as (urfaces) residency / exhibition release

a few copies of the 'as (urfaces)' cd & print set to accompany an exhibition of work completed during my time as artist in residence at Hull School of Art & Design are now available. There are only a handful of these left though.

details of the pieces included on the cd can be found by clicking here.

prices

UK postage £8.00rest of world £10.00

review from 'just outside' (Brian Olewnick):

'a more purely field recording-oriented release (though French bows or otherwise touches various surfaces on three of the six tracks). Here, one's reaction I find often depends "simply" on how intriguing one finds the given sound-field in play. Even there, you're almost compelled to give a deeper listen if, initially, you're not so fascinated; often there's more at hand than you thought. The one unenhanced cut that I immediately loved was the fourth, "as030", which features a motor of some kind (I think), it's strong, subtle and varies hugely within a narrow focus. The lengthy final track, the one on which bowing can most clearly be discerned, works pretty well also, a rich range of rubbing-induced groans....one can easily imagine wallowing it it with pleasure in an actual installation. It's a good disc....'









As054 – separate boiler room / kiln room:
. ambient sound of the room, recorded in the small entrance section – microphone in x/y facing towards a heating pipe gauge & a wall of ceramic test tiles.
. surface of heating pipe & heating pipe support, recorded with contact microphones.
. metal cage around heating conduit, played with light touch / contact microphones.

At012 – boiler room in reception area
. large heating system unit, recorded at intake point / contact microphones.
. pipes leading to large heating unit, recorded at largest suspension point / contact microphones.

As3dw – 3d workshop area
. plastic curtain in front of loading bay door, moved by wind entering the building & by light touch – microphone in x/y facing towards curtain, into the workshop area.

As030 – boiler room in the fine art workshop area
. connecting pipe / pressurized water pumping system, recorded at gauge point / contact microphones.
. connecting pipe recorded at joint hub / contact microphones.

As022 – screen print frame drying unit storage room
. screen print frame drying unit, recorded on top of the unit / contact microphones.
. screen print frame drying unit, recorded on top corner support, door of unit played with light touch / contact microphones.

As001 – main print making workshop area
. all sounds in this piece were produced by bowing & light touch on various print drying rack & printing bed springs / contact microphones placed at various suspension points.

a small selection of photographic images from this residency can be viewed by clicking here.

....audible silence - Jez riley French

engraved glass egcd028 p&c 2009 JrF


Three compositions, along with accompanying images, capturing something of my explorations of buildings that I had unrestricted access to during 2008. Each of these unique structures has an element of personal significance to me, whether it be in terms of its visual, spatial and audible presence or its connection to people whom I respect or regard as good friends. Therefore my visits were guided by a simple desire to spend time in them recording, taking photographs, reading or just sitting silently. The resulting work, as far as I wish to define it, captures the music of these places and my emotive response to being in them – ‘music’ in terms of that indefinable quality which gives us something ‘other’....

I used various conventional and extended field recording methods in order to capture the sounds, spaces or objects that fascinated me – of windows, wooden cabinets, floors, glass bowls, heating systems filtered through large and small objects and of empty rooms. The music I find in these explorations is rich in detail and changes constantly, just as light can transform the visual and the life one lives can alter ones ability to gain from each momentary experience.

The title ‘audible silence’ refers not only to the apparent silence and stillness of the objects, structures and spaces I explore in this manner but is also the title of a book of poetry by Laurence Whistler, examples of whose work as poet and glass engraver can be found in both of the UK locations represented.

The release comes in the form of:

. 69+ minute limited edition (280 copies) taiyo yuden cdr*
. 3 photo print cards
. 1 oversized photo print card
. folded text card
. 'in place' postcard

(packaged in sealed plastic cover)

postage options

UK £8.00rest of world £10.00

*taiyo yuden professional cdr media is widely regarded as the best there is & has a lifespan equal to that of conventional cd whilst offering more a higher grade of write layer technology.

1 - a next moment.... The JdP, Oxford - July 2008

Exploring the building bearing the name of the great cellist Jacqueline Du Pre this piece features the sounds of it’s various heating and ventilation systems - the veins and breath of the structures functional life viewed from a creative perspective.

2 - towards evening .... Prague, Krasna Hora and Brno - June 2008

Recordings of empty rooms in the Skolska 28 gallery and Josef Sudek Atelier (Prague), bedrooms at the summer house (Krasna Hora) and the studio room of good friends (Brno).

3 - enter.... Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge - July 2008

This building has provided many hours of inspiration to me over the years including very happy memories of my first visit there with my Mother – so having the opportunity to spend time there outside opening hours and with permission to record and photograph it in detail was a real
pleasure. The resulting recordings mostly capture the vibrations of various surfaces and
objects rather than the empty rooms themselves. I feel that these sounds, mainly inaudible
to the naked ear, do capture the unique atmosphere of this building. Its stillness and the
constant ability of the structure and its contents to breathe, live and inspire.

The specific sounds, in the order in which they appear in the piece, are:

. extension landing with dehumidifier
. pebble table
. slate table
. The Dancer table
. floor near Indonesian puppet
. glass bowl on gramophone cabinet

mp3 audio extract - click here

further images from each location can be found by clicking on the following links:

1) Oxford photographs
2) Czech republic images
3) Cambridge images

* review of '....audible silence' on Brian Olewnick blog can be found here (nb. one small thing to point out - an answer to Brian's pondering in the first sentance: none of the recordings are processed at all - I never process my recordings as i'm always fascinated by the sounds I explore as they are).

* it also gets a nice mention in the latest Paris Transatlantic here