a group. It can be used by any age and at any time of night or day. We hope to expand our collaboration with artists and musicians around the world, eventually creating a network of gorgeous soundscapes and interactive sculptures to be discovered wherever you go.”
Developer Composer & Curator, Amy Brandon
(St. Boniface Site) ”Swarm”
Composer and guitarist Amy Brandon's pieces have been described as '... mesmerizing' (Musicworks Magazine), "Otherworldly and meditative ... [a] clashing of bleakness with beauty ..." (Minor Seventh) and '.. an intricate dance of ancient and futuristic sounds' (Miles Okazaki).
Upcoming 2020-21 events include a cello concerto for Jeff Zeigler with Symphony Nova Scotia, as well as chamber works for KIRKOS Ensemble (Ireland), Exponential Ensemble (NYC) and guitarist Libby Myers, and installations and performances at Winnipeg New Music Festival. the Canadian New Music Network, Women from Space and Sound Symposium. She has received Canadian and international composition awards and honourable mentions from the Leo Brouwer Guitar Composition Competition (Grand Prize 2019), Central European String Quartet ('Most Innovative' 2018), and ArtsNS (Emerging Artist Award 2019). In 2020, she will also be composer-in-residence at the Hamilton Guitar Festival, a special guest at the Buffalo Guitar Festival and will conduct the Upstream Improvising Ensemble for their 30th Anniversary concert.
“From the very beginning of this project I knew of the element that I wanted to include in my piece “Swarm” and it’s an element that is so common in contemporary composition but it's the idea of swarming – so you know you see sparrows in the sky and they're flying in particular cloud like shapes, and you know there's a group and it’s following a leader”
With ”Swarm” you walk through these swarms and every time you hit one of the butterflies it'll trigger a small sound file so you end up with this very big cloudy soundscapes and it's constantly changing. The sound file that you trigger is only audible within a certain range so as it's flying around it's going to change the perspective of the sound – it's a constant, shifting soundscape that's happening as you’re walking around.”
I wasn't sure how if I wanted to go to the realism side of things or do the abstract side of things. I ended up doing both: Augmented reality has the ability to make connections between the digital world and the real world and the space in between them. I wanted to highlight the artificiality of AR in an installation that is focused on natural movements and natural organic patterns.”
Composers
(St. Boniface Site) “Snot-Faced Killer”
Adrian cn Berry (they/them) is a musician and audio-visual technologist whose creative practice plays at the intersection of rock & roll, community building, and trauma-informed healing. They work across composition, music production, videography, and visual programming as an inquiry into surveillance, vulnerability, and identity in virtual/physical space.
Following years of touring internationally as a saxophonist and vocalist in U.S. punk bands, Adrian relocated to Toronto to pursue their Master’s in Music Technology & Digital Media at the University of Toronto. To date, Adrian has performed over 350 shows with 22 bands in North America and Europe and has been featured in publications like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Pitchfork, and VICE magazine. Adrian is known for their work in bands such as Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Gauche (Merge Records) and Downtown Boys (Sub Pop/Don Giovanni Records). Currently, Adrian is devoting their energy to their new Art-Pop solo project Gold Cove and exciting multimedia collaborations.
In March 2022, Adrian debuted Gold Cove through a multi-channel video installation called Gold Cove ∈ RITUAL and plans on releasing the first Gold Cove record next year.
“There’s the cutest 60-foot-tall pink snot creature living in front of the cathedral in Winnipeg. And if you download this new app, you can play its innards like instruments”
“A nefarious symbol of climate change and social media culture, this infinite consumeristic culture is reflected by the piece’s name “Snot-Faced Killer.” Sea snot is an environmental phenomenon creating hauntingly wild spectral images that are just floating around in the ocean.
I wanted to create a soundtrack where’s this watery intrigue. It’s an underwater groove – as you get closer to it, it gets louder. It’s not just something cool to look at, you get to interact with it, and I really wanted to lean into the participants adding to the music. We created these kinds of pods, that have nodules on them, where people can reach out and each pod has three little nodules so they can play the different sounds, and play them however they want.”
(Assiniboine Forest Site)
Jace Gao is a music producer and a multimedia artist based in Hangzhou, China. Trained as a classical violinist in the early years, Gao started practicing modern music productions since his high school years in Barrie, Ontario. Graduated from the Music Technology and Digital Media master program at the University of Toronto, Gao's current creative practices are all about variety and diversity. His works got influenced by genres such as Jazz, classical music, electroacoustic music and club music, while at its core still define as electronic music with a distinctive Asian aesthetics.
“The installation can be seen as a group with several parts, or “objects”, combined and scattered along a journey. Walk through a hiking trail or a long street and discover them as you progress – or befriend them. The sounds created revolve around the concept of “objects” - Each object has different properties and characteristics, and so does the sound coming out from it.
Limitation can really be seen as the source of inspiration in this case. With the choral sound bank being the only sound source available I had to really dive in to the intricate sound-designing aspect of each piece, but it’s also where all the magic happens.”
(Assiniboine Park Sculpture Garden Site) “Gabrielassus + Organum”
Gordon Fitzell’s compositions are featured on various albums, including GRAMMY-winning, JUNO-nominated and West Coast Music Award-nominated recordings. In addition to concert music, he has presented sound installations in North America and Europe, and produced recordings for other artists. He teaches composition and directs the eXperimental Improv Ensemble (XIE) at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music in Winnipeg.
“Gabrielassus + Organum are multichannel audio works based on recordings by the choir Polycoro. Organum is based on the organ introduction to a motet by Giovanni Gabrieli, and Gabrielassus is based on choral passages from the same work and a motet by Orlando de Lassus. Both motets are representative of the Venetian polychoral style that was increasingly common in works of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Organum and Gabrielassus extend the concept of polychoral music to the digital realm, allowing individual listeners to control their own mix by moving about within the installation site.
While Gabrielassus + Organum have highly contrasting characters, both were conceived as immersive meditations. As such, both feature a layered soundscape of gradually transforming textures. These textures slowly crossfade in and out of the overall mix, depending on one’s physical path through the site.”
(Forks River Site) “River Bison”
Eliot Britton (b.1983) - integrates electronic, audiovisual and instrumental music through an energetic and colourful personal language. His creative output reflects an eclectic musical experience, from gramophones to videogames, drum machines to orchestras. Rhythmic gadgetry, artistry and the colours of technology permeate his works. By drawing on these sound worlds and others, Britton's compositions tap newly available resources of the 21st century. As a member of the Manitoba Metis Federation, Britton is passionate about Canadian musical culture, seeking new and engaging aesthetic directions that use technology to enhance expression.
Currently Britton is cross appointed between Music Technology & Digital Media and Composition at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, and the co-director of Cluster New Music and Integrated Arts festival.
“What I envisioned was Polycoro, frozen in time, spectrally meshed with a herd of spirit bison stampeding in slow motion along the Assiniboine river. The bison and audio are different depending on the time of day. Star bison, dawn/dusk bison, daylight bison, etc.
I want the audience to get a sense of power, stasis, and gradual evolution of memory that exists in bison, choirs and rivers.”
(Upper Fort Garry Site)
Julian Beutel is a composer with a multi-layered background in Jazz, Classical, and Experimental genres. Since 2015 he has composed music for video games and short films, receiving accolades in each, while maintaining a busy schedule on the trumpet and keyboards with a variety of musical groups including Laura Jean Anderson, Living Hour, and Dirty Catfish Brass Band.
“This is an ambient electronic landscape divided into a grid of 6 squares, each with its own mood. As you move through the space you will encounter a range of emotional scenarios, from therapeutic to frantic – a distinct and closed space for each section. There is something in every corner of the park. The deeper you get, the more there is to explore. Try hitting the collectible orbs – you will get an extra layer of music for about 30 seconds. Reflecting on how people would experience the installation was a big driver on the project.”
Credits
App Concept Designer: Zohreh Gervais
Co-Producers: Zohreh Gervais (Polycoro) and Ashley Au (Cluster)
App Development and Curator: Amy Brandon
App Sound Bank Development: Eliot Britton
Technical Consultant: Noah Stevens
Sound Bank Source Files: Polycoro Live Concert Archive
Graphic Design: Megan Yetman and Matea Radic
Site Selection + Testing: Dee King
Funding and Support Provided by: Winnipeg Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council, The Winnipeg Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio
Privacy Policy
Amy Brandon built the Touch Grass app as a Free app. This SERVICE is provided by Amy Brandon at no cost and is intended for use as is.
This page is used to inform visitors regarding my policies with the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information if anyone decided to use my Service.
If you choose to use my Service, then you agree to the collection and use of information in relation to this policy. The Personal Information that I collect is used for providing and improving the Service. I will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy.
The terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms and Conditions, which is accessible at TouchGrass unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy.
Information Collection and Use
For a better experience, while using our Service, I may require you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information, including but not limited to None. The information that I request will be retained on your device and is not collected by me in any way.
The app does not use third party services that may collect information used to identify you.
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These Services do not address anyone under the age of 13. I do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. In the case I discover that a child under 13 has provided me with personal information, I immediately delete this from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact me so that I will be able to do necessary actions.
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