ResearchWorks: Slip, Sign, Truck Joke and Twist (an alter-practice of ongoing undoing?)

This presentation focuses on a number of Paul Abbott's music-practice based research projects: "Playing no solo imagination: synthesising the rhythmic emergence of sound and sign through embodied drum kit performance and writing" and "Grow Music!".

The presentation will discuss what the researcher did, how he did it, why he did it: motivated by the experimental search to find new critical and non-standard ways to write, think and play music. As a part of the talk, Paul will share some of the words, sounds and methods these projects generated.

It will outline how Paul's recent research has been approached primarily through a practice as a performing musician, playing a drum kit, and writing in response, or to facilitate that play.

Paul's work is concerned with aspects of embodied cognition, intersubjectivity, musical imagination, and writing in creative music practice. Exploring relationships between writing and music performance to develop structures to facilitate musical improvisation. The presentation will discuss the affordances and limitations of the interactions between creative practice and academic research, and Paul's work with fictional characterisation as a compositional method to compose structures for improvisation.

Recently Paul's work has focused on exploring specific generative features of embodied music making, primarily in the context of live experimental improvised music. This has followed the idea of music making as an ecology, in which simultaneously real (material, sonic) and imaginary (subjective, embodied) music is grown.

Speaker: Paul Abbott

Paul Abbott is a musician, drummer, writer and researcher. He plays with acoustic drums, synthetic sounds, algorithmic composition, live performance and writing.

He has recently worked mostly in the context of live experimental and improvised music, often collaborating with artists from a range of disciplines. He has performed at arts and music venues, museums and festivals internationally. Paul was resident solo artist at Cafe OTO in 2015 & 2023. In 2022 he completed a Creative Music Practice PhD ”Playing No Solo Imagination” at the University of Edinburgh under the supervision of Florian Hecker and Nikki Moran. In 2024 he completed the two year research project ”We Grow Music!” at Royal Conservatoire/Academy Fine Arts Antwerp. Paul was a co-founder and co-editor of Cesura//Acceso journal for music, politics and poetics. He has released music on various record labels including OTOroku, Feedback Moves, Empty Editions.

Recent and ongoing projects include: XT duo with Seymour Wright; XT collaborations with Kavain Wayne Space (RP Boo), Pat Thomas, Anne Gillis; X Ray Hex Tet; yPLO with Michael Speers; sound design for filmmaker Keira Greene; *F.R.David* & Rosmarie with Will Holder; The Creaking Breeze Ensemble with Nathaniel Mackey and performances with Cara Tolmie.

Guildhall School’s ResearchWorks is a programme of events centred around the School’s research activity, bringing together staff, students and guests of international standing. We run regular events throughout the term intended to share the innovative research findings of the School and its guests with students, staff and the public.