I’ve always liked to use “found” objects and sounds in my work. Whether it’s from beach combing (who doesn’t enjoy a good beach comb!), objects salvaged from the recycling and skips, or field recordings and BBC Sound Effects records!
There’s a long tradition in art and music of such re-imaginings → which I’m sure you all know!
I have quite a large collection of items destined for recycling that I have intercepted to use as musical instruments and sound sources—glass jars, foil trays, cardboard boxes, crinkly plastic wrappers.
Over the last few years I’ve made a lot of recordings with these objects but never really found the right direction. I made sample banks for the Model:Samples and Digitakt and I tried to use longer textural recordings in my music, but nothing quite worked out.
I’ve always persevered though because I like the idea of using packaging and recycling in my work. So little thought is given to these wondrous materials.
There was a time when the amount of iron in a baked bean can would have been a big deal and only been available to a very wealthy person. Colour printing, stainless steel, plastic—these are all forms of magic! Human ingenuity developed over millennia combined with Earth’s precious resources!
But unfortunately we do not see the worth in these materials and that is now part of a big global problem.
Recently on Whirrings I’ve been talking about performing with field recording and the last collection of recordings I did with the recycling objects were performance based, I played them with my hands, bows, brushes and sticks.
It’s only when I listened to them again and switched on multiple recordings together I realised they became more interesting as multitrack arrangements!
So here is the first result of that multitracking.
Track 1: foil tray played like a drum with my hand.
Track 2 and 3: foil tray played with a violin bow.
These sounds are possibly familiar and definitely remarkable considering this is just an aluminium foil tray, from a lasagne ready meal I believe!
Just a beginning, more to come.
🌱 Greenpeace | Friends of the Earth ♻️
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