Toshiya Tsunoda
Scenery of Decalcomania
Naturestrip
NS3003
My sole complaint about this recording is that there are seven tracks, ranging from about five to seventeen minutes instead of its being a seven-disc set, with each of the pieces allowed an hour or so to breathe. Though comprised of, more or less, naturally occurring aural phenomena, these aren’t pure field recordings in a technical sense, as Tsunoda tends to use specific and unusual set-ups to capture his sounds. So, he’ll place small microphones inside a length of U-shaped pipe, in a tiny cavity at the base of a metal cylinder or between thin sheets of copper foil, transmuting the sound vibrations that find their way into these spaces.
Given that so much of the actual input is pre-existent sound, channeled through specific “funnels” but otherwise untampered with, making qualitative evaluations of the final work, as far as Tsunoda’s contribution, perhaps devolves into a simple appreciation for the choices made, both as to the means of recording and which samples (from, one would assume, an enormous library) to issue. In this regard, I think Tsunoda has curated wonderfully. There’s a wide-ranging variety of timbres, high, whistling tones to wooly, low ones, variations in spatial imagery from compressed to expansive, etc. Most of the pieces are relatively steady-state, focused on a particular phenomenon, such as wind passing from a small aperture in a metal handrail, the loose exterior billowing contrasting with but clearly relating to the tightly enclosed keening heard within the tube. Similarly, the piece involving the cylinder cavity contrasts the deep, almost liquid-sounding rushes of air through that tiny space with the chirps and tweets of area birds, unconstrained in an entirely different sonic space. The final work, “Cut Diagonally”, uses voltage gates to cut off sounds beneath certain frequency levels, leaving only the irregular “peaks” and resulting in a fascinating, difficult-to-translate welter of sonic debris that’s strongly reminiscent of some of Xenakis’ electronic explorations.
The exception to this general rule, and the standout track on the disc, is “Ferry Passing”, recorded on a bridge in Kisarazu Bay, Japan, apparently with little in the way of enhancement. It unfurls like a freeform short story, narrative with no preconceived plot, leaving the listener in an anticipatory dither waiting for the next event. The harbor noises, PA announcements, scattered snatches of conversation, chimes, motors, wind and water all provide an extraordinarily rich sound field only heightened by the natural, everyday drama of small events. It’s one of the most rewarding pieces I’ve heard this year and “Scenery of Decalcomania” has been one of my most played discs in recent months, a superb recording.
Check it out at: www.naturestrip.com
~ Brian Olewnick
.................................................. © 2003, 2004 bagatellen ..................................................