Sirenity explores the mythology of the siren - hybrid woman with either bird-like or mer-like physical qualities, whose beautiful voices lured the all-too-easily corruptible minds of sailors to their peril.

Channelling spectralist, minimalist and ecoacoustic approaches, the work retains this dyadic relationship of characters: the sirens through humpback whale song and the sailor/victim in the airborne caws and calls of the wandering albatross (both sourced from recordings), with the former drawing the latter to its impending doom; the aftermath decaying back to the torrents of the sea.

Performed by the Australian String Quartet - Kristian Winther, Ioana Tache, Stephen King, Sharon Draper - as part of the National Composers' Forum 2013 in Elder Hall on 17 October 2013. Recorded by Kym Wilson, with technical assistance from Iran Sanadzadeh.

Sirenity

Endangered species are often rendered invisible as a result of low population numbers. With the advent of inexpensive long-duration field recording equipment, instead these species can again be found through listening for their calls.  ‘Whispers’ is an encapsulation of the vocalisation endangered species in South Australia, marking their discovery and decline since the founding of the colony in 1836 to the present day and beyond.

Commissioned by Chamber Music Adelaide and MOD. as part of their 2022 Invisibility Commissions.  More information on the commissions can be found in Limelight Magazine.

Premiered by Lachlan Bramble, Emma Perkins, and Martin Alexander (viola) and Sharon Grigoryan at MOD. on October 15 and November 12.

Recorded at Wizard Tone Studios by Sam Lench in February 2023.

Whispers, for string quartet

Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. Through constant changes in environmental conditions, various species vie for predominance in the landscape. In particular, large scale events, such as earthquakes, eruptions, landslides, fires and floods, can significantly alter the course of succession in an ecosystem.

The Alaskan wilderness stand amongst some of the most unique and sublime environments in the world, with impressive mountains and glaciers situated amongst vast forests and river systems. Like many places in the contemporary world, this is not without major threats, key amongst them global climatic change, which in Alaska has wide ranging repercussions including rapid glacial and permafrost melt, increased fire risk, and consequent widespread alterations in the region's precious flora and fauna.

'Silent Succession' is at heart a sincere provocation, here implying the gradually silencing of the Alaskan wilderness through the significant impacts of climate change. As a native of South Australia, the driest state on the driest continent, I imagine with grave concern the possibility of desertification in Alaskan, and unlike my homeland, the inability of its flora and fauna to quickly adapt to changes in their environment. Starting with mountain winds, the soundscapes of glacier, river and forest follow in succession, attended by their inhabitants. With the destructive forces of fire and landslide, the landscape is left barren, with the wind intoning a subtle reminder of memories past.

This performance took place in the Universalist Unitarian Fellowship of Fairbanks, 25 June 2017, performed by members of Corvus - Andie Springer, Charly Akert and Joseph Bergen - as part of the 2017 Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival.

'Silent Succession' was composed as part fo the professional development tour, American Ascent,made possible through the support of the South Australian Government through a Carclew Fellowship, a Helpmann Academy Grant, a Rural City of Murray Bridge Small Wins Grant and many generous private donations.

Silent Succession (Fairbanks Performance)

This short piece was developed as part of a Carclew Youth Arts Holiday workshop, 'Surrounding Soundscapes', focussed on soundscape listening, field recording, sampling and sequencing techniques.

Surrounding Soundscapes

Contemporary scientific research in aquatic soundscapes is finding increasing evidence that human motorised boating activities are having significant impacts on aquatic species. Often, such machinery occupies a broadband frequency range and operates at very loud volumes. By contrast, many of the life forms living in rivers and oceans have evolved to communicate and hear in narrowband frequency ranges and can only call at volumes relative to their physiology. As such, these animals find it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively whilst being masked by watercraft noise, and may even sustain hearing damage being subjected to such loudness.

Long Island, after the eponymous island bisecting the Murray River at Murray Bridge, South Australia, considers this impact as it relates to the local area. In the western channel, motor boat traffic is permitted, but in the eastern channel, it is prohibited, preserving a water fowl refuge. Using field recordings of the terrestrial and aquatic soundscapes, transcriptions of local birdsong, and a piano part derived from spectral analysis of the recordings, the piece transitions gradually from the natural soundscape (both above and below water) to the technologically-impacted soundscape. Through this music-cum-sound art experience, I hope that the audience can being to appreciate the nuances that extant soundscape provide, and start to consider the impact of recreational and commercial boating activities in their waterways.

This performance by pianists Dan Thorpe and Gabriella Smart took place on 23 February 2018, as part of workshops in 'Blue Touch at Beaumont House' in Adelaide, South Australia.

Long Island

Inspired by the concept of Sonic Ruptures (coined by sound artist Jordan Lacey), sound installations creatively responding to urban soundscapes and environments, A Day In An Alleyway captures in miniature the evolution of the Adelaide CBD soundscape over a 24 hour period. Comprised of field recordings of Featherstone Place and samples taken from around the city, the subtle activities of the night shift to the daily hustle and bustle, with the dawn and dusk chorus of local birdlife, and fluctuation in foot traffic, vehicle movement and air conditioner drones as people go about their daily business.

A Day In An Alleyway (with Zephyr Quartet)

'Before C' is a short prelude to Terry Riley's 'In C', focussed on an evolving chord sequence centred on G7.  

Premiered on 30 pianos at the PianoMax Multi-piano Extravaganza for the SA Accompanists' Guild 2018 Festival, 14 June 2018.

Before C (+ In C)

'Farina' responds to the evolution of the town’s soundscape (collection of environmental sounds) from European settlement in 1876 to abandonment in the 1970s, and then to the present day restorations in 2018. In particular, it pays attention to changes in sound relating to the fauna(native animals and introduced species), weather patterns (drought and flood) and human technology (trains, cars, planes, etc.) over the past 140 years.   

Performed by volunteers of the Farina Restoration Group, percussionists Vanessa Tomlinson and Joshua Baldwin, and Jesse Budel at Farina on June 22 2018.

Farina

This track provides examples of recordings made on the album, 'Cathedrals', released in 2021.

To purchase and find out more, visit https://jessebudel.bandcamp.com/album/cathedrals

Cathedrals Sampler

https://www.jesse-budel.com/das-wasser-im-bade

Das Wasser Im Bade (The Water In The Bath) is a concert rendering of a soundscape composition developed for the eponymous project developed with Ray Harris and Cynthia Schwertsik as part of ADHOCRACY 2020 at Vitalstatistix. Through observations of visible and invisible urban waterways, the original work centres on the use and dependence of water within a deep concern for the environment and our place within it. Extending into a consciousness of the relationship of human impact on the environment as a consequence of our actions, Das Wasser Im Bade dives into water on the fringes of our comfort zones and explores entropy in absurd attempts to hold on to water. The soundscape begins exploring local domestic activities, which accumulate and shift to focus on communal waterways, culminating in large scale environmental bodies of water. 

This version of the work draws on the aqueous nature of the original, with complementing instrumental parts for cristal baschet, an instrument played through stroking glass rods with wet fingers, and piano, an instrument with abundant repertoire exploring the activity of water.

Das Wasser Im Bade (Concert Version)

South Australian composer and sound artist

Jesse Budel

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