RUFA launches its first podcast. The project, entitled “SIRENE.PODCAST – Sounds, seductions and charms of the contemporary”, intends to propose a new way of using this medium, acting as a portal to a different dimension of sound and its interrelationship with contemporary artistic languages.

The name of the podcast – “SIRENE” – refers to two very precise meanings: the siren alarm, which in this period of global pandemic may have affected many people, and the mermaids who, with the sound of their voices, represent the mythological figure of fascination and attraction. The students of the MA course in Multimedia arts and design (Mad), touching on themes of great interest and cultural resonance, will curate and produce all aspects of the project, under the direction and guidance of Caterina Tomeo, an art historian particularly interested in New Media Art and Sound Art, but also the creator and founder of the Mad course at RUFA. Contributors to the realization of the experience: Adriana Aneiva-Guerra, Rosa D’Alessio, Daniele Falchi, Martina Carbone, Maria Gavrilova, Elisa Quadrini, Giulia Vietti, Consuelo Donati, Silvia Parolini, Simone Tecchia, Jacopo Bianchi, Gianmatteo Buttiglione, Francesca Dolgetta, Mirko Pelliccia.

The podcast will feature a leading figure from the international scene paired with a young RUFA artist, and will be launched on the Academy’s website and platforms such as Spotify, spreading the “joie de vivre” to the student community and anyone interested in entering this new dimension. The episodes will last from twenty to thirty minutes each, providing an unprecedented point of view, stimulating deep reflection on the impact of sound in art and everyday life.

In the first episode Canto ancenstrale iniziale, Caterina Tomeo and Daniele Falchi introduce Alvin Curran: a historical figure in the field of sound experimentation. Democratic, irreverent and traditionally experimental, Curran travels in a computerized wagon, making music for every occasion and making use of any sonic phenomenon. Curran’s music embraces all contradictions in a serene dialectical encounter. His works (over 200) include recorded/sampled sounds of natural elements, pianos, synthesizers, computers, violins, percussion, shofar, ship’s horns, accordions, and choirs. Whether in the intimate form of his famous solo performances, pure chamber music, experimental radio works, or large-scale site-specific sound environments and installations, his works forge a very personal lexicon that weaves together languages and research.