Episode 06: Making Music with Guitar, Synth, Phone, 3D-printed Instruments, and Kitchen Elements with Federico Bonacossa

This episode will take you through different continents and music genres and give you a music theory lesson on non-conventional/alternative tuning systems. Federico Bonacossa talks about new possibilities to create and recreate sound and how to use different technologies and applications to generate sound.

This has led him to explore a variety of approaches, from returning or modifying traditional instruments to creating open-ended improvisations using mobile devices to generate sound.

Federico talks about his music for the stage and how he used kitchen elements and cutlery to make a sound to depict the plot. He gives us a tour through his homeland, Sardinia in Italy, and his first music steps while listening to Sex Pistols and his uncle playing viola.

About Federico Bonacossa

Composer-guitarist Federico Bonacossa writes music for acoustic and electronic instruments using an intuitive approach resulting from many years of exploration and experimentation. By not relying on any predetermined technique or attempting to write in a particular style, he has developed a personal musical language that is abstract yet distinct and emotionally charged. One of his main interests is using nonconventional tuning systems, mainly just intonation.

His works have been performed across the US and abroad. Recent performances include the premiere of A Sparrow Flies Towards a Woman as She Stares at a Crescent Moon for guitar and chamber ensemble with The Last Hundred Ensemble. His electroacoustic works have been featured in several international conferences, including the ISSTA Festival in Cork, Ireland, the SCI Conference, and the NY Electroacoustic Music Festival. He has written numerous dance scores for Dance Now Miami, most recently Tribe, a work in just intonation for soprano, cello, and piano. Anusim, another recent collaboration with the company, has been performed in New York, St. Louis, Portugal, Italy, as well as many venues in south Florida. As a performer, he promotes new music for guitar, mainly works that feature electronics and alternative tunings. He is currently a professor at Florida International University. He is co-founder of The Last Hundred Ensemble, an ensemble dedicated to music written in the last one hundred years. The group recently released its first album, featuring his work Omaggio a Marinetti, an eclectic composition for soprano, harp, electric guitar, and percussion (including balloons) based on Marinetti’s futurist poems.

Federico’s book recommendations to our listeners

Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Joseph FuxA Book of Surrealist Games by Alastair Brotchie, Mel Gooding

Find more about Federico Bonacossa