Sounds like garbage: Paddling through an imaginary island of trash toward a new sonic ecology
2014; Volume: 33; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1836-6600
Autores Tópico(s)Diverse Musicological Studies
ResumoIn 2011, American electronic musician James Ferraro released Far Side Virtual, a 'rubbery plastic symphony for global warming, dedicated to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch' (Gibb 2011). Cobbled together with general MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) sounds, abrasive hidef production values, and repetitive melodic gestures, Far Side Virtual beckons the listener to engage with the timbres of environmental consumption. By referencing visual, textual, and virtual aesthetics of corporate computer culture, Ferraro accentuates the ubiquitous sonic branding practices of the digital experience. As the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre circulates in an endless cycle, bits of microplastic converge and diverge in a 5000 square kilometre space. This decentralised concentration of debris does not fit the typical mould of a muse for musical composition. Yet Ferraro's attempt to encapsulate the sonic signifiers of the very gadgets and processes leading to such waste provides a refreshed space for music and environment to engage. This paper positions the elusive, shape-shifting soundscape of Far Side Virtual as a dynamic example of sonic ecology in praxis, both mirroring and sounding out the physical and aural realities of consumption and its complex after effects.Somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean sits an island, or rather, a patch. It is a space of man-made mass proportions and some have estimated it to be twice the size of Texas. It is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) and it looks like this:Contrary to popular belief, the GPGP is not as visible and cohesive as headlines would have us believe. In actuality, microscopic debris is spread throughout a large area of the ocean, making it impossible to view it as a concentrated object for study. Misconceptions have floated in and out of the mediascape since 1997 and myths continue to propagate like the increased amount of insect eggs laid on microplastic (Luanaigh 2010). In order to represent and conceive of ecological disasters it has become standard practice to generalise and simplify for maximum impact. As digital technologies open the floodgates for innumerable creative works to address environmental issues, generic codes affix themselves to representations of nature, constituting a blossoming and profitable eco-disaster entertainment complex.This article will examine the 2011 album Far Side Virtual (FSV) by experimental electronic musician James Ferraro and its rich relationship with the GPGP. By analysing three creative works that engage with the environment, I aim to illuminate the fertile gap that exists for art to intersect with environmental issues in unexpected and productive ways. As the theme of this issue of Social Alternatives takes up the subject of music, politics, and environment, I position FSV as a challenging example of music that reflects, rejects, and reacts to slippery ideas of nature, trash, and a booming industry for the eco-disaster entertainment complex. By calling attention to the ubiquitous sonic infrastructure that permeates consumptive interactions with technology, FSV challenges the listener to not only examine these seemingly insatiable appetites, but the ways in which such behaviours manifest themselves as we engage with environmental issues. As with the GPGP, some disasters often resist commodification, refusing to be boiled down into convenient binaries. After contextualising the GPGP and Ferraro's work in relation to other environmentally engaged works, I will devise alternative readings of sonic ecology as a liberating way of connecting sound, music, and the environment in their multiple forms. I begin by briefly examining the GPGP and its surrounding mythologies.Chasing an imaginary islandThe North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) is an 'area of convergence that accumulates particularly high concentrations of plastic marine debris' (Goldstein et al. 2012). The majority of this debris is called 'microplastic', as it has been split into tiny pieces of 5mm or less. …
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