That unseen vibrance. These are dense vibrations, larger than our bodies, larger than our ear drums. They work through us. They present as oceanic. I have a sense of being inside the sound, submerged in another medium, molten, or perhaps growing wings. Of enormous pressure depth yet vibrance shimmer. To dive into the oceanic with our own airborne sounds, feet on the ground, ears underwater. What animal could hear like this? 

The tam-tam has a resonance that seems to grow beyond itself, taking off in swells of full spectrum sound. It is more pushed than struck and here I play it by staying within its own resonant rhythm. In the gong’s swells I hear the waves and so I recorded curling rollers of the Pacific. Like the gong and waves, when I play the harp the sound vibrates through my body, so I placed microphones inside the instrument to capture both its resonance and shimmer. In gong, waves, harp, and particularly in their combination, I experience a sense of entrainment to the sounds. Through them I think I can hear all sounds. You might recognize this place of sustaining? A crossing, an orientation, a migration, asylum. That unseen vibrance.

That Unseen Vibrance

What pulls us to the ocean?

And when we arrive at its edge, what do we experience?

Melt Me Into the Ocean imagines a deeper dive at the point where land and sea meet, bringing sounds up from under the surface, filling our air space with liquid motion from beneath the ocean. And while we look out at the surface of the ocean, feet on the land, ears underwater, how does our sense of place expand to integrate the submarine world into the presence of our imagination?

By engaging with a sound walk to the Walton Lighthouse while listening to a collage of underwater field recordings of the Monterey Bay, in Part I, and a sound and video installation in Ocean View Park in Part II, Melt Me Into The Ocean explores how we can deepen our relationship to the ocean and environment through art, science, and listening.

More info at Indexical https://www.indexical.org/events/2018-08-11-melt-me-into-the-ocean

Melt Me Into The Ocean Lighthouse Walk

Yolande Harris

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