Phonos Foundation

The Phonos Foundation (Fundació Phonos / Fundación Phonos) is a pioneering institution in the field of electronic and electroacoustic music in Spain. It was constituted in Barcelona in 1974 by the composer Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, the engineer and composer Andrés Lewin-Richter, and the electronic engineer Lluís Callejo, in order to consolidate the Phonos Electroacoustic Music Laboratory that had been created in 1968. From its earliest years, Phonos combined artistic creation with technological research, building its own electronic instruments and offering training to a generation of Spanish composers who had no equivalent official education in electronic composition. The foundation's mission is to build bridges between sound creation and technology research, promoting and informing about the latest technological developments from creative and critical perspectives. It carries out this mission through artistic residencies, workshops, concerts and events, as well as projects developed in close collaboration with the Music Technology Group (MTG) of Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the institution to which Phonos has been associated since 1994. Today Phonos runs an annual concert cycle dedicated to electroacoustic and experimental electronic music, organises talks and debates that encourage critical attitudes towards art and technology, and offers technical and artistic advice to musicians and sound artists through a permanent open call for artistic residencies. Historically, Phonos was a reference point for the teaching of electroacoustic music in Spain, largely thanks to the pedagogical work of the Chilean-born composer Gabriel Brnčić, who began teaching composition courses there in 1975. Its early research focused on the design and construction of electronic devices such as mixers, ring modulators and filters; in 1975 Lluís Callejo designed and built the Stokos IV sound generator based on ideas by Mestres Quadreny, and began experimenting with the Rockwell AIM 65 computer. Over the decades Phonos acquired analogue synthesizers such as the EMS Synth AKS, the RSF Kobol and the Polymoog, as well as digital samplers, and its research line gradually shifted towards software for composition. Since its association with Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Phonos has been closely tied to the MTG, a collaboration between musicians and engineers that has produced internationally relevant projects including the creation of Vocaloid in collaboration with Yamaha, the development of the Reactable instrument by a team led by Sergi Jordà, and the launch of Freesound.org, a platform for sharing sounds under Creative Commons licences. Phonos remains active in Barcelona, based at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra's Communication Campus in Poblenou, and continues to promote musical creation and dissemination by bringing technology research closer to the cultural world and to society.

The Phonos Foundation was constituted in Barcelona in 1974 by Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, Andrés Lewin-Richter and Lluís Callejo, with the aim of consolidating the Phonos Electroacoustic Music Laboratory that had been created in 1968. Initially, the foundation was established in a private building in the Sarrià district, with the goal of having a headquarters to train musicians and composers interested in working with new technologies. Phonos was equipped following the model of reference centres in electroacoustic music creation, constituting a pioneering and unique effort in Spain at that time. In 1975, the Chilean-born composer Gabriel Brnčić, who would later become Phonos's artistic and pedagogical director, began teaching composition courses through which practically the entire first generation of Spanish electroacoustic music composers passed. Brnčić's courses filled, for years, the gap left by official music education centres in the field of composition with electronic means. Some of the composers trained at Phonos went on to create other institutions dedicated to electronic music, such as the Centre d'Iniciatives i Experimentació per a Joves (CIEJ) of the Fundació Caixa de Pensions, promoted by Josep Manuel Berenguer, Jep Nuix and Oriol Graus; a studio at the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona, promoted by Albert Llanas; and the Asociación de Música Electroacústica de España (AMEE), promoted by Lluís Callejo and Gabriel Brnčić with Eduardo Polonio as its first president. Phonos's early research focused on the design and construction of electronic devices such as mixers, ring modulators and filters. In 1975, Lluís Callejo designed and built the Stokos IV sound generator based on some ideas by Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, and began researching with the Rockwell AIM 65 computer. Phonos's first concert took place at the Fundació Miró in 1976 under the name Espais Sonors, where the first works created in the Laboratory were presented. A regular concert cycle was also established, culminating in 1987 with the move of the Phonos Laboratory to the headquarters of the Fundació Miró. In 1982 Phonos became a Private Foundation, being registered in the Register of Foundations of the Generalitat de Catalunya in 1984. During the 1980s, following the acquisition of analogue synthesizers such as the EMS Synth AKS, Phonos's research line began to orient itself towards the development of computer programs for composition, which became notably easier with the appearance of personal computers such as the Apple II. During this period, the Phonos Foundation acquired analogue synthesizers such as the RSF Kobol and the Polymoog, and the AKAI S1100 digital sampler. In the 1990s, with the appearance of NeXT computers, musical composition and sound generation could begin to be carried out on a single computing device, which was explored in works such as L'esquizofrènia dels sons by composer Eduard Resina and La tolerancia by composer Oriol Graus, presented at the first edition of the Sónar festival. In 1994, Phonos associated with Universitat Pompeu Fabra and moved to its facilities on the Poblenou Communication Campus, where it currently resides. Xavier Serra, who was then the director of Phonos, joined UPF as a professor and created the Music Technology Group (MTG), which in a few years consolidated itself as an internationally reference group in music engineering. Since then Phonos and the MTG have been closely linked. Collaboration between musicians and engineers has led to the creation of relevant projects both musically and technologically, including the creation of Vocaloid in collaboration with Yamaha, the development of the Reactable instrument by a team led by Sergi Jordà, and the launch of the Freesound.org website, which allows sounds to be shared under Creative Commons licences. Currently, Phonos offers an annual concert cycle to promote electroacoustic and experimental electronic music. It also organises talks and debates to foster critical attitudes around arts and technology, and offers technical and artistic advice for musicians and sound artists in the form of a permanent open call for artistic residencies. Among its pedagogical and outreach activities, its Reactable workshops and the Sons de Barcelona project stand out, the latter encouraging young people's interest in sound as a tool to understand and interact with their environment. Its objective continues to be that of its beginnings: to promote musical creation and dissemination by bringing technology research closer to the cultural world and to society.

• 1994

  Phonos associates with Universitat Pompeu Fabra and moves to its Poblenou Communication Campus; Xavier Serra creates the Music Technology Group (MTG).

• 1987

  Phonos Laboratory moves to the headquarters of the Fundació Miró.

• 1984

  Registered in the Register of Foundations of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

• 1982

  Phonos becomes a Private Foundation.

• 1976

  First Phonos concert, 'Espais Sonors', held at the Fundació Miró.

• 1975

  Gabriel Brnčić begins teaching composition courses; Lluís Callejo designs and builds the Stokos IV sound generator.

• 1974

  Phonos Foundation constituted in Barcelona by Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny, Andrés Lewin-Richter and Lluís Callejo.

• 1968

  Phonos Electroacoustic Music Laboratory created in Barcelona.

• Collaboration with Yamaha on the creation of Vocaloid.

• Development of the Reactable instrument by a team led by Sergi Jordà.

• Launch of Freesound.org, a platform for sharing sounds under Creative Commons licences.

A pioneering non-profit foundation and cultural centre bridging sound creation and music technology research, with a critical and educational vocation.

• Annual electroacoustic and experimental electronic music concert cycle

• Artistic residencies (permanent open call)

• Workshops and courses (e.g., Reactable workshops)

• Talks and debates on art and technology

• Sons de Barcelona project

• Technical and artistic advice for musicians and sound artists

1. 1Phonos (UPF) - official websiteupf.edu
2. 2SOBRE PHONOS - Phonos (UPF)upf.edu
3. 3Phonos Foundation - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Fundación Phonos - Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org