Thomas Gerwin — 6 Aphorisms (1998 - 2:14)

Analysis by Matthew Kober

Quite possibly the companion piece of Pascal Trudel's "Ce N'est Pas Ici", this piece is a succession of six soundscapes placed in delicate juxtaposition. More vignette-like than aphoristic, the clips transport the listener to a wide variety of acoustical space. Predominantly recognizable as outdoor recordings only the final "aphorism" is identifiably recorded indoors. The shifts between sections are bracketed (or "framed") by silence, usually in 4-5 second chunks. There is a pleasing sense of mystery that sits well with a lack of abstraction; although one can identify most of the sound sources, they retain an element of the unknown through the intimate "there-ness" of the selections. The sound of asian voice on a c.b. radio over a motor. We can identify it immediately, but one wonders "Where are we? What's going to happen? Are we going somewhere?". A delicate and subtle sense of drama pervades.

00:00 to 00:46

A ping-pong ball drops (or two petanque balls click together). A mans voice comments in obvious good humour. An animal, possibly a horse, snorts loudly. Bike brakes squeek, followed by the ticking of the turning wheels. A train-like whistle sounds, but too "small" sounding to be a real train. A children's train? Suddenly, birds… followed closely by churchbells clanging brightly. A manic, xylophone-esque sound fades in, then passes. The soundscapes becomes briefly mushy, indistinct. A crow is heard to caw, then fade out…

00:46 to 00:49

Silence.

00:49 to 00:59

A low frequency hum, high in relative amplitude. Two asian voices converse via CB. One is "present", the other on radio.

00:59 to 01:04

Silence

01:04 to 01:20

A solitary wave on a solitary beach. A distinctive sound of pebbles washing and slishing on the shore leaves one feeling thirsty, craving a soda. (powerful sound-suggestion)

01:20 to 01:31

Midway sounds (toy guns firing?). A baby cries out. A distant churchbell rings.

01:31 to 01:57

A loud clamour, like a door opening or shutting, followed by the hollow sound of footsteps in a hallway. One gets a sense of the dimensions and construction of the space by the thick amounts of reverb. A faint mid-range tonal glimmer is heard, evoking a concert hall with a few musicians tuning up inside.

01:57 to 02:03

Silence

02:03 to 02:14

An "indoor" sound, we hear what sounds like electric crickets in an electronic pet store. A woman says "Ca ce recharge tout ceul?", and after a pause.. "Voila."