fotofono

Fotofono is a small studio dedicated to intermedia exploration and electro-acoustic improvisation. Established by artist Gill Arno in 2004 in an old factory building in Brooklyn, NY, it has initially functioned as a rehearsal space for his performance project mpld, and then as an incubator for several collaborative projects like ea‘s ‘Balancing act with controlled dynamics’ (Winds Measure recordings, 2006), Unframed Recordings’ ’10.e’ series (2006 and on), Ting Ting Jahe‘s ’18 (16)’ (Winds Measure recordings, 2007) among others. It later became also the home and headquarters of experimental label Unframed Recordings.

In 2006 Fotofono opened up for its first ‘open doors’ event, thus becoming part of a spontaneous Brooklyn scene of tiny underground venues —­ in fact, private homes and studios. To be fair, the sound standard at Fotofono is nothing close to pristine. One studio wall sustains an outside wooden stairwell, and the whole building sits right next to the elevated subway. 60 Hz hum from electric lines, various radio interferences and bad computer soundcards are generally welcomed as part of a permaculture intermedia merzbau.
In November, 2009, the Fotofono blog was initiated. Its aim is to maintain an ever-expanding free archive of recordings from past concerts and sessions.