The Long Play - Episode 4 - Time Bomb

4/28/2018

Hello all! The fourth episode of my 2018 radio art series "The Long Play" is available now on Mixcloud.
"The Long Play" is an intense, long-form examination of distressed vinyl, specifically a single LP from my collection of found records. Through extreme speed change, time-shifting, compression and EQ, each track of the LP has been stretched out to approximately 30 minutes, virtually erasing, in some cases, the original musical content, and taking on the character of a "field recording", a strange and surreal psychogeography of a place that does not exist. One track of the 12 track LP will be released per month over the course of 2018.
https://www.mixcloud.com/william-davison2/the-long-play-episode-4-time-bomb/
- W.A.Davison
www.recordism.com

6 Comments

Frank

4/28/2018 20:27:54

The result sounds very industrial... like it.
What do you mean with 'found records'?
And would you mind sharing which record/song you used for this one?

William Davison link

4/28/2018 23:01:15

Thanks, Frank!

I have two record collections - a good collection and a bad collection. Let me see if I can explain this.

My "good" records are my personal listening collection...the records I've bought to listen to and enjoy which, whether bought new or used, are in mostly quite good condition and I make sure to keep them that way.

My "bad" records are the ones I've bought at yard sales, flea markets, dollar bins or, quite often, found in the trash. They are generally in pretty poor condition but that's okay because that means I can abuse them in performances or studio experiments.

My "bad" record collection is mostly weird spoken word albums, sound effects, "ethnic" music, children's story records, etc. that is not collectible but is useful to me for sound collage.

Here's some evidence of one of my "found records" being destroyed in a performance (Hal might remember this) - https://youtu.be/HqpYBLVB6cg

The "found record" I'm using for "The Long Play" is called "Beatnick Fly" by Johnny and the Hurricanes from 1959 (https://www.discogs.com/Johnny-And-The-Hurricanes-Beatnick-Fly/release/5251663). I chose it for two reasons: 1) my copy is in exceptionally bad condition which works perfectly for this project since the surface noise, scratches, pops and clicks are as important as the musical content, if not more so. 2) The LP happens to have 12 tracks which means I can release one per month for a year-long project.

Hope that explains it. Thanks for your interest!

Frank

4/29/2018 04:45:56

That definitely explains it, thanks! And after watching the video, I can understand that you don't use your good records, pretty intense.

Chris Phinney

4/28/2018 21:28:12

This is amazing a great piece of sound art! Excellent job job Mr Davison. Intense this piece surely is! Kudos to you.

William Davison link

4/28/2018 23:05:28

Thanks, Chris! That kind of positive feedback is what makes it all worthwhile. Much appreciated!

Phillip Klampe

4/30/2018 22:13:41

Really enjoyed this! I like the idea of manipulating something that already exists into something new. Records are ideal for this and slowing things down usually brings out interesting textures. Nice work!

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