Exploding in layers of voice, cello, piano, and the sounds of objects, "EXPLORATIONS of EXTRACTION and DECAY," a new work by Merlin Coleman, offers an eccentric cycle of stories, songs, and sculpted soundscapes forming a non-linear meditation on hoarding, excess, and remains.
"My work explores the uniquely human practice of extracting resources from the earth and disposing undesirables back into it," Coleman says. The piece stacks, embeds, loops, and layers her voice with cello, piano, the sounds of objects and nature, and recorded interviews of local activists, artists, ecologists, small business owners, garbage collectors, neighbors, administrative personnel, and government officials commenting on the practices of landfills and quarrying. Interviews focus on issues around a proposed quarry five miles west of Cotati, on Roblar Road, in rural Sonoma County, near where she resides.
Featured artists at Audium are offered a unique opportunity to explore sound movement, texture, and spatialization within our one-of-a-kind, pitch-black 176-speaker space. Unlike any other theater in the world, Audium is an instrument, where sound and music is moved by the artist in real time. Originally conceived for quadraphonic surround sound, Merlin Coleman has re-designed and re-sequenced her original recordings to take advantage of Audium's system.
Coleman notes, "I have always thought of this work in spatial terms, that an audience member can feel they are living, for a short time, directly inside of the worlds created. This is integral to the intention of the work and thus makes it a particularly good fit for the instrument of Audium."
Exploding in layers of voice, cello, piano, and the sounds of objects, "EXPLORATIONS of EXTRACTION and DECAY," a new work by Merlin Coleman, offers an eccentric cycle of stories, songs, and sculpted soundscapes forming a non-linear meditation on hoarding, excess, and remains.
"My work explores the uniquely human practice of extracting resources from the earth and disposing undesirables back into it," Coleman says. The piece stacks, embeds, loops, and layers her voice with cello, piano, the sounds of objects and nature, and recorded interviews of local activists, artists, ecologists, small business owners, garbage collectors, neighbors, administrative personnel, and government officials commenting on the practices of landfills and quarrying. Interviews focus on issues around a proposed quarry five miles west of Cotati, on Roblar Road, in rural Sonoma County, near where she resides.
Featured artists at Audium are offered a unique opportunity to explore sound movement, texture, and spatialization within our one-of-a-kind, pitch-black 176-speaker space. Unlike any other theater in the world, Audium is an instrument, where sound and music is moved by the artist in real time. Originally conceived for quadraphonic surround sound, Merlin Coleman has re-designed and re-sequenced her original recordings to take advantage of Audium's system.
Coleman notes, "I have always thought of this work in spatial terms, that an audience member can feel they are living, for a short time, directly inside of the worlds created. This is integral to the intention of the work and thus makes it a particularly good fit for the instrument of Audium."
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