Agoston Nagy
Hungarian artist
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biography
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Interview: 10 questions
1. When did you start making music, what is/was your motivation to do it?
I studied classical piano for 8 years. Then i got deeply interested in experimental music around 2000.
The physics of sounds, playing drums, having underground parties, listening to noise festivals, experiencing natural harmonics of different found objects, the energy and all sort of possibilities of sonic events guided me to music and sound.
2. Tell me something about your living environment and the musical education.
I live by my own, working in a medialab, freelancing, and preparing sounds for interactive environments. I graduated as a media designer at the visual communication department of the Moholy-Nagy University of Design and Arts. Took part and held several workshops on programming sound, visuals, physical devices.
3.Is making music your profession? What is the context in which you practice music nowadays?
I work on audiovisual installations and applications, also write about music. Preparing sound and music for live performances. I am part of the Binaura collective (www.binaura.net), also part of No Copy Paste (ncp.kibu.hu).
4. How do you compose or create music or sound? Have you certain principles, use certain styles etc?
I always leave the recorded process uncut. This music has not been edited afterwards. Everything is going with the flowing of the process.
5. Tell me something about the instruments, technical equipment or tools you use?
Earlier I was using found materials such as tubes, trash, old sweeping toys with a simple stereo mike. Recording and relooping them. Nowadays I work on synthetised sounds, reuse, recontextualize them using a multichannel soundcard, a laptop, some controllers. My digital choice of tool is basically a free, open source programming language, called Pure Data. I write my own sound environment.
6. What are the chances of New Media for the music production in general
and you personally?
It has a large, growing community. Me myself believe that DIY in hardware, open source in software will have a great potencial, forming new genres. They are about sharing and community (such as the folk music scene) living local, distributed global.
7. How about producing and financing your musical productions?
My music is always part of something, such as performance, or installation. I don’t make releases. I think this type of music is best experienced live.
8. Do you work individually as a musician/soundartist or in a group or collaborative?
If you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?
I work in collaborations, i try to treat equally with all the other participiants (programmers, engineers etc). Sometimes the others don’t make sounds, but esthetical decisions are made together. I prefer these type of collaborations than working individually.
9. Is there any group, composer, style or movement which has a lasting influence on making music?
Things are changing rapidly. Some bad influence can cause some good somewhere else, later. Its like evolution.
10. What are your future plans or dreams as a soundartist or musician?
I would like to work with inspiring people.
Works besides on SoundLAB are awailable: