Yituey Live at Feria de Arte Sonoro, 2008.

yituey live @ FAS 08162008

Soon after I reached the age of 13, it became clear that I would need to wear corrective lenses if I wanted to see the world as it truly was. My vision had depleted only over the previous two years or so, but at a pace that had been so gradual that I had become accustomed to missing out on the details, even forgetting them, hardly aware of my deficiencies, revealing themselves only when I would concentrate on objects at great distances, or sometimes even the finer details of something a few steps away. When I received my first pair of glasses, I slipped them on, and stepped outside. Suddenly, the world opened up before me in a way that I had never before experienced; my eyes were flooded with details and light, every leaf on every tree was suddenly defined by such distinct lines, while buildings, parks, fountains of shimmering water revealed all their glorious details, like a long-kept secret finally let out in the open, in the light of the early evening sun. I was truly overwhelmed.

When Claudio Yituey Chea returned to the Dominican Republic, his ears were buzzing, his sense of hearing was suddenly inundated with the sounds of his native land. On his first morning back home, he stepped out of his house and recorded the sounds we hear on this short but astounding record. Now walking the streets, amid the structures, machines and voices of the people there, then slipping away from the noises of civilization and into paths that perhaps lead to an environment more natural, teeming with its own noises, its own buzzing signals. The details of his homeland revealed themselves like never before, and he captured this experience, restructured these field recordings to create a beautiful, richly detailed sound collage in order to represent this sudden flux of glorious sounds, perhaps feeling nostalgic and overwhelmed at the same time. Even second-hand, this feeling is palpable. Listen, and enjoy the discovery. [Richard di Santo]

Claudio Y. Chea

Popular tracks