Alumina (1998)
Tape
The sounds of construction and destruction that inhabit the urban landscape can reveal subtler, more delicate expressions if we choose to listen hard enough.
Alumina explores and exploits the dichotomies inscribed between the beautiful and the ugly in sound, between the 'raw' sound (le cru) and the 'processed' sound (le cuit), and between different states of energy (volatility and stasis). But under the surface sheen of these objets sonores, there is a sense of something trying to communicate with us. There is a certain emotiveness present — a tone of voice, if you like — if not actually meaning, per se.
As listeners, we want to let the sounds speak to us.
Audio extract: (116k: Requires Quicktime Plug-in)