Stephen Vitiello
A sound artist based in New York City, Stephen Vitiello started in music as an electric guitarist. His encounter with video artist Nam June Paik propelled him into a different world. Collaborations with Pauline Oliveros, Scanner, and Frances-Marie Uitti helped him gain recognition, but he is mostly known for his photocell recordings of the World Trade Center, for which he enjoyed (although the word seems out of place) some media attention following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
Vitiello's career trajectory is quite peculiar. He began to play guitar in punk bands in 1978 -- he was 14 years old. When in college, he studied literature and plastic arts. Around 1988, he got a job at an arts center and developed a successful career curating video- and sound-art exhibitions in the U.S. Meanwhile, his quotidian contact with visual artists transformed his approach to music, and he moved to post-punk and later art pop bands. Nam June Paik, whom he met in 1991, had a particular influence. For him, Vitiello shot video, devised sound systems, and became his assistant for various projects. This relationship culminated in the production of the Sub Rosa CD Works 1958-1979 from tapes unearthed by Vitiello, who had access to the artist's archives.
Vitiello began to experiment with guitar and electronics, finally focusing on the physical properties of sound, while keeping loose ties with rock (recordings with the Poetics and shows with She Never Blinks). His first works were collaborations with filmmakers and video artists. Enredando As Pessoas was the soundtrack to a Brazilian film; Chairs Not Stairs collected installation music. His first album of stand-alone music was the 1997 The Light of Falling Cars. In 1998, Vitiello participated in the per->SON festival in Cologne, where he performed on-stage with Pauline Oliveros, Scanner, and Frances-Marie Uitti. This event yielded a series of collaborations, from an album of minimal techno on Scanner's label Sulphur (Scratchy Marimba, 2000) to a 3" CD in duet with Uitti (Uitti/Vitiello, 1999).
The Light of Falling Cars garnered encouraging reviews and more people were finally getting interested in his music. Meanwhile, he kept a high art-related profile. In 1999, Vitiello was offered a residency at the World Trade Center. For weeks, he set up photocells to record the "view" from the 91st floor and translate them through algorithms into synthesized music. The material served as the basis for Bright and Dusty Things, an album released only a few months before the towers crashed. In the meantime, he had presented his first solo sound-art exhibitions in Houston and New York. Vitiello continues to perform in Rebecca Moore's group, his only remaining link to the rock realm.
© François Couture /TiVo
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Discographie
17 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Fable
Lawrence English, Stephen Vitiello
Ambient - Paru chez LED le 4 nov. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Drew A Fish Hook, And It Turned Into A Flower
Ambient - Paru chez IIKKI le 22 nov. 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Fridman Variations
Stephen Vitiello, Taylor Deupree
Ambient - Paru chez 12K le 1 févr. 2019
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Earth Awhile
Michael Grigoni, Chihei Hatakeyama, Stephen Vitiello
Ambient - Paru chez White paddy mountain le 29 janv. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stephen Vitiello with Brendan Canty
Électronique ou concrète - Paru chez Windy Mountain le 25 févr. 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Age of Insects
Électronique - Paru chez Dragon's Eye Recordings le 2 oct. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Buffalo Bass Delay
Électronique ou concrète - Paru chez Room 40 le 29 mai 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soundtracks for Lynne Sachs (Volume 2: Your Day is My Night: The Washing Society: Tip of My Tongue)
Ambient - Paru chez Room 40 le 26 mars 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Soundtracks for Lynne Sachs (Volume 1: Film About a Father Who: Tip of My Tongue)
Ambient - Paru chez Room 40 le 26 mars 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Sound Polaroids
Scanner, Tonne, Stephen Vitiello
Électronique - Paru chez Bip Hop le 1 avr. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo