This work was created from a few field recordings made in and around the Metropolitan Cathedral of Montevideo, Uruguay. Minutes after entering, while recording in place, someone started to play an organ that vibrated in an amazing way and resounded throughout the cathedral, which felt as the instrument itself. So I was inside, feeling a murmur telling me that besides concrete walls, there is a sound framework which is not a separated reality nor is made of a completely different material, but phenomena which despite of asking for its own dimension, doesn't forget to be recognized as integrated in the whole structure of the cosmos.
This caused me a sense of resonance that had not experienced in such way before, an intuition in which I actually relied to compose, seeking to explore that point where not only the sound seems to take its own materiality, but where matter as such, dissolves as sound. This ability sound has for proposing new worlds on one side and simultaneously dissolving them on the other, is fundamental for me when composing. But more than focusing on the temporal aspect of the sonic particles, I wondered about the pure frequencies that occur in time and get recorded as complex macrostructures. Thus, from techniques of granular, spectral processing, I set the task of revealing some simple waves that are inside the depths of complex sounds, trying to question the reality of sonic spaces, properties and events that emerge when pointing to a release of symbolic possibilities, process done by dissolving some content into small harmonic bands, frequency grains and temporary object structures. In this way, any world we associate to sound, can be completely erased and reduced into elements so close to the sine wave, therefore so close to an eternal abyss of diversity, not only in the sense of composing but above all, in the process listening, which is ultimately where infinite universes can sonically arise.
Based in Medellin, Colombia, Miguel is dedicated to philosophy and sound in multiple ways, including composition, performance and research. He co-directs the Éter laboratory besides various research projects aimed to explore diverse territories of sound and listening, with that participating in concerts, publications and educational processes.
His compositional work calls for a silent activity, an attentive listening that is present in the intuitive exploration of the sonic phenomenon, exposing its subtle and textural qualities, especially those present in the perception of time scales, thus generating sonic collages between micro and marco realms which result in a reflection towards morphology, space and emptiness; a process usually done by processing and combining field recordings, found objects/instruments and sine waves.
Also releasing with several labels around the globe like: Eilean records, Monofónicos, Galaverna, Éter lab, Unknown tone records, Dragon's eye recordings and many more...
Artist suggestion:
Do not listen as pointing to some material or object necessarily, but not pointing at all, being at listening itself. My idea of the composition has much to do with the idea that the sound is not so much "product of the world" but more a "producer of world" and in that sense, listening is not about pointing to the sounds but being a silent space in which sounds cultivate worlds, fabulate. The listener has no object, nor subject; neti neti: listening is free.
credits
released April 24, 2016
written, recorded, formed, mixed and mastered by Miguel Isaza.
design and manufacture by Kraft records
artwork photography from digital series "Cada día más nublado" by José Soberanes
Recorded inside a nuclear cooling tower, this 25-minute album is distinguished by innovative sound design and musical ingenuity. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 18, 2020
Bright electronic squiggles and squelches, manipulated vocals, and aqueous ambient synths make up Reptilian Expo's playful sound-world. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 6, 2023
