HEADPHONES or CONVENTIONAL SPEAKERS REQUIRED otherwise no sound will be audible whilst playing through device speakers (laptops, phones etc)
a sensory
faded under
resonant, regained
as a connect
It is possible to sense the physical impact of infrasound, though we learn to ignore or filter out a vast range of the frequencies, further limited by our physical auditory capacities, paying attention only when they become disputed or disruptive. We sense the odd, the out of place, the uncomfortable. Equally we pacify that which we perceive as pleasant. The urge to find some kind of auditory other. An imposed reduction of reality. Some idea of quiet that is at odds with the sonic density and complexity of all environments, all locations and situations.
Our systems of community often limit our senses further. We live in buildings that vibrate, on ground that is resonated by the earth turning on its axis, shifted at microscopic levels by myriad species in the soil. If we listen in to these deep, grounding vibrations we can begin to unravel fictions of place, our acceptance and reliance on structures of knowledge, archive and status that favour our species. Our attempts to always define, set and build (faulty) borders.
I’ve been listening to traces of infrasound for some years now, sometimes using them in installations or compositions, waiting for them to settle. The pieces, ‘in limitless geologies’, began with the title, from my daughter, the artist Pheobe riley Law. I thought about those three words for a long time also. About their shape. The results are slow moving, quiet. I keep listening.
Pieces in this series include traces of infrasound recordings made using JrF adapted industrial geophones and software, along with a hacked recorder. The compositions were also recorded using the same adapted geophones and software, transposing the data to shape guitar, synthesiser, tape and clear input elements.
the title ‘in limitless geologies’ is from a series of text pieces by Pheobe riley Law, to accompany a series of photographic scores
recorded with JrF adapted geophones between 2010-2022
composed through the act of extended in-situ listening and recording to specific locations
tracks three - seven: infrasound recordings (2010-2022)
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elements of the infrasound recordings have been used in several installations and performances, including ‘Audible Silence | Tate Modern sleeping & waking’ (headphone installation commissioned for Tate Modern, 2013)
“All aspects of French’s life connect back to his art. He’s impacted more by the time he spends with his daughter, or just “sitting somewhere, watching and listening to life” than he is by any particular musician or artist. As a result, the respect that French has for field recording—something he prefers to call “located sound”—makes sense: in the same way that his personal and work life are intertwined, his albums are the result of him seeing field recording as a bridge between art and life itself.” (bandcamp daily)
“Jez riley French has spent many years in pursuit of the worlds more delicate and overlooked sounds...It's not surprising that his interest also extends beyond the audible realms. What it reveals is often startling...French's skill is both as documentarian and interpreter, selecting and processing the waves in a way that makes them audible, yet preserves a sense of strangeness…"
(The Wire Magazine)
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Improvised in a single stunning take, the compositions on “Symphony No 1: Winter” are hypnotic and enveloping sheets of sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 9, 2023