Empty Valley | Field Recording Workshop and Performance

Empty Valley | Sound collection workshop and performance is Mute Sound Art Festival 哑声音艺术节 in 2023, initiated and curated by musician DAO. Three days of field recording in Yangshuo and an immersive music listening and sharing session in a cave near Yangshuo town on the last day.

空谷 | 声音采集工作坊与现场,是由音乐人DAO发起和策划的哑声音艺术节在2023的第一场演出。为期三天在阳朔山间的田野采集并在最后一天在阳朔的一个山洞中进行了一个全黑沉浸式的音乐聆听分享会。

On the first day of field recording , I collected the sounds of insects and birds chirping on the hills because the road in the mountains is very close, the recorder also picked up the sounds of cars and airplanes flying over.

在采集声音的第一天,我采集到小山上虫鸣和鸟叫的声音,因为山里公路很近,同时又收录到了汽车路和天空飞机飞过的声音。

On the third day of the performance, we moved the equipment into the cave. The sound in the cave was not as wet as expected, and the quietness made the high-frequency sounds particularly crisp. Every drop of water dripping from the stalactites is particularly clear. The first musician played the shakuhachi, which formed a duet with the sound of dripping water. The following performances were all electronic music. There was no light except for music equipment and laptops. The audience sat down on the floor and some lay down, we spent three hours immersed in the sounds.

第三天的演出,和通行的音乐人我们将设备搬进了洞里,洞里的声响并没有想象的那么浑浊,及其的安静让高频的声音特别清脆。钟乳石上滴下来的每一滴水滴都特别清晰,第一位演出的音乐人吹奏了尺八,和滴水的声音俨然成了一个静动交织的二重奏。后面的演出都是电子音乐,除了音乐设备和电脑,没有任何光亮,听众们洗地坐下也有躺下的,很沉浸的度过了3小时。

My performance is an improvisation performance of voice and electronic music. During the rehearsal, I found that the chopped loop of voice was particularly similar to the insect sounds collected on the hill. This also coincided with the sound workshop. In the cave, there was a very primitive atmosphere pushing me, so at the end of the part, I naturally burst out with a kind of distant call. This sound was wild but intense. Some listeners asked me if it was a kind of ritual singing. 

我的演出是人声和电子音乐的即兴演出,在排练的时候发现由人声的切碎的loop和在小山上采集的虫鸣声特别像,这也刚好和声音工作坊呼应了所以没有再使用这两天采集的素材。在山洞中,有一种很原始氛围在推进着我,所以在结束段落我自然而然迸发出一种类似遥远的呼叫,这种声音很野但又很激烈,也有听众问我是不是一种祭祀的唱腔。

There was not much conversation between people, the three-day journey was very quiet compare with my dailyl life, but it was extremely fulfilling.

三天的旅程没有说太多话和我平时的生活有很大的反差却格外的充实。