no. 242 | Wind Radio
Sometimes the wind sounds like the space between stations
Wind is the main character of PSO no.242. Recorded on the porch at dusk, the wind creates a space for a guitar improvisation that begins with a simple melody and winds up to a textured chordal finale.
Props out to Mark Menjivar, who has permanently lent me a Sony PCM D100, an OG field recorder made of metal and famous for its low noise floor (no extra noise from the recording mechanism). It translated the hissing wind wonderfully.
It’s been a minute since I have played on the porch with the intention of recording. I forgot how one’s attention to the world is heightened when making a field recording. It’s a kind of embodied meditation.
ATTENTION BUILDING with EAR BUDS
My wireless earbuds have a kind of attention amplifier, and yours might too. If you have an app that controls the noise reduction, you might also have a setting called “transparency.” This boosts the ambient noise of birds and wind and allows you to hear cars while running or riding a bike. You can also listen to music or poetry (or anything on your phone). It makes any recording remarkably present.
I suggest listening to Country Tropics by Old Saw this way on a quiet walk.
LET’S COLLABORATE, IT’S CHILL…
Reach out. Let's make sounds and pictures together.
PSO rule of collaboration is: MUST BE NO STRESS.
Reply to this email or send one to info@porchswingorchestra.org
MOMENTS of LIGHT
Porous Matters at MASS GALLERY in ATX. This is a super smart show of Austin-based and adjacent artists organized by Anahita (Ani) Bradberry that negotiates ideas of the landscape through sculpture, video, and sound installation. You can listen to a guided tour that functions like a sound piece. You can hear Hannah Spector read her poem written for the show accompanied by her synth! I also love Emily Lee’s sculptural, sensitive approach to framing the landscape and the act of performing photography. Also, Anika Todd’s sound piece made on a small boat passing through a lock on the Mississippi River is awesome.
Lorna Simpson Profile in the New Yorker. I saw those meteor paintings in person, and they are totally amazing.
Return home of oldest daughter from college
End of Year BFA Student Art Shows
Chasing the sunset with my youngest daughter and laughing about how silly and gorg it was. This week’s picture is a result of our efforts.
Running while looking for art during the Wildflowers show.
Sterling Allen, detail, along Shoal Creek, part of Wildflowers put on by Northern Southern The Flower Moon and James Evans’ newsletter (you can sign up by sending him an email at jamesh@jameshevans.com).
Trader Joe’s magic Aperol Spritz in a bottle
Trading Gerardo for this drawing he made of me during a run-club run, immortalizing my ill-fitting thrift store Nike running shorts.
Humane Society Cat Trap Lending Library
Mother’s Day Drawings
PSO RADIO: RANDOMLY ACCESSED SOUNDS and SIGHTS
Listen to past PSO pieces served up via a random JavaScript borrowed heavily from PSO collaborator Zuri Waters.
