Brief documentation of an earth sample based synthesis system performed with at Vibrant Practices symposium at Leeds University. This rough prototype for a larger system overlays approaches taken by Douglas Huebler in the production of the Windham College Pentagon (1968)—wherein earth samples were dug up at the vertices of a pentagon drawn onto a map of the Putney country side surrounding Windham College, Putney, Vermont—with pentagonal score for Pauline Oliveros’ Primordial / Lift (1998) which makes use of low frequency oscillators indicating supposed changes in the resonant frequency of planet earth.
I drew a pentagon on a map of the riverside area of south Liverpool. At each vertex audio (field recordings) and earth samples were taken. The synthesis system used in the performance cycles around a series of points or indices representing the pentagon, playing back the corresponding audio file and using the associated soil conductivity measurement to drive oscillators. Gradually the various points on the pentagon / indices, oscillators and recordings would begin to interact (e.g. via frequency modulation). The intention is to develop this into a more dynamic and autonomous system presented as a nonsite of sorts.
