Between these extremes are varying degrees of co-creative work. For me, all these different conditions are interesting and rewarding.
Mutual respect and openness are essential in a collaboration. It is also crucial early on to clarify the expectations between me and the person(s) I will work with.
Combining the audible with the visible can involve different types of formal and practical challenges. Is the visual element fixed in time (film/video) or flexible (dance/live video)? What type of sonic expression is involved? Written or improvised music? Recorded music or sound (electro-acoustic music, sound design)? My experience is that previously unknown solutions are often part of the creative process.
A very important aspect for me in creating sound and music is intuitive work. Whether or not the visible is known to me, I wait for a resonance within me where sounds and tones arise spontaneously, which I then shape concretely.
Magnus Alexanderson is an EAM composer and experimental guitarist. He studied Electro-Acoustic Music Composition under the guidance of Lars-Gunnar Bodin, Rolf Enström and Tamas Unguary at Electronic Music Studio in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm between 1980 -1983 and in addition received private tutorials in instrumental composition with composers Lars Sandberg and Mikros Maros.
His electro-acoustic music compositions have been performed at various venues throughout Sweden. In 2001 he was commissioned by the University of Linköping, the City of Norrköping and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to compose for the opening event of EU Commissioner meeting in Sweden. He has been a guest lecturer on EAM at the University of Linköping between 1992 and 1996, and for the period of 2009-2019 he was a lecturer/educator of Sound Culture at the same university.
He is also an experimental guitarist with contribution in various improvisational groups. His collaborators include Geoff Leigh, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, Tony Bianco, and Gary Smith. The first CD of Decision Dream (with Jair-Rohm Parker Wells and Tony Bianco) was released by Canadian label Red Toucan in 2005, receiving international critical acclaim. In 2021, he participated in the group Fontana Re:Mix, contributing to the release of Traces of Time. In 2025, two new releases are planned with the groups Instant Circuit and Fontana Re:Mix.
He co-founded the art duo MASH with visual artist Sachiko Hayashi. Since its inception, MASH’s work has been widely exhibited at various venues both nationally and internationally.