Research Catalogue

The transmission and communication of musical concepts and the ways in which they influence or interact with creativity are central to the ontology of music, but this aspect is rarely tackled head-on by musicians themselves. In language, the typical realm of semiotics and semantics, translation theory serves as an interesting and rich field for investigations into the nature of meaning and communication of meanings. In my research, I propose that the application of various translation theories to the field of music opens up new ways of exploring the “meanings” of music, as well as new methodologies for creating musical novelties. To demonstrate this theory in practice, I have chosen to develop and apply translation theories to Evan Parker’s solo soprano saxophone music and translate this music to my own solo double-bass playing, creating new and original solo music on the double-bass.

This artistic research project reflects a deeply personal exploration of the ritualistic and symbolic aspects of music, from the perspective of my own practice a soloist. It touches on the idea that the act of creating sound is not merely a technical or performative endeavor, but a sacred, energetic exchange. The fingertips, as the primary point of contact between the musician and their instrument, are seen as a portal—an interface between the inner world of the musician and the outer world of sound, music, and the present moment.

Can I, by reaching for the utmost limits on my instrument, in dynamically, technically and pitch related ways both find, for me, new contemporary techniques and expand the ways on how to play and perform them on the double bass? Can I, by illuminating, documenting, studying, organizing and re-documenting my musical process, design a toolkit for improvising bassists with contemporary techniques?  Can I, in my musical process both act as the first person, i.e. the subjective musician and as the third person, i.e. the objective observer?
 If so, can I, as the observer objectively observe and organize the ”discoveries” that I am doing in my daily work as first person.   Can I create this tool kit through the limitations that my instrument offers acoustically (the hand, the bow and the bass). And can I through this immerse and widen my musical expressions? - A richer language - more elastic - with more colors.

Can an acoustic grand piano be sonically and conceptually reimagined so as to re-negotiate its foundational assumptions around tuning and timbre? Why should the piano continue to be so accustomed to only one tuning system? In contrast, how can “pure sounds” (ratios found in the harmonic series) co-exist with ethnically diverse microtonal tunings? Spanning a period from 2020-2022, “Unburying, from Liminals, Emerging” explores a microtonal prepared piano in three artistic contexts. These include: a solo project called “Postcards of Nostalgia; a chamber ensemble consisting of saxophone trio, percussion and piano; and a “percussion ensemble with soprano saxophone called Juniper Fuse. Dialoging with a newly invented tuning system, what emergent properties might we find when magnetic piano preparations are used to evoke specific timbral effects from Balinese Gamelan and Indian Karnatik music? Collectively, how can this expanded notion of “piano” merge with spatialization to facilitate interactive experiences for audiences? How might a process-oriented Jungian-inspired dream work communicate itself so as to distill and coalesce a fertile musical landscape?

This artistic research explores a performance practice that integrates the phenomena of gravity and breathing as extensions of musical expression in improvisation. The aim is to develop a musical language that translates the qualities and characteristics of gravity and breath into sonic gestures, examining how they generate tension and release through both musical actions and silences. The project draws inspiration from traditional Korean music and dance, in which an embodied awareness of gravity and breathing constitutes a foundational approach to performance and interpretation. These cultural references serve as a framework for rethinking musical practice and transcultural awareness. As part of the research process, I undertook studies in traditional Korean dance, the vocal tradition of Pansori, and the percussion instrument Soribuk to understand how gravity and breathing are communicated artistically, verbally, and methodologically across these three disciplines. Insights from this embodied practice were then translated into the context of Western contemporary improvisation. The resulting concept is designed to enhance the performer’s awareness and is specifically conceived for a solo drum set context.

Alexander Holm have been developing the artistic research project 'Sworld' on the APD program at RMC in Copenhagen 2021-2024. The project seeks to explore how simultaneous experience of sounds with- and without a visible cause can evoke human experiences of ghosts, absence and lost memories. The project researches and expands on composer and theorist Michel Chion's audio visual concept of Synch Points, examined through a versatile compositional praxis including choreography, text, voice, walks and live performance.