FRANCISCO LÓPEZ
Untitled (2009)
KARU20
Baskaru 2011
14 Tracks. 121mins24secs

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There are few stranger ways to open a double album of sonic experimentations than by a display of hearty snores, but it is exactly the approach adopted by Francisco López for his latest album, Untitled (2009), with opening piece Untitled #220. Furthermore, he emphasises the effect later on with Untitled #239, during which he plays with his sound source to give it even more prominence. As always with López though, whether these are indeed snores surreptitiously captured, processed field recordings or playful electronics is left to the listener’s imagination.

Over the years, Spanish born Francisco López has built a considerable catalogue of material, released on numerous labels, and he has produced a number of sound installations which have allowed him to expand on his sonic experimentations further and interact with his audience in a more proactive way. Continue Reading »

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Birmingham Sound Matter
AB023
Audiobulb Records 2009
08 Tracks. 65mins53secs

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Over fifty years ago, French composer Pierre Schaeffer, the father of musique concrète, described sound recording as ‘objet sonore’, suggesting that, while documenting a sonic event, it is also one. This is very much the philosophy behind the Sound Matter series of projects orchestrated by Spanish sound artist Francisco López. After Brussels in 2004, Montreal in 2006 and Victoriaville in 2007, López was invited to come to Birmingham and gather a handful of regional sound artists.

The concept behind the Sound Matter projects is pretty simple. Get a few sound artists together, send them to collect sounds from a particular city, let them process them as they see fit. These two sound pools are then a common platform for each of the artists involved to create their own work. Continue Reading »