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Ebullition (quiet beginning​!​)

from Time Bomb by Helen Bledsoe and Lorelei Dowling

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This track starts quietly! All sounds were originally produced on the contraforte, primarily teeth-on-the-reed sounds. These quiet, ethereal sounds seem to provoke my imaginitive idea of methane ebullition in relation to melting permafrost.

In the arctic, ponds may form on top of permafrost. In the summer, methane gas is released from the melting permafrost bottom and bubbles to the surface. As it grows colder, the water starts to freeze and the bubbles slow and soon are trapped. These bubbles can be a source of surprise or amusement for the bored ice fisher or geologist who bursts one of these bubbles near an open flame!

The process of ebullition is sonified here through "Emit", a Max for Live device created by Dillon Bastan that reads through an audio sample's spectrum at specified angles, not only from left to right as other samplers normally read. By programming a vertical motion from the lower harmonics of the audio sample to its highest, a rising gesture is created. This gesture is at times reduced to its smallest grains, at times a fine melodic line is produced that is further enhanced by a bank of resonators.

Other, ruder, gestures are subject to granulation and other manipulations by way of a modular system with emulated control voltage. These are frightfully unpredictable procedures that render massive changes incurred by minuscule variations in voltage. This is a reflection of our own vulnerabilities: our planetary ecosystem also hangs in a delicate balance that can be easily overthrown.

This can be a stand-alone acousmatic work, or a double reed player may improvise along with additional teeth or ethereal sounds. Flute multiphonics could also be an option.

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from Time Bomb, released July 18, 2021
Helen Bledsoe, concept, electronics
Lorelei Dowling, contraforte

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Helen Bledsoe Cologne, Germany

Playing flute, warping sounds.

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