Miso Music Portugal

Jury of the 2024 edition:
Robert Normandeau, Panayiotis Kokoras, Miguel Azguime

This year we received 115 pieces from 36 different countries.

The prize was awarded to the Brazilian Alex Buck with the electronic composition “Otherness"

Honorable mention to the Italian Filippo Mereu with the electronic composition “Dimenticati”

Alex Buck, a prominent Brazilian composer-performer, is celebrated for his groundbreaking work as both an improvisational drummer and composer of acousmatic music. In the realm of Brazilian instrumental music, he has released three solo albums and collaborated extensively with renowned artists, including notable figures in both national and international music scenes.

Buck played a pivotal role in two groundbreaking groups— the Bamboo quintet and the Trio Ciclos— where he introduced innovative techniques, combining pulsated improvisation with elements and sonic qualities derived from electroacoustic music. His forward-thinking approach to music composition has earned him international acclaim, highlighted by four prestigious first-place awards. These accolades include top honors at the International Electroacoustic Composition Contest Destellos (2022), Prix Métamorphoses (2021), MusicWorks Magazine Electronic Music Composition Contest (2019), and Musica Nova (2019). In addition to these achievements, Buck has been recognized as a finalist and received honorable mentions in various other esteemed competitions, including Prix Russolo, MA/IN, Exhibitronic Festival, and MusiLab International Festival.

Beyond his illustrious musical career, Buck is a dedicated educator. He has shared his expertise at esteemed institutions, including EMESP Tom Jobim and Colégio Oswald de Andrade in Brazil, as well as the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in the United States, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree. Buck holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electroacoustic composition from UNESP, where he studied under the tutelage of composer Flo Menezes in the Studio PANaroma. Currently, he imparts his wisdom through courses in electroacoustic composition and acoustics within Faculdade Santa Marcelina’s Music program, while also serving as the Pedagogical Coordinator at the Escola de Música do Estado de São Paulo, EMESP Tom Jobim.

Concursos Anteriores / Past Competitions

“Otherness” is the fourth composition in a series, delving into the interplay of human history, nature, tools/machines, and post-humanity. Each piece explores specific subjects that deeply resonate with and provoke my thoughts through sound. These compositions transcend conventional narrative structures and are highly abstract in nature. However, they intentionally incorporate recognizable sounds that serve as signifiers, inviting attentive listeners to embark on a sonic journey beyond the music’s syntax. These sounds function as clues, unveiling hidden subjects, concepts, and references that have driven my creative process. “Explorations in sound and meaning” challenges us to embark on an auditory expedition where music becomes a gateway to diverse dimensions of understanding.

In Otherness, I wanted to delve into a post-humanistic atmosphere, rooted in a comprehensive understanding of history, particularly the evolution of machines. Drawing from the theory of Brazilian semiotician Lucia Santaella, which categorizes machines into three phases—muscle-amplifying machines, sensory-amplifying machines, and brain-amplifying machines— the composition weaves sounds from these phases. Additionally, the sounds of fire and electricity play a crucial role in the piece. Fire, essential for human survival, and electricity, vital for the sustenance of artificial life.

Another crucial element within this composition is the resume of the voice. The human voice assumes a prominent role in this tetralogy. The female voice character, present in the first and third pieces, represented the voice of Mother Nature. In “Otherness,” however, an intriguing novelty emerges. The voice featured in the piece is derived from artificial intelligence tools—both the content generated by Chat GPT and the voice synthesized by software designed to emulate human speech.

I turned to Chat GPT to generate thought-provoking texts on the relationship between humans and machines. Engaging in a dialogue with chat bot, I sought to explore the ever-evolving dynamics of our coexistence with these technological marvels. Deliberately, I chose a female voice to represent the chatbot, simultaneously evoking the idea of Mother Nature and blending with it, infusing life and human characteristics into this other, this mysterious entity that is unfolding before our eyes.