A New Place

IV - Convex Mirror

An immersive sound collage of field recordings from a trip to Nepal; an atmospheric soundscape of bells & dogs from Pokhara; sounds from a Kathmandu horror house amusement park; and radio captures from the rooftop of the world.

TRACKLIST
A Long, Strange Trip to Nepal – Alex Dickey
Pokhara Dogs - Harmika yab-yum: Folk sounds from Nepal (Robert Millis, Sublime Frequencies)
Excerpts from Bhoot Ghar- Sounds Of The Kathmandu Horror House (Aaron Dilloway, Hanson Records)
Lips Like This – Radio Captures from Nepal – Alex Dickey

TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE ROOFTOP OF THE WORLD

Ceratopogonidae Otoacoustique

Through the Interface (2025) for violin, violoncello, and fixed media

Strings&Noise
Sophia Goidinger-Koch, Violin
Barbara Riccabona, Violoncello

Sound direction: Georg Zichy
Audio: Georg Zichy

Live recording from Alte Schmiede, Vienna
Date: 02.11.2025

Through the Interface (2025) | Strings&Noise

A deep dive into the hypnotic, fuzzy distortions of Bantu sonic cosmology, including Luba drums (mukupele) & xylophones (madimba) and Bazombo electrified likembé (thumb piano) music.

The Luba and other ethnic groups in the region play drums and xylophones made of tuned wooden bars supported on a frame, with calabash gourds attached underneath as resonators. The mirlitons (buzzing membranes) inside the gourds add a characteristic nasal buzz to the sound. The mirliton is created by drilling a small hole in the side of each calabash and inserting a short hollow tube or rod. Inside this tube, a thin, translucent film, harvested from the egg sac (or "nest") of the ntanda nkumbidi spider, is affixed. This spider silk membrane vibrates when the bars are struck, producing the buzzing effect. The electrified likembé is a modern variation of the same aesthetic. Buzzing timbres are used to enhance and accentuate the rhythms, create "ghost melodies" and disguise or distort sounds to embody otherworldly presences during rituals, masquerades, or funerals.


THE BUZZ IN BANTU SONIC COSMOLOGY

[This work is currently on view in the ‘Future Continuous’ show in Kunsthaus Hamburg as part of Sohorab Rabbey’s installation ‘Deep Down the Elbe, Up above the Teesta’ (2025)]

One of the striking artistic encounters I was privileged to have at the Künstlerdorf Schöppingen in the summer of 2025 was with the work of the Bangladeshi artist Sohorab Rabbey. His presentation—centered largely around the framework of “hydrotrauma”, or the “psycho-physical hazard” faced by the indigenous communities in the Bengal Delta—was deeply moving. It reminded me that, in my subconscious, water has always held a strong and at times troubling presence, even if I may hear the term hydrotrauma differently than Rabbey.

I was immediately reminded of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011, followed by the Fukushima nuclear accident. At the time I was in New York, still a doctoral student at Columbia University, feeling incredibly powerless as I was glued to the livestream footage on the internet. I also thought of the powerful orchestral triptych Maim (Water) by Chaya Czernowin, which in part evokes memory deeply gashed by the trauma of September 11, 2001. Of course, there is also another aspect of water: the possibility of peaceful cohabitation with human beings. I explored this idea in another electronic work I created at Künstlerdorf Schöppingen, Tea Ceremony with Grains (Homage to Imane Zoubai). Having been asked by Rabbey to contribute a sound piece to be placed in dialogue with works by other artists, it felt natural for me to return to the concerns of Rabbey’s hydrotrauma.

Of the sound files Rabbey sent, I used only two: “River waters loop.mp3” and “Hydrophone Underwater Gargle Bubbling Ringing wav.wav.” The result is essentially a sound sculpture in which the sound of the river is revealed and then concealed over the span of eleven minutes. Throughout this process, the underwater hydrophone recording offers commentary. I was reminded of a YouTube video I watched not long ago, in which a newscaster explores the riverhead of the Tone River deep in the mountains of the Kantō region of Japan, discovering that the source of this major river is nothing more than a single droplet of water.

I dedicate this piece to Sohorab Rabbey.

(image of water droplet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water#/media/File:Water_drop_001.jpg)

goutte à goutte (2025)

Todos los materiales utilizados para esta composición fueron grabados por Luis Fernando Medina y Diana Martínez en el marco del proyecto Konkreta De la Escuela de cine y televisión - Facultad de Artes de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Muchas gracias a ellos y al proyecto Konkreta por compartir el material.

Implosión

Nebulae for harpsichord and electronics (2024/2025)
Recorded live at Muziekcentrum De Bijloke Ghent 04/10/2025

Goska Isphording (harpsichord) - Patrick Delges (Centre Henri Pousseur) & Daan Janssens (electronics)

Nebulae was commissioned by Centre Henri Pousseur

(...to be listened to with speakers or headphones...)

Nebulae for harpsichord and electronics (2024/2025) live at De Bijloke - Goska Isphording & CHP

Commissioned by Toast
Artwork made by Toast

Toast: https://twitter.com/doughblaster?s=20

Designant - Geometry Dash Orchestral Arrangement

New Orleans -> Harvard -> London -> Paris -> Istanbul -> New York City -> Rome -> Los Angeles -> Palermo -> New Orleans

IV - Convex Mirror

Christopher Trapani