MUSIQUE CONCRÈTE (PATAKOUSMATIKOI)

I

The natural sounds correspond to the currents of subtle energy that pass through the physical body. The tactile qualities of a descent into the Underworld combine the elements of a vibratory architecture. The anatomy of the ambient air defines this sound matter.

Stereophonics adjusts vertigos to each other. The magnification of the tiny by microphone transfers the physicist to “another space-time where he is likely to be absorbed without return” (René Alleau, in the “Alchemy” article, Encyclopedia Universalis). The inner space returns to chaos. Complex rhythmic combinations mark the transition from one psychic state to another. The editing of contrasting natural sounds carves the electromagnetism unexpectedly. The microphones capture the structure of the overwhelming manifestation. The internal dynamism of nature's elements records the sounds emitted by the spine. The crickets' song succeeds the fairy hardship. Strange intensities brush against the Orphic sounds, with the rhythm of the re-creation of the world in ourselves. A puddle of water shapes the ambient air. The celestial spheres shiver.

II

First, isolate the murmur of the chemical reactions. The passage from one psychic state to another forms hybrid sound chains. The symbolic exchanges may last as long as desired. The inner necessity then establishes a classification.

III

The sound recording booth reflects the sky's activity. The chemist discovers the peaks and the contrasting editions of the trance. The murmur of the chemical reactions brushes against the sound textures of the celestial spheres.

*

Several of the compilations launched by the Institute For Alien Research, a concrete music project led by Shaun Robert, focus on a specific theme. On each album, there are fifteen pieces, and these all last 4 minutes and 33 seconds, as if to fill, in a multitude of different ways, the famous Silence of John Cage. For "Musique Concrète Beginners Guide", participants were asked to integrate a text explaining what "concrete music" is for them in a sound art track. The piece "Patakousmatikoi", of which above is the English translation of the text originally in French, is my answer to this project call...

The sounds used in the non-verbal part of "Patakousmatikoi" were chosen because they refer to sound phenomena that are named in the text, written beforehand. So, by searching online for sounds produced by chemical reactions (microcosm) and celestial bodies (macrocosm), I found a number of Youtube videos documenting the absorption of water by silica gel beads, as well as mp3 files of sounds emitted by Jupiter, Saturn and the interstellar plasma, recorded by NASA and available on its website. The title of the piece evokes ‘Pataphysics, acousmatic art and the initiation to the Pythagorean Mysteries (the term "akousmatikoi" referring to a category of disciples).

The album can be downloaded and freely listened to on the IFAR Bandcamp page.