Josué Amador
Josué Amador
I am a Mexican composer, improviser, sound artist, researcher, and educator based in Rotterdam. My work investigates alternative approaches to music-making by expanding notions of composition and performance through transdisciplinary methods.
My research focuses on sound, listening, and resonance as potential tools for generating knowledge and understanding the sociocultural and political dimensions of sound, specifically the sonic expressions of urban acoustic communities.
I am also engaged in building autonomous platforms for education and artistic production.
Contact me for a CV. A prose version of my CV can be found HERE:
Picture by Michaela Davidova
selected works
Europe is a Garden
click on the image to go to the video documentation
Europe is a Garden is a composition of a work at the intersection of Sound Art and Sonic Journalism. The piece aims to amplify the voices and expressions of Western political actors actively promoting and profiting from war and violence. By drawing attention to these voices and presenting them in a raw, almost grotesque manner, Europe is a Garden critiques the media's role as a propaganda machine that disseminates and replicates these messages, manipulating public perception.
The piece was originally conceived as a sound installation, but it has also been broadcast as a radio composition.
Many Voices aims to amplify sonic expressions that challenge power structures and advocate for social justice. The core of Many Voices (the first 20 minutes) consists of layered field recordings captured during four demonstrations held in Rotterdam in 2023: 1) Antifascist protest, 2) protest against the court's ruling in the Sanda Dia case, 3) pro-Palestine demonstration, and 4) No-Arms-Trade-in-Rotterdam protest.
Many Voices was composed for and performed during the Paste happening organized by the Hamburger Community at Roodkapje on April 18, 2024. The initial segment of the piece was presented at the beginning of the event and later re-recorded on-site, incorporating the voices of attendees. This process was iterated four times throughout the happening. The resultant work is a composition in which diverse expressions, spaces, and temporalities converge, engendering a nuanced meta-dialogue where many voices resonate.
Lived Cityscapes
Lived Cityscapes is a composition created as part of a research project that aimed to engage the public with the phenomenon of smart urban safety and bring into view a diversity of perspectives on the use of and experimentation with technologies for purposes of public safety in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The project was produced in collaboration with Vivien Butot (Erasmus University) and Pendar Nabipour (Willem de Kooning Academy)
Lived Cityscapes uses walking as an empirical research method that emphasizes the intimacy of relationships between participants and their surroundings. Walking is a way of knowing through the body that relates to spatial exploration and the role of place.
Two publications resulted from this project. "Making Smart Things Strange Again: Using Walking as a Method for Studying Subjective Experiences of Smart City Surveillance" (Butot et al.) and the chapter Lived Cityscapes: An Approach to Studying Lived Experiences of Smart Urban Safety (Amador et al.) in the book This is not a Gardening Book.
Rotterdam Soundscape
Rotterdam Soundscape is a long-term project that archives the city's sonic environment through a soundmap built from field recordings. The project focuses on documenting sociocultural and political situations taking place in public spaces.
Underwater Life Forms
Denoiser
Music Box
Dr. Josué Amador is a composer, improvising performer, researcher, and educator. With a strong grounding in experimental music, improvisation, and sound studies, Amador´s practice reflects a keen interest in exploring the various dimensions of sound and its impact on human perception. His work delves into experimental approaches to music composition and performance, incorporating various forms of improvisation and indeterminacy.
Amador's musical journey began as a jazz guitarist with a particular interest in contemporary and free jazz. After obtaining a Bachelor's degree in jazz guitar, his inquisitive nature led him to study Western classical music composition, to integrate these distinct musical worlds into his practice, and create what he calls flexible music.
Amador's compositions have been performed extensively in Europe and America and featured in prestigious festivals such as Gaudeamus Muziekweek, the Kraków Composers Festival, the Città di Barletta Festival, and the IFFR, among others. His music has been recorded and released in Mexico, the USA, Portugal, and Poland, garnering critical acclaim.
As a researcher, Amador employs transdisciplinary practices that combine artistic and scientific methods and perspectives to address societal issues. His current research is focused on sound, listening, and resonance as potent tools for generating knowledge and understanding, examining the intricate interplay between the urban auditory environment and its social, cultural, and historical complexities.
Amador holds a Ph.D. in Music Composition from the Academy of Music in Krakow, Poland, a Master's degree (MMus) from CODARTS in Rotterdam, Netherlands,a Licentiate Diploma in Composition (LTCL) with honors from the Trinity College of Music of London as well as Musical Theory, Criticism and Literature Degree (AMusTCL) and a diploma from the Institute of Sonology in The Hague, NL.
Amador currently works as a lecturer and researcher for CODARTS University of the Arts, Willem de Kooning Academy, and the Rotterdam Arts and Sciences Lab.