About eContact!

The CEC’s Online Journal for Electroacoustic Practices

Published by the Canadian Electroacoustic Community since 1998, eContact! is an online journal dedicated to the exploration and promotion of the richly diverse discipline of electroacoustic practices.

As a CEC project, eContact! is meant to benefit the whole of the community of electroacoustic practitioners and audience at a local, regional, national and international level. The journal’s editorial team is committed to inclusiveness and strives to explore with depth, authenticity and lucidity the complex issues and interests of the broader electroacoustic milieu: from “pure” acousmatic and computer music to videomusic and mixed media to soundscape and sonic art to hardware hacking and beyond.

The journal is and has always been freely available to the public; access to over 1000 articles in over 70 issues of the journal (as of the 18th volume) is unimpeded by subscription fees or library memberships.

Some Statistical Information

Four issues are published each year. Each issue focuses on a particular theme or topic, and Guest Editors have been invited to coordinate at least one issue per year since Volume 7 (2004–05).

A typical issue has 8–11 articles, but also regularly features reviews, interviews, commentaries and analyses, as well as a range of columns. 1[1. See the notes at the top of the Call for Contributions page for information on the various Article Formats.] As an online journal eContact! is in an advantageous position for the coverage of a broad range of interests comprising the diverse field of electroacoustic practices: text articles are accompanied by full-colour, high-resolution images, as well as audio and video support materials and other media.

Since Volume 11 (2008–09), issues average over 50,000 words (original language) — the equivalent of 6–7 substantial articles (ca. 15 pages in length) or a medium-sized novel (200 pages). 2[2. E.g., Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.] Excluding the smaller and media-heavy JTTP issues, the average is actually up around 62,000 3[3. E.g., Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.]; translations add another 5% to the total word count.

Historical Key Points

• May 1998 — The CEC’s online journal of electroacoustics is launched as the successor to the print journal Contact! (1988–97). The journal, one component of the larger CEC website, is hosted on Concordia University’s Fine Arts server.
• 1998–2000 — The structural “pillars” of the journal are put in place: dedication to supporting and promoting young and emerging composers, women in electroacoustics, cultural and æsthetic diversity, awareness of history and education in the field.
• 2000–01 — Dedicated support of Jeu de temps / Times Play (JTTP) begins; first issue each year now covers this project supporting young/emerging composers.
• 2005–10 — Broad improvements to the styles and design of the journal parallel positive growth in the number and size of contributions.
• 2006–07 — Monthly statistics average 5900 hits (193/day).
• Mar 2009 — Launch of the Special Edition 10th anniversary issue 10.x The Concordia Archival Project, realized thanks to significant funding from Heritage Canada.
• Oct 2009 — More than 11,000 hits in one month thanks to the popularity of issue 11.3, Open Source for Audio Application.
• 2009–10 — Overhaul of the structure and design of the entire CEC site for improved navigability and readability; access to earlier materials greatly improved.
• 2010–11 — Starting with issue 13.2, each issue’s Table of Contents and Editorial are bilingual.
• 2013–15 — Monthly averages are now 6200 hits (200/day).
• Sep 2015 — The journal moves to its own dedicated domain (econtact.ca), and a vastly improved (html5-compliant) and more appealing design is launched; a record 11,800 hits in one month as a result.
• Mar 2016 — Launch of issue 17.4 on Analogue and Modular Synthesis: Resurgence and evolution results in record 20,100 hits in one month.
• 2015–16 — Monthly averages are now 8600 hits (280/day).

Office

• Coordinating and Copy Editor: jef chippewa (2005–)
• Production and Web Administration: Yves Gigon (1997–)
• Translation: Yves Charuest (French), jef chippewa (English)
• Programming: Max Stein
• Past Editor: Ian Chuprun (1997–2005)

Contact the or the for queries about the journal. Visit the Call for Contributions page if you are interested in submitting your writing for consideration.

Current Staff and Collaborators

Coordinating and Copy Editor

jef chippewa is a composer, new music notation specialist, arts administrator and fantastic cook. In 17 miniatures (flute, piano, drumset, dozens of sound-producing objects), and in his footscapes (electroacoustic) and postcards (toy piano, sound objects) series, he explored the potential of the miniature in problematizing musical form. 4[4. See jef chippewa’s article on “Miniature Form in Electroacoustic and (Instrumental) New Music,” published in eContact! 16.3 — TES 2013.] His work has been presented in traditional venues, art galleries and trains during FUTURA (France), Inventionen (Berlin), ISCM (Stuttgart), MANTIS (Manchester), Mixtur (Barcelona), Sonorities (Dublin) and Visiones Sonores (Mexico) by ensembles such as LUX:NM, CrossingLines and ensemble recherche. LUX:NM commissioned his concert-theatre-fluxus work cabinet de curiosités for Berlin’s Infektion! festival of new and experimental music theatre. chippewa founded shirling & neueweise, a company specialized in New Music notation and has led seminars on “New Music Notation: Score Design, Function and Role” in North America and Europe. Since 2005, he is Administrative co-Director of the Canadian Electroacoustic Community, Canada’s national association for electroacoustic practices, and Editor for the electronic journal eContact!
http://newmusicnotation.com/chippewa

Production and Web Administration

Yves Gigon is a catalyst, passionate about sound, photo and video. He is involved in the CEC since 1997, and completed a Bachelor’s degree in 2001 at Concordia University in electroacoustics and digital image/sound.

Translation

Le saxophoniste canadien Yves Charuest a commencé ses activités musicales professionnelles dans les années 1980, jouant avec plusieurs musiciens canadiens tels que Michel Ratté, Jean Beaudet, Lisle Ellis, Jean Derome et Pierre Cartier dans différents groupes, dont I Like Jazz, Evidence, Duo Charuest-Ratté, Trio Michel Ratté, Wreck’s Progress. Charuest fut membre du Peter Kowald Trio (avec le contrebassiste allemand Peter Kowald et le batteur sud-africain Louis Moholo) avec lequel il s’est produit au Canada, aux États-Unis et en Europe. Il a joué avec des musiciens actifs sur la scène internationale, notamment William Parker, John Betsch et Mathias Schubert, et il a également collaboré avec les compositeurs électroacoustiques canadiens Jean-François Denis, jef chippewa et Jean Piché. Charuest travaille avec divers ensembles, dont le duo Charuest-Caloia, Still (avec Nicolas Caloia et Peter Valsamis), Stir (avec Caloia, Valsamis et Agustí Fernández), un quatuor avec Caloia, Lori Freedman et Josh Zubot, le Murray Street Band et le Ratchet Orchestra. Il collabore régulièrement avec Ellwood Epps, John Heward, Philippe Lauzier, Scott Thomson, la chorégraphe Susanna Hood et la danseuse Alanna Kraaijeveld. Charuest a remporté le prix François-Marcaurelle lors de l’édition 2015 de L’Off Festival de jazz de Montréal.

Acknowledgements

Thanks for the continued support of CEC members, Jean-François Denis and DIFFUSION i MéDIA, as well as all the authors and artists who have contributed to eContact! over the years!

The CEC further thanks the Canada Council for the Arts and the SOCAN Foundation for the important support they have offered to the journal.

[ Page updated April 2017 ]