![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/Photos\/gruen_158_cover.jpg\" "\\"The")
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The glittering thing on the mountain | Rodolphe ALEXIS<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Based in the Okinawa Prefecture and former part of the Yaeyama archipelago and Ryukyus islands, Iriomote-Jima is the most southern island in Japan and 90% of it ground is covered by jungle and mangrove. <\/p>\n This land is home to many local species including insects, frogs and birds, but also flying foxes and the famous leopard cat named Yamaneko, which was only discovered in 1965. <\/p>\n In the spring of 2009, I found myself by chance just a few hours away, by boat, from this last frontier of Japan, but had no means to get there. <\/p>\n This work was produced with the help of the Tropical Biosphere Research Center University of the Ryukyus. It was premiered in the auditorium of the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle, in Paris, and a special piece was derived from it for Touch Radio #104<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Acknowledgments : <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tracklisting<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1 – Cicada of the dusk – 6\u201953 <\/p>\n 2 – The hill was sinking into the night, some frogs were playing the harp – 13\u201948 <\/p>\n 3 – Rice field interlude – 1\u201942 <\/p>\n 4 – Megabats party in the backyard – 7\u201923 <\/p>\n 5 – Morning whispers, Urauchi River – 4\u201942 <\/p>\n 6 – Chatting around midday – 2\u201953 <\/p>\n 7 – Gentle breeze on the forest edge interlude – 1\u201941 <\/p>\n 8 – Early morning for Mudskippers – 3\u201930 <\/p>\n 9 – Night\u2019s Calling – 8\u201926 <\/p>\n MP3<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9 Tracks (48\u203258\u2033) <\/p>\n Recorded in July 2014. <\/p>\n <\/p>\nngg_shortcode_1_placeholder\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photos captions :<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 01 Iriomote detail <\/p>\n All photos : Shin Watanabe <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nowamuzyka’s list of 58 favorite albums of the world – 2016<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Roger Batty | Musique Machine<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n This CD release appears on German label Gruenrekorder-one of the most respected & consistently quality bound field recording\/ sound art label around. As expected from this label, the CD packaging is thoughtful conceived and beautiful illustrated. It takes in a full colour digipak, which on the front takes in a beautiful landscape picture of untouched & dense jungle vista. Also featured is a 12 page inlay booklet- this is also full colour taking in a selection of wildlife pictures, jungle landscapes, overhead shots, and a page of text outline the releases themes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All the recordings featured here where captured in the summer of 2014 on Iriomote-Jima- which is southern most island off the coast of Japan. 90% of the island is covered by jungle and mangrove, and it has never really been inhabited by a large human population- so both the wildlife & their habitat has remained mostly untouched by man.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The recordings where captured by Frenchman Rodolphe Alexis- who is field\/sound recordist, sound artist and designer. He has been releasing\/ creating work since the early 2000\u2019s. And The Glittering Thing On The Mountain is his third full-length release for Gruenrekorder.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The CD features nine tracks & a total running time of fifty one minutes. The nine tracks have running times between one & nearing fourteen minutes. And each track is equal in both its crystal clear recording definition & interesting\/ distinctive sound capture. With Alexis artful managing to cut the recordings at just the right moment, so you get enough of the sounds to fascinate & sooth, yet they never outstay their welcome- which of course is key to a great sound recordist.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The tracks offer up a mix of bird, insect, frog, & bat recordings, with sometimes the backdrop of water recordings appearing from the streams that make their way through the islands greenery. These recordings were captured at different times of day, so you also get the nice mix of type of sound activity in the jungle. From the dense yet subdued simmer of the night-time jungle, through to the bright chirp & awaking of the mourning, on to the more vibrate & chatting interplay of the daytime.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In summing-up The Glittering Thing On The Mountain is another well presented & conceived collection of field recordings from the Gruenrekorder label. It\u2019s a release that mangers to whisk one off on sonically rich & often unique sound journey- that\u2019s both soothing, beautiful and at times quite alien. <\/p>\n Gunter Heidegger | The Sound Projector<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Fulfilling a personal vow in July 2014, Alexis took his recording equipment to Iriomote-Jima, the southernmost island of Japan and a former coal-mining area, where jungle covers 90% of the ground and the Tropical Biosphere Research Centre (and its accompanying roads) is one of the few signs of human presence. Home to many distinctively Japanese species of wildlife including the \u2018famous leopard cat named Yamaneko\u2019 (mountain cat), local legend alludes to the existence a larger feline variant whose eyes are known as \u2018the glittering thing on the mountain\u2019; a phenomenon that lends this CD its name. Which community begat this testimony is not stated, nor is the cat itself scientifically documented, but so equally menacing and mysterious is the image that it was chosen to contextualise Alexis\u2019 document. To my ears however, only the latter aspect is strongly in evidence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which is not to castigate Mr. Alexis, for this is an achievement in itself. An enviable slew of international residencies and a steady stream of soundtrack work for nature documentaries suggest that cohesiveness and reliability are as much Alexis\u2019 stock-in-trade as his modest arsenal of high-end microphones. He is methodical and curious about his environments and what exists beneath the false veneer evident only to the dull and over-gratified human senses. He does not seek to overwhelm, only to portray nature\u2019s beautiful equilibrium as clearly as we might be permitted to appreciate in an appropriately receptive state, and from there to establish the less evident connections with our more \u2018civilised\u2019 realm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thus it appears in the opening chorus of cicadas whirring at dusk, whose electrifying harmony is periodically punctuated by a renegade wave of a more vociferous individuals in the same way that an otherwise serene electric composition can be momentarily uplifted by a distortive event. This feat is not a one off and is repeated by a chorus of brown and tree frogs in the second track; their song overlaid by an owl\u2019s staccato chirping to its young, and reminding that even in environments we might suppose to be \u2018idyllic\u2019, the perennial conflict of interest between mass and individual is maintained at full-strength; each offering the other potential for new and fruitful new directions of development.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it from such balance that our composers and artists draw inspiration? Or do such influences permeate our actions on an unconscious level so that our works exhibit its traits in manifold yet ultimately identifiable ways? And from where has man acquired the notion that he is somehow distinct from these forces?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Such lines of enquiry open to me as I bathe in the steady waves of sound brought about by calm winds, the cawing, twittering avian multitudes, splitting\/sploshing mudskippers, the river\u2019s early morning whispers and even the screeching of a \u2018Megabits party in the backyard\u2019. Indeed, if Alexis\u2019 recordings are to be believed, one might experience a level of enveloping comfort in the early outposts of nature\u2019s own unspoilt territory, and recognise that nature\u2019s equilibrium is our true home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But we know this to be a falsehood: mother nature, while beautiful, is also merciless and even from the other side of the speaker, we must be aware of the level of personal discomfort that Mr. Alexis experienced while capturing these exotic and intriguing recordings. Such is the inherent beauty and mystery of the accompanying photography that we may wish to have accompanied him. And thus we might remember that within us all there lingers a hushed desire to experience life \u2018on the wild side\u2019. <\/p>\n Guillermo Escudero | Loop<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n The Wire Magazine \u2013 Issue 384<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n \u0141ukasz Kom\u0142a | Nowamuzyka.pl<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n To ju\u017c nie pierwsze spotkanie na \u0142amach Nowej Muzyki z tw\u00f3rczo\u015bci\u0105 Rodolphe Alexisa \u2013 w 2014 roku opisywa\u0142em jego album \u201eMorne Diablotins\u201d (Gruenrekorder) b\u0119d\u0105cy zapisem podr\u00f3\u017cy do Parku Narodowego Gwadelupy i Dominiki. Pierwszy raz Alexis wybra\u0142 si\u0119 na Okinaw\u0119 w 2009 roku, ale w\u00f3wczas nie uda\u0142o mu si\u0119 poby\u0107 tam d\u0142u\u017cej. Latem 2014 roku Francus zaopatrzony w rejestrator i mikrofony czterokana\u0142owe wyruszy\u0142 w g\u0142\u0105b wysp Ryukyus i Iriomote-Jima wchodz\u0105cych w sk\u0142ad archipelagu Yaeyama. W efekcie powsta\u0142 materia\u0142 na p\u0142yt\u0119 \u201eThe glittering thing on the mountain\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Je\u015bli dok\u0142adniej przyjrzymy si\u0119 tej krainie, to okazuje si\u0119, \u017ce to miejsce zas\u0142uguje na szczeg\u00f3ln\u0105 uwag\u0119. W 90 procentach wyspy pokryte s\u0105 przez d\u017cungl\u0119 i lasy namorzynowe. Nawet w trakcie kr\u00f3tkiego okresu wydobycia w\u0119gla, wyspy nigdy nie by\u0142y zamieszkane przez du\u017c\u0105 liczb\u0119 ludno\u015bci, g\u0142\u00f3wnie z powodu malarii, dzi\u0119ki czemu spora cz\u0119\u015b\u0107 \u015brodowiska naturalnego zosta\u0142a dobrze zachowana. Ten obszar zamieszkuj\u0105 wyj\u0105tkowe gatunki ptak\u00f3w, \u017cab, owad\u00f3w (ogromne cykady, kt\u00f3re s\u0142yszymy we fragmencie \u201eCicada of the dusk\u201d) i lataj\u0105cych lis\u00f3w. Mo\u017cna te\u017c spotka\u0107 kota leoparda Yamaneko (wygl\u0105da tak), kt\u00f3rego odkryto dopiero w 1965 roku, jest on pod szczeg\u00f3ln\u0105 ochron\u0105. Miejscowe legendy m\u00f3wi\u0105, \u017ce niegdy\u015b wysp\u0119 zamieszkiwa\u0142 tajemniczy wielki kot i rzekomo by\u0142 znacznie wi\u0119kszy ni\u017c Yamaneko. Niekt\u00f3rzy twierdz\u0105 nawet, \u017ce ta istota nadal istnieje.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hipnotyzuj\u0105cy krajobraz d\u017awi\u0119kowy (zar\u00f3wno w ci\u0105gu dnia i nocy) Okinawy, jaki zarejestrowa\u0142 na \u201eThe glittering thing on the mountains\u201d Rodolphe Alexis, rozmontowuje w naszej g\u0142owie stereotypy na temat tego zak\u0105tka \u015bwiata, bowiem jego wielowarstwowo\u015b\u0107 zaskakuje pod ka\u017cdym wzgl\u0119dem. <\/p>\n textura<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Alexis artfully weaves the elements into an effective, nine-part composition that alludes to a narrative without imposing one in concrete terms. \u201cCicada of the dusk\u201d makes for an effective scene-setter when rattlesnake-like thrum evokes the image of a dense forest teeming with insects and other life-forms. Following without interruption, \u201cThe hill was sinking into the night, some frogs were playing the harp\u201d documents the sounds, vocal and otherwise, produced by various frogs and owls and their chicks. At various places on the recording, the low- and high-pitched vocal cries of Emerald doves, Ryukyu jungle crows, White-breasted waterhens, Brown-eared bulbuls, Eiffinger tree frogs, and Ruddy kingfishers intermingle, their different positioning\u2014some close by and some far away\u2014enhancing the impression of stereophonic space. Elsewhere, the air, seemingly thick with fog and mist, is filled with the croak of the Sakishima rice frog and piercing, near-violent screech of the bat-like flying fox. Spanning morning, noon, and night, veritable orgies of conversational to-and-fro occur throughout.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For those unfamiliar with the region and its inhabitants (most of us, no doubt), an accompanying colour booklet provides helpful insight in presenting photographs of the island’s various species. Needless to say, The glittering thing on the mountain is the kind of recording ideally played on a high-quality surround-sound system at high volume and experienced with the lights low. Under such conditions, one might begin to imagine oneself transplanted to the island itself and enveloped by its abundance of animal and insect sounds. <\/p>\n Richard Allen | a closer listen<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n The title comes from a legend of a large cat whose eyes could be seen at night. Neither proven nor disproven, the presence of this cat looms over the island. Is it the island\u2019s protector? Is this why the island has escaped the corroding presence of man? It\u2019s a great legend, and one imagines this benign presence watching over its younger cousin the leopard cat, as well as the flying foxes, rice frogs and scope owls, most of which have their position in the mix. While Alexis missed recording the cats, this is probably a good thing. Who knows if they might have been interested in a new menu item?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He does capture the sounds of the emerald dove, ruddy kingfisher, Japanese white-eye, and numerous frogs and other birds. Cicadas are a soft, frequent presence. The \u201cending chorus\u201d of the Sakishima rice frog in \u201cRice field interlude\u201d provides an early highlight, followed swiftly by \u201cMegabat party in the backyard\u201d (also known as the flying fox, this megabat family is training its young). The temptation to anthropomorphize is extreme, yet forgivable; what human being hasn\u2019t seen at least a pale reflection in the rest of the animal kingdom? In fact, one may envy these creatures, so free to be themselves, unencumbered by outside forces or existential crises. They certainly seem to be having fun. And if the single rice frog is indeed lonely, as Alexis suggests, perhaps we can empathize with him; if we were his size, maybe we too would hop into the secluded safety of a water pipe and cry in protest.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Empathy aside, to listen to this album is to feel a sense of centeredness. These are not our fields, but they may remind us of the fields of our past. These are not our shores, but they may conjure the same nostalgia and yearning. These places do exist. We don\u2019t need to visit Irio-mote Jima to find them. But what a beautiful prompt. <\/p>\n Frans de Waard | VITAL WEEKLY<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n Holger Adam | testcard #25: Kritik<\/a> <\/strong> <\/p>\n RODOLPHE ALEXIS entf\u00fchrt mit The Glittering Thing On The Mountain erneut auf ferne tropische Inseln, wo V\u00f6gel wie Synthesizer klingen und mitunter auch b\u00fchnentaugliche The glittering thing on the mountain | Rodolphe ALEXIS Gruen 158 | Audio CD (+ Multichannel Digital) > [Sold Out] Field recordings from Japan\u2019s last frontier Iriomote Jima Reviews Based in the Okinawa Prefecture and former part of the Yaeyama archipelago and Ryukyus islands, Iriomote-Jima is the most southern island in Japan and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-14303","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14303"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20210,"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/14303\/revisions\/20210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gruenrekorder.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGruen 158 | Audio CD (+ Multichannel Digital) > [Sold Out<\/span>]
\nField recordings from Japan\u2019s last frontier Iriomote Jima<\/strong>
\nReviews<\/a><\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n
\nEven during its short period of coal mining, the island was never inhabited by a large human population, mainly because of Malaria, as a result its natural environment and wildlife were preserved. Malaria- free, Iriomote was only returned to Japan by the US in 1972.<\/p>\n
\nA local legend says another mysterious big cat allegedly lived on the island and was much larger than the Yamaneko. At night, his eyes were said to be the glittering thing on the mountain or Yamapikary\u0101. Some people even claim this creature still exists.<\/p>\n
\nI promised myself to return there, even for short span, but with my recording equipment. This finally became possible in the summer of 2014 and I went there with a four-channel microphone setup.<\/p>\n
\nDinhaBird, Yuko & Sam Bird, Yoko Fukushima, Mike Harding, Beno\u00eet Hick\u00e9, Trevor Jones, Takafusa Morimoto, Fran\u00e7ois Vaillant, Val\u00e9rie Vivancos, Shin Watanabe<\/p>\n
\n
\nfeat. Taiwan higurashi (Pomponia yayeyamana) and megabat\u2019s wings.<\/p>\n
\nfeat. rubber sounds of Harpist brown frog (Rana psaltes), Eiffinger tree frog (Kurixalus effingeri), Ry\u016bky\u016b scops owl (Otus elegans) including adults
\nsongs and the calls of their chicks perched nearby.
\nMP3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nfeat. ending chorus of Sakishima rice frog (Ferjervarya sakishimensis).<\/p>\n
\nfeat. Ry\u016bky\u016b flying foxes (Pteropus dasymallus) training their youngs around a tree, then lonely calls of a Sakishima rice frog resonates in a water
\npipe.
\nMP3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nfeat. Emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica) in the background, noisy high-pitched cries of Brown-eared bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) and liquid
\nechoes of Ruddy kingfishers (Halcyon coromanda bangsi).
\nMP3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nfeat. Ry\u016bky\u016b green-pigeon (Treron permagnus) in the background and Ry\u016bky\u016b jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos connectens) conversations.<\/p>\n
\nfeat. Ry\u016bky\u016b green-pigeon and Ry\u016bky\u016b crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela perplexus).
\nMP3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nfeat. morning chat of White-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus), and tiny song of Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus loochooensis),
\nand a cicada (Platypleura kaempferi) in the background.<\/p>\n
\nfeat. Northern boobook (Ninox japonica), Ry\u016bky\u016b scops owl, high pitched sounds \u2018maracas-like\u2019 of Eiffinger tree frog, Ry\u016bky\u016b scops owl, Ry\u016bky\u016b
\nkajika frog (Buegeria japonica) and the repetitive calls of White-breasted waterhen.
\nMP3<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCD (500 copies) + Multichannel Digital<\/p>\n
\nEdit, Mastering, Artwork : Rodolphe Alexis
\nMultichannel Digital : This track is a special edit of Iriomote’s ambiances recorded with a quadraphonic „IRT cross“ setup. The best configuration to listen to it, is to reproduce a square with speakers in each corner of your room with in between each of them an angle of at 90\u00b0.
\nField Recording Series by Gruenrekorder
\nGermany \/ 2015 \/ Gruen 158 \/ LC 09488 \/ SACEM \/ EAN 4050486946787<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n02 Ruddy kingfisher
\n03 Fruts For Bats
\n04 Ryukyu scops owl
\n05 Ryukyu flying fox
\n06 Iriomote detail
\n07 Barred Mudskipper
\n08 Japanese white eye
\n09 Sakishima rice frog
\n10 Urauchi River
\n11 Ryukyu green pigeon
\n12 Iriomote detail
\n13 Ryukyu flying fox
\n14 Barred Mudskipper
\n15 Emerald dove
\n16 Cryptotympana yayeyamana
\n17 Biological research station
\n18 Quadraphonic setup<\/p>\n
\nexcept 02, 07,12, 16, 17 : Rodolphe Alexis<\/p>\n
\n
\nAmong these:
\n– Mikel R. Nieto \u2013 \u201eDark Sound\u201d (Gruenrekorder)
\n– Rodolphe Alexis \u2013 \u201eThe glittering thing on the mountain\u201d (Gruenrekorder)<\/p>\n
\nThe Glittering Thing On The Mountain brings together a selection of fascinating, beautifully recorded, and varied field recordings made in one of the more remote & untouched jungles of Japan.<\/p>\n
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThe work of French-speaking sound artist Rodolphe Alexis has been previously documented in The Sound Projector; his contribution to the duo OttoannA\u2019s \u2018cohesive and varied \u2013 if hardly electrifying \u2013 sound-art soup\u2019 Federated States of Micronesia provided our reviewer<\/a> with some diverting hours of listening. However, while the many field recordings under his name remain largely unknown to us, little guesswork is needed to form an idea of his product, so long as this captivating natural survey is representative.<\/p>\n
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nThis is the third work on the German Gruenrekorder imprint [\u2018Sempervirent\u2019, 2012 and \u201cMorne Diablotins\u201d, 2014] of Rodolphe Alexis, sound artist and French designer who lives and works in Paris. His work is based on field recordings, electroacoustic composition, radio parts and specific sites for installations or presentations.
\nIn 2009 Alexis was a few hours away by boat from the southernmost island of Japan, Iriomote-Jima, part of Okinawa Prefecture and former part of Yaeyama archipelago and Ryukyus Islands. At that time he didn\u2019t have no means to get there, therefore promises to come back.
\nIn 2014 he went there with a four-channel microphone setup.
\nIn this island live many species, including insects, frogs and birds, but flying bats and the famous leopard cat named Yamaneko, which was only discovered in 1965.
\n90% of the island is covered by jungle and mangroves and in this environment in summer season, Alexis pointed his microphone to pick up a huge variety of insects, birds, frogs and reptiles that emit their songs and sound activity in this wild life.
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nIriomote Jima is Japan\u2019s most southerly island, a dense jungle far from the mainland that might resemble paradise, were it not for the malaria that kept extensive human settlement at bay. Human absence means a thriving ecosystem, much of which may remain undiscovered. That one of its largest inhabitants is a leopard cat known as the yamaneko was only discovered in 1965. But the CD\u2019s title refers to the myth of even larger beasts dwelling in Iriomote Jima\u2019s undergrowth. When Parisian sound recordist Rodolphe Alexis visited the island in 2014 with a four-channel microphone set-up, he captured nine tracks of natural ambience and unusual nature, ranging from the chirruping choruses of a rice frog to the cry of the brown-eared bulbul. The Glittering Thing On The Mountain is as close as you can get to a pure document of nature, untouched and untamed.<\/p>\n
\nFrancuski artysta postanowi\u0142 wr\u00f3ci\u0107 na Okinaw\u0119 i uwieczni\u0107 odg\u0142osy tamtejszej przyrody.<\/p>\n
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nPositioning itself firmly within the field recordings genre, Rodolphe Alexis’s The glittering thing on the mountain presents an immersive, fifty-one-minute sound portrait of Iriomote-Jima. This southernmost island of Japan is almost entirely covered by jungle and mangrove, and as a result the largely human-free locale is home to a plenitude of insects, frogs, birds, flying foxes, and even a famous leopard cat called the Yamaneko. The recording itself came about rather serendipitously for Alexis (b. 1975), a sound recordist and designer with a particular interest in electroacoustic composition, site-specific installations, and the impact of human activity on the environment. When he found himself in the spring of 2009 in close proximity to this remote part of Japan, he vowed he would someday return with recording equipment, which he did in 2014. Armed with a four-channel microphone setup, he explored the region, collected recordings, and subsequently assembled the material into its presented form.<\/p>\n
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAfter reviewing Gruenrekorder\u2019s oppressive yet vastly alluring Landscapes of Fear, it\u2019s a pleasure to receive its polar opposite. Rodolphe Alexis\u2019 The glittering thing on the mountain is a soothing reminder of the world\u2019s unsullied places, where rivers flow, birds sing, and sunlight glimmers in the mangroves. Subtitled Field Recordings from Japan\u2019s last frontier, the hour-long set conveys the soundscape of Japan\u2019s southernmost island, Iriomote-Jima. As the island was never fully occupied by human beings, its soundscape remains virtually pristine, as the artist discovered last summer.<\/p>\n
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nWhile listening to this release of recordings made at Iriomote-Jima, the most southern island in Japan, there is a storm outside the VWHQ. It’s cold, very windy and it rains from time to time. So it’s a bit odd hearing these recordings from a place where ‚90% of it ground is covered by jungle and mangrove‘ and an island that never had many people living on it. An island with insects, frogs, birds, flying foxes and ‚the famous leopard cat named Yamaneko, which was only discovered in 1965‘, as well as ‚another mysterious big cat allegedly lived on the island and was much larger than the Yamaneko. At night, his eyes were said to be the glittering thing on the mountain or Yamapikary\u0101. Some people even claim this creature still exists‘, so you have an idea where Rodolphe Alexis got his title from. Alexis had a bunch of previous releases on Gruenrekorder solely filled with field recordings (see Vital Weekly 837 and 909), but also works with musicians, such as Valerie Vivancos (as Ottoanna, see Vital Weekly 964) and saxophone player Stephane Rives (see Vital Weekly 936), but this one is strict field recordings again. It is quite a fascinating recording of birdcall, chirping insects adding drone like sounds from a higher pitched perspective. The recordings from day- and nighttime sound absolutely great: lots of small details are uncovered here and make a cold and chilly November all sunny again. (FdW)
\nlink<\/a><\/p>\n
\nDraussen vor der T\u00fcr: Field-Recordings und Sound-Art von Gruenrekorder
\nIn der letzten Gruenrekorder-Kolumne war ja bereits die Rede davon, dass man ziemlich herum kommt mit den Ohren, wenn man sich mit den CDs des Labels besch\u00e4ftigt, und das war nat\u00fcrlich ausschlie\u00dflich positiv gemeint. Die Aufnahmen, die Gruenrekorder ver\u00f6ffentlicht, werden ansprechend pr\u00e4sentiert und sind ein Abenteuer f\u00fcr die Ohren. So auch dieses Mal. <\/p>\n
\nNamen wie Ruddy Kingfisher tragen! Es zirpt Tag und Nacht, und noch viele andere Ger\u00e4usche dringen aus dem Urwald ans Ohr. Wie immer atemberaubend, spannend und entspannend. Noch relaxter geht es bei HAFIS BJARNAD\u00d3TTIR zu, deren Sounds Of Iceland \u00fcberraschend reduziert r\u00fcberkommen. Es pl\u00e4tschert, taut, blubbert, rauscht und kocht\u00a0– je nachdem ob das Mikrophon vor B\u00e4che, Gletscher, hei\u00dfe Quellen, Wasserf\u00e4lle oder Lavastr\u00f6me gehalten wurde. Wasser, Gezeiten, Naturgewalten und gigantische Naturschauspiele, die \u00fcberraschend intime Sounds generieren. Trotzdem wird es beizeiten recht kalt oder hei\u00df gewesen sein, wobei es sich in angemessener Funktionskleidung sicher neben dem Mikrophon hat aushalten lassen. Die Aufnahmen selbst machen wenig fr\u00f6steln, im Gegenteil, sie w\u00e4rmen eher\u00a0– auch wenn einem der Wind um die Ohren bzw. aus den Kopfh\u00f6rern pfeift. Gro\u00dfes Kopfkino liefert auch, man mag es nicht meinen, der Rhein. Es muss nicht immer Island sein, Karlsruhe hat es auch in sich. Das Duo RHEIN _ STROM bestehend aus Lasse-Marc Riek (Aufnahmen) und Thomas M. Siefert (Location Scout), dokumentiert den Klang des Rheines und seiner nahen Umgebung Von der Rheinquelle bis Hafen Karlsruhe auf der ebenso benannten CD. Das sind ein paar Hundert Kilometer, festgehalten in 21 Ausschnitten. Und\u00a0– im Unterschied zur zivilisationsfernen Wildnis einer tropischen Insel oder der relativen Unber\u00fchrtheit Islands\u00a0– um den Rhein herum menschelt es, Flugzeuge \u00fcberfliegen den Fluss und Schiffe befahren ihn, Autos und Z\u00fcge begleiten ihn. Auch das h\u00f6rt man. Und so stellt das Booklet zur CD die Frage: \u00bbWie k\u00f6nnen wir als heutige Menschen zu diesem Fluss in Beziehung treten, ohne in der Begegnung mit seiner an manchen Stellen erhaltenen Sch\u00f6nheit wieder einem Romantizismus zu verfallen bzw. im Konfrontiertsein mit den irreparablen Eingriffen sich frustriert und desillusioniert abzuwenden?\u00ab Eine Audio-Aufnahme des Flusses und seiner nicht nur nat\u00fcrlichen Ger\u00e4uschkulisse mag da einen weniger voreingenommenen Zugang gew\u00e4hren. Der Rhein als Fluss und von Mensch und Maschine geformte und genutzte Ressource klingt hier und da wie eine elektro-akustische Komposition (im Hafen Karlsruhe etwa, wenn sich unter Wasser aufgenommene Schifffahrtsger\u00e4usche in der Aufnahme wiederfinden). Das klingt alles recht spannend und wirft anregende mithin schwerwiegende Fragen auf, die nach Umweltschutz beispielsweise. Eine \u00f6kologische Frage, auch f\u00fcr die Ohren. Was muss man nicht alles h\u00f6ren, tagein tagaus! Und was will man nicht h\u00f6ren bzw. was h\u00f6rt man \u00fcberhaupt, wenn es zirpt und raschelt? So harmlos geht es nicht zu, so unber\u00fchrt ist die Natur nicht. Wie (drohende) Umweltverschmutzung als Field-Recording klingt, diese Erfahrung kann man sich am Beispiel von MIKEL R. NIETO und seinem Dark Sound eindr\u00fccklich vor Augen bzw. Ohren f\u00fchren. Die Aufnahmen kommen zusammen mit einem pechschwarzen Buch und dokumentieren Naturaufnahmen aus dem Yasuni-Nationalpark in Equador, dessen indigene Bev\u00f6lkerung und tierischer Artenreichtum durch Bohrungen nach einem \u00d6lvorkommen tief unter dem Naturschutzgebiet nicht mehr nur bedroht ist\u00a0– die Zerst\u00f6rung und Vertreibung ist bereits in vollem Gange. So stellt sich beim Zuh\u00f6ren die Frage, ob der Tropenregen schon auf aufgew\u00fchlte Erde f\u00e4llt, die von Roh\u00f6l verschmutzt ist, und es knattern auch die F\u00f6rdermaschinen auf der CD, die dem schwarzen Buch beigelegt ist. Man k\u00f6nnte fragen, ob nicht mit dem schwarzen Buch (schwarzer Druck auf schwarzem Papier) der p\u00e4dagogische Holzhammer herausgeholt wurde\u00a0– andererseits entspricht das schwarze, beinahe unlesbare Buch in seinem Aussehen den \u00f6lverklebten V\u00f6geln und Meerestieren, deren Bilder in Europa noch am ehesten mit \u00d6lkatastrophen assoziiert werden, und insofern ist die Aufmachung genau passend. Dark Sound zeigt eindr\u00fccklich die politische und unbequeme Seite dessen, was Field-Recordings auch sein k\u00f6nnen. \u00c4hnlich unheimlich auch die Aufnahmen von CHRISTINA KUBISCH \/ ECKEHARD G\u00dcTHER , die auf Unter Grund Grubenwasser zu Geh\u00f6r bringen, das sich in stillgelegten Untertagebausch\u00e4chten sammelt und dort abgepumpt und umgeleitet werden muss, damit es das Trinkwasser in der Region nicht verunreinigt und den Grundwasserspiegel nicht derart anhebt, dass sich das Ruhrgebiet mit der Zeit in \u00bbeine riesige Sumpflandschaft\u00ab (so ein Zitat aus dem Beiheft zur CD) verwandelt. Langzeitfolgen des Kohlebergbaus, gruselig, hier nachzuh\u00f6ren. Verlassen wir diesen Horror und wenden uns noch kurz der Field-Recording basierten Klangkunst und Musik zu. KG AUGENSTERN sind per Kanalschifffahrt von Berlin bis Maguelone am Mittelmeer gelangt. Das scheint zu gehen und\u00a0sie haben auf Tentacles ein Klangexperiment festgehalten, das sich wie folgt erkl\u00e4ren l\u00e4sst: Lange Stangen auf dem Kahn kitzelten bei jeder Durchfahrt unter einer Br\u00fccke deren Eisenkonstruktion und der dabei entstehende jeweils spezifische Sound wurde festgehalten und im Rahmen von Klanginstallationen in diversen Museen zug\u00e4nglich gemacht. Das klingt aufwendig und phantasievoll, es scheppert auch ordentlich, aber auf der Reise stelle ich mir das Spektakel interessanter vor, als das konservierte Ergebnis klingt. Das je eigene Klangprofil der Br\u00fccken, von dem KG Augenstern im Booklet zur CD schreiben, es kommt nicht so recht r\u00fcber. Kommen wir zu DAVID ROTHENBERG \/ KORHAN EREL. Rothenberg hat ja schon mit Zikaden musiziert, und auf Berlin B\u00fclb\u00fcl spielt er zu Field-Recordings von Nachtigallen Klarinette. Das ist nach all dem Rauschen und den \u00f6kologisch katastrophalen Perspektiven je nach Geschmack l\u00e4ppisch oder erholsam. Es ist beides, lang lebe der Zwiespalt. Ganz unzweideutig Nerven zerfetzend ist das Ergebnis von CLUB BLEU , die auf Dark- Asian- Energy Field-Recordings der Stadt Singapur elektronisch erg\u00e4nzen, verfremden und bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verzerren. Heraus kommt dabei ein elektro-akustischer H\u00f6llenritt. Mir zu stressig, aber m\u00f6glicherweise hervorragend geeignet, morgens statt mit Kaffee mit dieser Musik in die G\u00e4nge zu kommen. Lieber greife ich abschlie\u00dfend zu Sonic Drawings von ROLAND ETZIN , die CD liefert auch nicht gerade Easy-Listening, aber das Soundmaterial ist weniger chaotisch organisiert. Etzin kombiniert Field-Recordings unterschiedlicher Herkunft und verfremdet sie ebenfalls elektronisch. Das geht, um es mal etwas flapsig zu formulieren, bei ihm eher in Richtung Nurse With Wound und nicht\u00a0– wie bei Club Bleu\u00a0– in Richtung Atari Teenage Riot. Das mal als lahmer Vergleich zum Abschluss.
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