
Looking for ST,OR-IE;S through audio T(OU;C*H
there was a (human) body with a (plant-like) growing interest in the sounds/vibrations/frequencies of her fingers and hands touching plants; breaking up these experiences into singular sounds and words. There was a lot of experimentation, which was undertaken mostly in a house, in the bathroom and in the basement. These experimentations were recorded and edited in pitch, delay and eq until they were no longer recognizable as their original sounds, nor as words, but became wider, deeper, and longer sounds and, in some cases, shrill and rhythmic. How these sounds were arrived at can be seen and heard in Chapter *, button at the bottom. How these sounds were brought to the gallery space of OT301 in Amsterdam, along with some edited videos, during an improvisation alongside the research of two other students, can be seen and heard in Chapter ((. The complete video documentation is in this last chapter, at the end of the story, or in the middle, depending on how you look at and hear it.
On ce up on a t i me
In working towards a possibly live-stream performance for this submission, I begin by narrowing down the infinite possibilities, platforms and programs which are slowly becoming visible to me, in order to focus on sound. For the "Cutting Through" live-stream performance I did in February, I used OBS to switch in between recorded videos, live webcam, DSLR images, and written text. Throughout I used a wireless microphone to record my voice speaking, which was on throughout the performance. This time, I decided to begin with recording sounds and my speaking voice, editing and adding effects to them, before considering the visual elements. Some relevant questions I asked myself were:
1. How could I make touch audible? Using selected plants from my ongoing inventory, how could I create sound by touching them, what possibilities of touch/pressure/contact are there, and what sounds emerge when leaf touches leaf, skin touches leaf, skin touches skin?
2. Considering that frequencies are sound waves that resonate specific body parts and organs, how could I alter the sounds and voice recordings I'd gathered to resonate/vibrate/touch the listener (me and audience)? What scores could I compose that touche on the parasympathetic nervous system?
3. How could I join both recorded sounds and multi-tracks with live, spoken text in a live performance, yet keep it relatively simple? How much can I do alone as operator/performer, and at what point (and for what exactly) would a technician be necessary?
How to create sounds relating to my research of re/enmeshing plant and human bodies? I'm discovering the possibilities of re/enmeshing, or rather the moment of its happening, amplified; the sound of touch. Taking plants from my inventory, I played with condensor, dynamic microphones, and a wireless microphone intended for voice, put them in the bathroom and in the basement, and explored crinkling leaves, stroking moss, rubbing bark with my hands and my fingernails. I also explored making sounds with my own body, skin to skin, scratching, sliding, brushing. Such quiet sounds were difficult to capture and sometimes the sounds of the room were caught as well, which made it more difficult to add effects in post-production. I also experimented with my voice, letting the air brush against my vocal cords, and the words touch my mouth in speaking them.
Below are very raw, unedited sounds of body (skin, voice) and plant (leaf bark) touchings. To be listened to randomly, incompletely, and preferably with headphones...
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ac;tu.al-ly, rig/ht n'o,w
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