CD – Audiobulb
If the standard practice of sound recording is regarded as a “capture,” then in this abstract conceptual electronic music project, the representation of auditory reality happens through far more complex perceptual mechanisms. The work considers frequencies and drones, intended as isolated particles, as entities that create other specific relations, whether of a generic nature or site-specific. The formula is as accurate as it is elementary: a select group of audio manipulators are sent samples from a particular city. Francisco López collects and coordinates the authors, who this time are all from Birmingham-UK. The record looks to explore the audio psychogeography of cities such as Brussels, Montreal and Victoriaville. The end result is fascinating, full of subtle textures, at first light, then denser – organic – as with Annie Mahtani’s piece, or marked by harmonious reverberations, as in the case of Mark Harris’ elaborations, which are unraveled in elegant and hypnotic envelopes. Sounds of nature and dilated loops – fluctuating – are the basis of the formal application of Martin Clarke’s offering, and, in a different but equally inspired way, the electro-acoustic music of Helena Gough peeps through the grooves. Bobby Bird, Cormac Faulkner and Nicholas Bullen, too, are actively involved in the project, along with Francisco López himself, who performs last, an intense and intangible piece which leaves us with the image of a very dark and multifaceted metropolis.