From teenage punk guitarist to internationally exhibited sound artist, Vitiello reflects on his World Trade Center residency, the influence of Nam June Paik and Fred Frith, and treating every element—from architecture to collaborators—with equal respect.

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Today, we’re putting The Tonearm's needle on Stephen Vitiello.

Stephen is an electronic musician and media artist. His sound installations are in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon. He's worked with Pauline Oliveros, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Joan Jonas. By day, he teaches Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Stephen’s latest project is Trinity, a collaborative album with Lawrence English, who you heard on last week's show. Each of Trinity's five tracks brings in a different third musician: Brendan Canty from Fugazi, Chris Abrahams from The Necks, Marina Rosenfeld, Aki Onda, and the late Steve Roden. The album came out last November.

Stephen shares how this project came together, what it's like to work with each artist, and how he's built a career turning everyday sounds into sonic experiences.

(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Lawrence English & Stephen Vitiello’s album Trinity)

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00:01:29 Introduction and 'Trinity' album concept
00:01:51 Adding third collaborators to each track
00:04:02 Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaboration philosophy
00:04:30 Brendan Canty's contribution and drum work
00:05:20 Studio process with Brendan Canty
00:07:29 Marina Rosenfeld's turntablism and sonic space
00:09:34 Creating compositional room for collaborators
00:10:26 Defining collaboration at the beginning
00:11:53 Ethics of Steve Roden's posthumous contribution
00:12:12 Working carefully with Steve's archive
00:14:25 Imagining Steve Roden's potential rejection
00:16:31 Handling rejection in collaboration
00:17:31 Evolution from punk rock to sound art
00:19:47 The punk element in current practice
00:20:59 Fred Frith and prepared piano influences
00:21:31 No wave movement and Ikue Mori
00:22:20 Kinetic imaging as academic discipline
00:25:18 Nam June Paik's advice about video
00:25:38 Son's experience in animation school
00:27:54 Teaching and beginner mind
00:29:40 Sculpture and sound art connections
00:30:16 Immersive audio formats in installations
00:31:05 Porous boundaries between sound and source
00:33:29 World Trade Center residency origins
00:35:55 Maryanne Amacher's influence
00:36:48 Beverly Simms and installation advice
00:37:54 Returning to the World Trade Center site
00:40:38 Treating inputs as collaborators
00:41:58 Managing multiple parallel projects
00:44:01 Future ambitions and installations
00:45:32 Maintaining ears as listening devices
00:47:42 The Clash at the Palladium trade-off

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Visit Stephen Vitiello at https://www.stephenvitiello.com
and follow him on Soundcloud → https://soundcloud.com/stephenvitiello
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/stephenvitiello
and Bandcamp → https://stephenvitiello.bandcamp.com

Purchase Lawrence English & Stephen Vitiello’s 'Trinity' from American Dreams → https://american-dreams.zone/Lawrence-English-Stephen-Vitiello-Trinity
Bandcamp → https://lawrenceenglish.bandcamp.com/album/trinity
or Qobuz → https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/trinity-lawrence-english-stephen-vitiello/henez3arlx14b
and listen on your streaming platform of choice → https://album.link/i/1841765837

For extensive show notes, links, and podcast information, go to https://podcast.thetonearm.com

Be sure to check out The Tonearm, an online music + culture magazine featuring fascinating perspectives and conversations with creative people → https://www.thetonearm.com

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