Vague Terrain

CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR MUSICWORKS WINTER 2009: THE ?IDEA OF CONTEXT? ISSUE

Musicworks, the magazine for curious ears, is now accepting proposals for content for its Winter 2009 issue.

Musicworks is about the craft of experimenting with music and sound with feature articles that focus on the intentions and works of the artists. We?re looking for thought-provoking pieces that explore the boundaries that today?s creators are pushing.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS: March 31, 2009. Final drafts due by June 30, 2009. The issue will be published in October 2009.

Please submit proposals of no more than 300 words. If you have not written for us before, a short CV and example of previously published work would be helpful. (You are also welcome to submit if you are unpublished.)

CONTACT: send your proposals to editor@musicworks.ca with the subject line ?Proposal for Musicworks Winter 2009.?

Please forward this call to other writers, mailing lists and artists.

THE ?IDEA OF CONTEXT? ISSUE

It has been over fifty years since the term ?experimental music? has been in use. Since then, commonly held perceptions of what music is has been challenged, resulting in a multiplicity of new forms and genres. In issue 105, Musicworks is looking for profiles of musicians?individuals and groups?who are experimenting with the idea of context.
We?re interested receiving proposals about artists who are experimenting with:

• Sociological Context: creating or presenting their music or sound art with people not familiar with experimental music;
• Location Context: experimenting with where their art is performed or heard?on the internet or in non-conventional spaces, for example, the group Urban Vessel, a Canadian interdisciplinary collective creating performance works rooted in the sounds and spaces of the urban environment;
• Genre Context: experimental music that incorporates other musical genres, for example, Nicole Liz?e: a Canadian concert composer who experiments with the interrelationship of diverse music genres such as turntable art and jazz within her classical music;
• Technological Context: using new technologies for old purposes or old technologies for new purposes;
• Or any other context you can think of?

You can propose content for any of these Musicworks sections:

Commentaries?1000 to 1500 words Shorter features or essays that examine sound exploration from a technical perspective, commentary on music and its implications, social and cultural issues, or essays by artists about their own work.

Profiles?1500 to 2000 words?Shorter pieces examining an artist or group of artists or a particular work.

Sonic Geographies?800 to 1000 words?Pieces examining the sonic character or experimental music or sound art scene in a specific city or region.

Features?2000 to 3000 words?Longer pieces delving deeply into the work of an artist or group of artists.

Visions of Sound?300 words?Our back-page feature, a short expos? of a work that blurs the boundaries between or explores the interrelation of audio and visual art.

Reviews

Events?1000 words?only multi-day festivals or major events (no single concerts, please).

Books?300-500 words

Recordings?200 words?Roughly in these categories: acoustic new music, electronic and electroacoustic, experimental jazz, and new visions/pop avant. For a list of recordings available for review, please contact the Musicworks office; we also accept proposals for reviews of recordings that are not on the list.

If you are unfamiliar with Musicworks, please have a look at our website and the magazine to see if your idea would find a good home with us. We?re available in large bookstores throughout North America and in most university libraries. If you can?t find us, ask for us!