Intonarumori

Intonarumori

Kevin Goldsmith has been composing under the name “Intonarumori” since he studied experimental and electronic composition with composer Reza Vali at Carnegie Mellon University in 1990-2. In addition to composing, Kevin performs on a variety of instruments: Cello, 5 String Electric Cello, Bass Guitar, D-Tar (prepared guitar), Synthesizer and Electronics.

The word “Intonarumori” is Italian and it means “noise intoners.” The word comes from the Italian Futurist art movement. The Intonarumori were machines built to mimic the industrial sounds of the age. The Futurist composers created symphonies for the machines. Their concerts often resulted in fist-fights with the audience.

Intonarumori, the project, is very much influenced by the ideas of the Futurists as well as the more modern ideas of the serialists, the minimalists, the musique concrete-ists and modern experimental and industrial composers. Intonarumori performs rarely, but completed a 16 city us tour in the summer of 1998 which included performances with Cul De Sac, Mason Jones, and Ken Vandermark. Kevin’s early compositions incorporated many minimalist techniques of repition, blending them with Music Concrete ideas of found sounds and using some of John Cage’s chance operation concepts. These compositions were extremely reliant on studio technology to create. In recent years, Intonarumori compositions have become more open and less structured. These compositions create a situation for the performer for which he or she can use any method that they find suitable to resolve.

“Deeply atmospheric collage pieces bear the influence of John Cage and Phillip Glass. Intonarumori’s pastiches of electronic noise and classical instruments such as cello and piano create velvety, hallucinatory soundscapes sometimes broken by the inclusion of harsh industrial dissonance. These songs are a disquieting mix of placid pastoralism and icy futurism.” - Listen.com