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by Adrian Moore |imed_0053-0001|
The works on this disc fall into three categories: those verging towards
the abstract (Junky, Dreamarena), those
focusing upon re-hearing natural sound-objects (Study in
Ink, Foil-Counterfoil)
and the ‘radiogenic’ (Sieve).
Are there any common stylistic traits present in this music? The works on
Traces offer a
search for the hidden, both within the piece and within the sound. It is this
hidden property in certain sounds that still excites the ear. The microphone
offers us the chance to examine these hidden qualities, such as the sound of
a marker pen on a whiteboard, the sole sound-source used for Study in Ink. An
everyday sound that could perhaps be described onomatopoeically by the word
“squeak” offers surprising versatility when examined through the
microphone, extending even to ‘human’ characteristics of
strength, weakness, enquiry, frivolity, humor and self-parody.
Traces can be seen
as that which is left behind but which can still be recovered, at least in
part. One takes away a representation of having been in the presence of the
original, much as one might take away a brass rubbing of a memorial plate. It
is the marks on the paper that then become important and which need to be
reaffirmed and redefined.
The word “traces” resonates with other titles on this disc:
Dreamarena — our
dreams are often remembered only as fleeting images; Foil-Counterfoil
— the wordplay in the title refers to a receipt (such as the
counterfoils or stubs in a checkbook); Sieve — the sieve leaves
only a trace of that which passed through it.
Finally, you have a tracing of my experience of working with these sounds
to shape the pieces that make up this disc. I hope you enjoy them.
Adrian Moore,
Sheffield [xi-00]
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