The latest phase of development of the EARS project (www.ears.dmu.ac.uk) involves creating both undergraduate and secondary school (11-14 years of age) versions (currently our focus group is children in the 11-14 year old age group). In developing the Genres and Categories index, we are seeking material for use as listening examples; to exemplify particular genres and categories, and at the same time for use as part of an aural training system intended to introduce students to electroacoustic music. (Where relevant we will also accept videos of live performances and as exemplars of practice, e.g. turntablism).

The list of Genres and Categories for which works are sought is as follows (the definitions for these genres and categories are those on the current EARS site [http://www.ears.dmu.ac.uk/spip.php?rubrique3])

* Acousmatic * Adaptive Music * Algorithmic Music * Ambient Music * Analogue Electroacoustic Music * Anecdotal Composition * Drum 'n' Bass * Dub * Experimental Music * Field Recording * Fusion * Glitch * Hip-Hop * House * IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) * Industrial (Music) * Krautrock * Lowercase Sound * Mixed Work * Musique Concrète * Noise Music * Phonography * Plunderphonics * Radiophonics * Remixing * Rock Concrète * Serialism * Soundscape Composition * Stochastic Music * Tape Music * Techno * Text-sound Composition * Turntablism

We are also looking for multimedia material (digital video) to exemplify the following Genres and Categories:

* Immersive Environment * Interactivity * Interdisciplinary Artistic Work * Internet Music * Laptronica * Live Electronics
* Multimedia * Site Specific * Sound Installation * Turntablism * Visual Music

We are only interested in complete works in the first instance, not excerpts (unless we request excerpts of specific works). Works of 6 minutes or less are preferable, but exceptions may be made where necessary.

A key criterion required from those submitting material is the presence of detailed composer intention information to accompany the work. This information concerns an articulation of both the composer's communicative intent (the key aesthetic aspects of the work), and the application of certain compositional and technological techniques that are relevant in terms of understanding how the work was composed in relation to its aesthetic and communicative purpose - such elements are important in terms of the pedagogic and didactic concerns/approaches of EARS II. To this end, it is important to note that before submitting your work you are aware that composers whose work is selected may well be contacted to provide more detailed information about the composition and compositional process.

Material can be submitted as follows:
The preferred submission format/method is for you to email a url link to downloadable mp3 versions of your work to - rweale[at]dmu[dot]ac[dot]uk
Alternatively, we can accept Audio CDs, data CD/DVD containing audio data files (wav, aif, mp3, AAC)/video data files (mov, real video, wmv, m4v) - sent by snail mail to the postal address below. Unfortunately, we cannot return material.
Please DO NOT email mp3 files or any other kind of audio or video file (as my inbox won't be able to handle it).

Please include the following information with your submission:

- Name of artist(s)
- Email contact
- Title of track(s)
- Year of composition
- Genre/Category (please refer to the list above) - obviously, some works may fit into multiple categories
- Composer intention information (e.g. program/CD liner notes that usually accompany the work - NOTE: this DOES NOT mean a composer biography)

Postal address:
Dr Rob Weale
CEPA Fellow/MTI
Faculty of Humanities
De Montfort University
The Gateway
Leicester
LE1 9BH
UK

As we are unable to 'purchase' the rights to publish works, material must be freely donated (copyright for materials added to the EARS II site will remain with the author(s)). In submitting work to the EARS II project you agree that the work can remain in the EARS II database indefinitely. A formal contract agreement will be entered into between composers whose material is selected and EARS II.

If you have submitted material or links to your work and have not been contacted by a member of the EARS project then you should assume that your work has not been selected. Unfortunately we cannot offer individual feedback as to why material was not selected. Please note that selection is not primarily based on the quality of work in general, but is based on the extent to which the works have a strong pedagogic and didactic potential, i.e. the extent to which the work is suitable for use as teaching material for the age groups being addressed by the EARS II project.

Submission deadline (extended): Tuesday March 31st 2009 (midnight GMT)

If you have any questions, please contact Rob Weale - rweale[at]dmu[dot]ac[dot]uk