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PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
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"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
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@indicativeexperiences
The repetitive radio playback of songs on heavy rotation, a sales technique deployed by record companies, has been co-opted by military organisations and taken to its logical extreme: increasing rotation while cutting all silence or 'chat' between musical transmissions transforms an infectious sales technique into a torture weapon for contaminating the rational mind.
Heys T (2019), ‘Sound Pressure: How Speaker Systems Influence, Manipulate and Torture’. (pg. 8)
Our society is characterized by a cancerous growth of vision, measuring everything by its ability to show or be shown and transmuting communication into a visual journey. It is a sort of epic of the eye and the impulse to read.
De Certeau (1984), ‘The Practice of Every Day Life’, (pg. xxi)
We have published our manifesto: a precise bullet-pointed list of our aims. This was developed in cooperation with members of the PSP globally and also universally, when we ran our solidarity with the Universe project. We must recognise that the Perfect Sound might not exist on Earth but in another realm of the space-sphere.
On-going documentation of our progress in finding the Perfect Sound. Presented by Overlord Ed Waller.
Members and non-members of the Perfect Sound Project,
We have begun a series of small podcasts that document our on-going struggle to find the Perfect Sound. These have been on-going for a while but a lack of communication has led to their absence from any blog and so here is a list of the podcasts thus far:
#1 - The Perfect Sound Report
#2 - The Ind-O-Vidual approach to the Utopian Dystopian Kettleonian Introspection
#3 - The Dual Shagibility of Tim Henman and the Pre-Post Digital Stone Era
#4 - The Nitty Gritty of the Perfect Sound Project
#5 - The Bourgeois Tendencies of the Very Hungry Caterpillar
#6 - The Perfect Sound as Recording
#7 - Driving Towards the Perfect Sound and Why My Wife has Left Me
#8 - Patience of the Project and Craig Gordon’s Role in it
#9 - It Can and Should Be I Think
#10 - Every Decision We Make is Perfect
#11 - Reading of the Criticism
#12 - An Actual Reading of the Criticism
#13 - Why Do I Bother
#14 - Keys and Emancipation
#15 - The Perfect Sound Has Been Found
#16 - A Compilation
#17 - PSP in the Field
More shall continue to be recorded. Link is connected to title.
// SubPhonics Improvisation session 14/4/19
https://soundcloud.com/subphonicsdss/sets/april-14th-2019/s-KyI6R?fbclid=IwAR3KF2_8hoKna46Bi4eaVsEYxh2ut9bpRg1q80pVksFXZdzunfBFz6nHsBE
Latest SubPhonics rehearsal session. Very digital sound palette, everyone using synths apart from one electric guitar, but even that was heavily affected by pedals. I used a Roland Jd-Xi which is a digital/analogue crossover synth. I have used this extensively in my own bedroom to record with, so to take it into an improvising context completely challenged the way I use the synth.
In relation to my ‘movement - movement’ project (https://indicativeexperiences.tumblr.com/post/183939876775/new-project-movement-movement-improvising) there is a lack of kinetic relationship with a synthesizer. The turning of a knob does not produce the sound of the turning of a knob; there is a disconnect between player and sound. There has to be a complete understanding of the synth to be able to get the sound desired, or to be able to expect a sound when adjusting the synth. This is not necessarily bad, but completely changes the way in which I approach improvisation. When playing with objects I spend a lot more time listening and playing to the sound of the room. Because of the randomness of the synthesizer, I end up trying to shove in whatever sound I end up with. There is a lack of control as to what sound is being made
// Extinction Rebellion Waterloo Bridge Occupation - 15/04/19
https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/15-04-19-extinction-rebellion-waterloo-bridge-occupation/s-32RMz
Originally I thought this wasn’t that sonically interesting, but then I remembered that this is Waterloo Bridge in the middle of the day where usually the traffic relentlessly dominates the ear drum. Here is only a gentle hum of distant traffic and a hustle of voices. A pretty space to be in in the middle of London.
// new project: movement -- movement.
Improvising with objects followed by a written reflection on the improvisations.
Since beginning improvising I’ve noticed more and more my tendency to play with objects. Originally this was a case of availablism - I often forgot to bring my own instrument to improv sessions so would use objects from around the room - but in the end I have tended to favour objects.
There is a direct kinetic relationship with objects, I touch it and it makes a sound. I can vaguely guess what it will sound like before my sounding it. I interact with an object on a movement to movement basis, feeling out its different sonic capabilities and slowly becoming intimate with it throughout a session.
I have begun writing reflections directly after finishing the improvisation with a specific focus on the discovery of different sonic possibilities of the object throughout the improvisation. I am going to record me speaking these reflections and compile a collection of improvisations that are followed by their written reflections. This is an attempt to further understand exactly what it is I am doing, examining this movement to movement process.
The first improvisations (without their writing) are here: https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/sets/movement-movement/s-y1q2v
// 26/3/19 - Stop the War - Hands off Yemen
https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/26-03-19-stop-the-war-coalition-hands-off-yemen/s-daAu4
Again, at the mercy of university kit room closures over Easter I had to use my phone for this recording. I’m starting to like the quality of the phone recording though - there is a sense of intimacy that is not captured with the Zoom. The Zoom records in the same high-quality that is used by media, the media which alienates the ideas of the demonstration. The phone recording, on the other hand, is something most people now have access to - it has a familiar sonic quality and also allows anyone to be able to record.
Not only this, but there’s some sort of psychological effect that causes me to listen closer back to the recording. Because a phone recorder might be deemed as a ‘last resort’, there is a suggestion that what is presented in the recording is of the utmost importance and had to be recorded at that moment. It causes me to listen more attentively.
This recording doesn’t entail as much chanting but captures many of the speakers that were at the #HandsOffYemen demo outside Downing Street on 26th March 2019.
// 15/3/19 - Youth Strike for Climate Change
https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/15-03-19-youth-strike-for-climate-change/s-a2QwG
At the mercy of LCC Kit Room closures this was recorded on my phone thus there is a lot of wind and handling though, although I’m not sure this matters. The energy of youth demonstrators and their passion for what they are demonstrating is quite clear from the recordings, and this is what I was trying to achieve. In this demo there were people climbing on statues, bus stops, just about anything climbable. There were about 20 people who occupied a bus and hung flags over the side, drinking wine on the roof (it was one of those tour buses with only half a roof). At one point a Soviet flag was waved from the Winston Churchill statue on parliament square. The future is socialist.
// 11/3/19 - noise/alternative - Iteration #4
Placed speakers on stands and anthropomorphised them by arranging them in such a way that they present themselves as a crowd, yelling the political alternative out towards the audience. I keep the volume relatively quiet to draw the audience in a bit and cause them to explore each individual speaker.
I had problems with the wires in which I didn’t know whether to tidy them to the best of my ability or to leave them running wild. I ended up in an awkward in-between point where I neither completely removed the wires visually, or kept them out and ‘messy’. In hindsight I think it would have been better to not attempt to tidy the wires. There is no point pretending the wires aren’t there, the audience knows it would have to be wired somehow. The same logic applies to the amps. I think it would have been more honest to leave the wires, as it also makes the piece more approachable in that it doesn’t present itself as an elite budget piece with wireless technology and insane speakers, it becomes a very simple loudspeaker piece. It would be this approachability that would enable people to listen more closely to the political alternative, as I presented it.
I think the next step will be to try speaker cones. I can’t quite work out my exact quarrel with the passive speakers but I believe they are still too dominating in the space to sonify political alternative in as simple and approachable and listenable way as I intend.
// 6/3/19 - noise/alternative - Iteration #3
Instead of bunching the speakers up on the floor I decided to spread them out. The audience can walk around and hear the demo recordings rising from the floor. This way there is still the noise from the demonstrations collectively, but the audience is able to hear each individual demo easily.
// 6/3/19 - Noise/Alternative - Iteration #2.
Trying passive speakers. Monitors - in particular our university Genelecs - I find to be particularly dominating and suggest something beyond what is being sonically presented. I’m yet to work out exactly what my quarrel is with the Genelecs but I much prefer the passive speakers. Passive speakers are approachable, household items that aren’t intimidating to approach.
In terms of arrangement I had some ideas about stacking the speakers on the floor. The audience would have to approach and kneel down to listen to their content. However part of the ethos behind this piece is to sonify the political alternative and so it seems counter-intuitive to make the audience work to hear it.
// 6/3/19 - WIP: Noise/Alternative
Loudspeaker piece (currently 5.1) aiming to sonify the political alternative that is presented in demonstrations around London. Different demonstrations that I have been taking recordings of (playlist found here: https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/sets/noisealternative/s-Odslw). One demonstration coming out of each speaker. Everything completely unprocessed or affected apart from volumes mixed to be roughly equal across all recordings.
// 24/2/19 - Piano improvisations
https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/sets/improvs-24219/s-gvmCC
Upon returning home from Greenwich Pirate Studios from a SubPhonics improv session, I decided to carry on improvising but using piano. Piano is a familiar instrument to me since I learned classically, however I’ve barely touched a piano since being at University. I decided to improvise using ‘notational’ restrictions, contrary to the SubPhonics improvisations. I kept to certain keys and structures that derive from Western classical tradition but fell into sporadic rhythms and clearly improvised melodies.
I’m going to release these improvisations as an EP on 29th March which is Piano day.
// 24/2/19 - SubPhonics Improv Session
https://soundcloud.com/subphonicsdss/sets/feburary-24th-2019
After enjoying using a microphone at the last session, I decided to this time bring my laptop and a Scarlett and plug the microphone into my laptop, using various effects available to me. I also used various audio clips I had in my Ableton library including field recordings of London city centre, recordings upon South Downs National Park, and manipulated stems from personal music projects. I was cautious when using the stems as I didn’t wish to suggest a key or rhythm that would restrict sonic choice for other improvisers.
// 10/2/19 - SubPhonics improv session
https://soundcloud.com/subphonicsdss/sets/february-10th-2019
Improv session at Pirate Rehearsal Studios in Greenwich. I intended to use a reel-to-reel and create similar sounds to that which features in ‘PJaS’ (https://edwaller.bandcamp.com/track/pjas) but unfortunately the fuse went when I plugged it in. In turn, I used a spare SM58 microphone and stood next to a drum kit, using the drum kit, voice, and feedback from the speakers as my sound palette.
// 9/2/19 - Sudan Regime to ICC
https://soundcloud.com/wallermusic/09-02-19-sudan-regime-to-icc/s-sflxv
MENA Solidarity Network, Sudanese Association of Trade Unions UK&I and The Alliance of Sudanese Political Forces UK & IR stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan who fight and revolt against the brutal military dictatorship of Omar Al-Bashir. Tasgot Bas! Learn more here: https://menasolidaritynetwork.com/2019/02/08/join-the-protests-in-solidarity-with-sudan-uprising-9-february/