phenomenological structures

A few days ago, while it was relatively warm out, I set up a temporary sound installation behind our house. The installation was a type of environmental sculpture constructed entirely out of objects and materials found around our yard (except for some basic household wire). The wire was strung up between and old metal TV antenna and a post about 8 meters away. The idea here is to subject a somewhat sensitive and dynamic structure to the weather conditions and see what kind of sounds result. The sounds are recorded with a pair of contact microphones that are stuck to the body of the antenna. I really enjoy working with these types of structures because they act as a kind resonant interface between you and the surrounding environment, taking on “behaviors” one doesn’t always expect. I also “tune” the installation by adding other objects and materials like more wires, sticks and grasses that change the ways in which the structure may be affected and the sound that gets produced. So far the structure has been subjected to various conditions of wind, rain and snow.

Here are two short samples you can listen to:

jgrzinich – phenomenological structure #1 (2:12) Ahja, Estonia: jgrzinich-wind_wires01

jgrzinich – phenomenological structure #2 (2:23) Ahja, Estonia: jgrzinich-wind_wires02

It should also be noted that this type of work appears in my past releases such as Ferric and Insular Regions. It also draws inspiration from one of my favorite albums, Tahta Tarla produced back in 1987-88 by Giancarlo Toniutti and Andrew Chalk.