AGF – Source Voice
The LINE SEGMENT series is a series of releases on the LINE label “which will highlight some, perhaps, very non-LINE-like works. Works that stray from the norm…(The LINEnorm, that is, because most music on Line itself definitely strays from ‘the’ norm, too!).
AGF’s “Source Voice“ is the second release in this Line Segment series.
AGF (Antye Greie-Ripatti, born in East-Germany but now living in Finland) has worked for more than a decade “releasing experiments connecting voice, deconstruction of language, perception, and sound processing”.
If her name is new to you, you may have some interesting research to do: she has been working together with artists like Vladislav Delay, Ellen Alien, Gudrun Gut and Eliane Radigue (amongst others),
All sound sources on Source Voice are built from Antye’s voice, but since they are heavily treated and manipulated this is not always very obvious. On this album, only Kaamos is a composition for pure, untreated voice.
“Inspired by the ancient folk practice of yoik, AGF started to imitate and voice along with her surrounding wind and weather. Yoik is a mostly wordless form of singing/vocalization by the Sami tribe of northern Scandinavia and considered one of the longest living music traditions in Europe”
But, as expected, none of these tracks sound like the traditional joiks.
“Source Voice” definitely strays from the joik-norm, too!
Simon Whetham – El Parque Está Situado En Su Propia Casa
“Field Recording” soundscapes come in as many colours as nature itself. Some try to stay as close to the original natural sound as possible (and thus are in fact more archival recordings than compositions), at other times the natural sounds are used and reordered to create a collage-like composition – often created an environment that does not really exist: “Familiar yet otherworldly”.
This (digital-only) release – its title translates as “The Park Is Situated In It’s Own House” – obviously is one of the latter.
The recording on this album is a combination of two different aspects of an installation performance recorded march 2012 at Campos de Gutierrez, Colombia:
“My piece began as a performance on the exhibition’s opening night, using objects and recordings from Campos de Gutierrez. During the performance, and using transducers, I played sounds through an old guitar from Campos de Gutierrez and an oil drum found at Plazarte, both suspended from the ceiling. For the remainder of the month the piece continued to be exhibited in this way, playing subtle sounds captured during the performance and around the residency house through the objects.”
One of the unusual aspects of this 45 minute recording is that the climax appears to be at the beginning. 10 Minutes into the composition you’ll risk being blown away by the sounds of what seems to be a gigantic storm. But from there things get quiet and quieter, allowing you to explore all details of this alienated in-house garden.
[Read Part 1 of the LINE special HERE]