Presence with Laurel Halo

CAMP is a residential arts facility in the French Pyrenees. It's a place where great art is made, new movements are formed, new ideas are explored and groundbreaking people are nurtured. CAMP is located in Aulus les Bains, the last village before the France/Spain Pyrenean frontier chain. The location is spectacular - we are nestled at 750m above sea level, surrounded by snowcapped peaks over 3000m high, ancient forests and cascading waterfalls. There are eagles, lammergeiers, vultures, ibex and bears. Walk out of the residency, and within ten minutes you are completely alone in one of the most beautiful mountain landscapes in Europe. Aulus les Bains is also a spa village - there are hot water springs, and a thermal spa in the village to take advantage of the healing and relaxing properties of the water.
    
Workshop dates: 23/06/2021 - 27/06/2021
    
Laurel Halo  is an electronic musician originally from Michigan, USA but based in Berlin. She has released music in a variety of styles, ranging from ambient and experimental club, to avant-pop and dubwise electronica. Though the breadth of genre is varied, there's an intrinsic logic to Halo's aesthetic, focussed on the interplay between digital and analog production techniques, and the general subversion of standard sonic hierarchies. She has released on labels such as Honest Jon's, Latency, Livity Sound and, most notably, Hyperdub; her debut album Quarantine was named Wire Magazine's album of the year in 2012. She has collaborated with John Cale, Eli Keszler, Beatrice Dillon and Julia Holter, amongst others.

Soundtrack composition has also formed an important part of Laurel Halo's output - she composed the soundtrack for "Still Be Here", a collaborative piece featuring the Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku, and scored the documentary film "Possessed" by Amsterdam based collective Metahaven and Rob Schroder. DJing has also played a role in Halo's output; from her early days as a college radio DJ, to being a resident on Berlin Community Radio (2014-2018) and Rinse.FM (2018), to gigging in many clubs around the world, the study of genre, blending and freeform aesthetics has informed her compositional approach.

This workshop will focus on electronic music composition, examining various writing approaches, aesthetic strategies and listening techniques, to further refine and hone one’s compositional voice. Group exercises, listening and analysis pair with sharing/critique sessions, as well as making new work through various writing-to-concept exercises.

The course is not meant to be a how-to course on music production; a basic understanding of electronic music production is expected, though no formal training is required. It is designed primarily for those who are seeking to deepen their compositional practice. You'll end the workshop having expanded your range of critical listening skills, learnt new technological approaches and new kit, honed your compositional approach, widened your awareness of influential movements and factors, developed your existing musical practice and composed new work.

Following your five days with Laurel Halo at CAMP, you'll have the opportunity to release, broadcast and perform your work via our range of in-house labels, CAMP Radio, Fuse Art Space and our international network of partner organisations.