Brighton digital music graduate shortlisted for Ivor Novello Composer Award

The Ivors awards celebrate the best new works by UK-born or UK-based composers writing for classical, jazz and sound art, and have been recognised as a pinnacle of achievement since they began in 1956.

Louvel's shortlisted 2020 work The Sculptor Speaks was made as her MA Final Project, and is typical of her fusion of voice, computer music making and digital narrative. The work re-sounds a 1961 recording of sculptor Barbara Hepworth's voice, originally made to accompany a slide talk for the British Council – then unearthed by Louvel in the British Library archives.

Speaking about her Ivor Novello Award nomination, Louvel said: “That was a wonderful uplifting surprise, in this challenging time. I am very grateful. Being part of the Ivors brings visibility to the work – the awards ceremony was a live event on BBC Radio 3.”

“I applied principles of sculpture to Hepworth’s voice to manipulate its texture, carving her voice directly, so Hepworth appears herself as a sculptural entity,” explains Olivia. You can see her talking further about the piece – which The Wire described as “a dreamy meditation on the nature of creativity” - on YouTube, as well as on her website.

Olivia Louvel

The Sculptor Speaks by Olivia Louvel

Speaking at her 2019 Brighton graduation show, Louvel said: “I work at the intersection of creation and documentation, often taking for a point of departure, existing texts, from archives.” Iconic female figures have been one inspiration, highlighted by Louvel's exploration of the reigns of Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I in the multimedia suite Data Regina (2017), available through an interactive digital platform as well as CD.

Following her Novello Awards accolade, Louvel has been longlisted for the 2021 Aesthetica Art Prize for her 2019 generative sound mural The Whole Inside. This distinctive delving of violent misogyny within the incel community was created at Brighton as part of Olivia's Digital Music and Sound Arts BA.

“I have also just finished producing a remix, taking elements from a Beethoven sonata for 'Classical Remix' - a collective reimagining of historical music through innovative events and multi-media projects, and led by Benjamin Tassie,” says Louvel.

Speaking about her study at Brighton (which followed time at the National Superior Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Paris), Louvel said: “I learnt so much... As a self-taught practitioner, I felt the need to expand my critical thinking skills and knowledge. Therefore, I embarked - as a mature student - on the Digital Music and Sound Art BA at the University of Brighton. I thoroughly enjoyed studying at DMSA. The theory was the most fascinating for me, allowing me to join many dots, revealing new fields of interest.”

Louvel is also lead coordinator for the student exchange at the upcoming Sound Art Brighton festival (SAB) scheduled for March 2022, working with the artistic director Kersten Glandien – a senior lecturer at DMSA. She is also an active member of female:pressure, the international network of female, transgender and non-binary artists working in electronic music and digital arts.