During her residency, Natalia is exploring the relationships between landscape and composition, and the patterns of our environment and how they feed into the patterns of the music we create.
"This past summer, as part of the 'Sound Prescription Tests', Willie Stewart set up his drum in a field of Fireweed behind our house. We picked Fireweed flowers and placed them into a bowl of rainwater. Willie played a long cyclical drum piece to the Fireweed Flowers as they infused under the sunshine. After the Fireweed Flower Essence was bottled, Willie placed the bottles beside his drumset in the music room and recorded the drum track that he had written for the Flower Essence"
The search for sound makers to participate in the next part of the experiment began. Each person who replied to Natalia's online call-out was sent a tincture in the post along with Willie's drum track and instructions on how to use the tinctures. Each of the participants are asked to drink the tincture and make a sonic response to it. This can be in the form of a new recording, a remix or layering new sounds directly over Willie's drum piece.
"I have no plan as of yet for what will happen with these tracks. For now, it's just part of the fun of it all. Maybe a compilation can emerge from this? Sure, we'll see!"
Read More about Sound Prescriptions
TESTING: SOUND PRESCRIPTIONS
This past summer & autumn I spent time hanging out with the flowers growing in my townland. I'd visit them frequently while they were in bloom, read about their many attributes & qualities & mimic the experiments that the homoeopath, Edward Bach, did when he developed his 'Flower Remedies'. Simultaneously, I'd think about music and which pieces of music make me feel a certain way. I'd study the patterns of the petals and pair a soundtrack to each flower aligned to its essence and property. Based on this, I made a series of rhythmically infused flower and berry Test Tinctures (Hops in Rainwater)
To create the tinctures, I left flowers to vibrationally charge into rainwater in the sunlight. While they charged, I played the flowers an album of the corresponding music that was chosen to give that tincture a particular therapeutic or remedying function. I choose specific pieces of music to correspond to specific plants. (e.g Playing my favourite Robert Truman record to a crystal bowl of Chamomile & Calendula charging in rainwater)
For example, the percussionist Milford Graves devoted his life to studying rhythms & patterns of human heartbeats. I aligned Graves' music with Hawthorn flowers & berries (known to increase coronary artery blood flow) in an attempt to create an essence to protect and heal the heart.
For several of the tinctures, I invited Willie Stewart to perform a live percussion set to the infusing flowers. He interpreted rhythm patterns based on the properties of the plant.
I made eight test tinctures. These are currently on show at Limerick City Gallery as part of an exhibition curated by artist, Mark Garry, to go alongside his beautiful Songs and the Soil body of work. My pieces are displayed with work by Sound Sweep and Padraig Cunningham as part of a new Test Space initiative by Una and Siobhan at Limerick City Gallery
I'll be sharing more pics/info from this project throughout the week leading up to the 'Finnisage' of the exhibition this Sat.
TESTING: SOUND PRESCRIPTIONS
I made 8 test tinctures. They've been tested on small groups & individuals.
For example, I brought out a speaker and played the 'DOE - Lee Lines - Landscape Mixtape' to Lus buí na ndreancaidí flowers in bloom.
Artist – Track/Album – Flower - Function
Midori Takada – Through The Looking Glass (Side A) – Woundwort – When You Need A Conversation
Milford Graves - Percussion Ensemble – Hawthorn Flowers & Berries Mix – Heart Health/Awakens Your Heart With New Rhythms
Limpe Fuchs - String Stone Weight – Hops – Provides A Brief Hypnotic Respite
Master Musicians Of Joujouka – L'Aita Live – St. John's Wort – Lifts Your Mood Through A Realignment of Your Brain
Willie Stewart – Live In The Field – Fireweed/Rosebay Willowherb - To Navigate Through Fucked Up Situations
Eliane Radigue - Trilogie de la Mort – Self Heal – When You Know You Need Something But Are Unsure Of Where To Start Looking
Robert Turman – Flux - Calendula & Chamomile – To Transmit and Receive Messages During Dreams
DOE - Lee Lines - Landscape Mixtape - Lus buí na ndreancaidí – To Seek Cheerful Company When Feeling Loneliness
Sound Prescriptions Into The Future...
I have invited sound makers to take part in an experiment... We will update you on the project as it progresses throughout 2022