Transparence (dubplate) by Robert Curgenven
The "Transparence" dubplate developed as part of the O’A.I.R. Artist in Residence program at O’Artoteca, Milan, Italy, is a limited edition of 10” vinyl consisting of two pieces composed from feedback recorded in O' exploring the resonances of the gallery.The edition is limited to three copies which are available in two different transparent sleeve designs, printed and assembled by hand by Angelo Colombo at LAB (laboratorioartibovisa) Milan.
Cut at Dubplates and Mastering in Berlin by Rashad Becker at extremely low volume and having no audible bass response of its own, the dubplate works within the physical limitations of the vinyl medium, employing the object as sound source and sound medium to become an instrument in its own right. The ephemeral audio signal becomes present only when played at high volume, allowing the dubplate to produce room-filling bass feedback via the resonance of the turntable and additional overtones - “Transparence” is designed to produce a unique physical response from the room, air and amplification with each playing and simultaneously to gradually cause its sound to disappear every time it is played, as the needle gently abraids the soft vinyl surface, replacing the high overtones slowly with new artefacts and crackle that cause the sound to continuously change and evolve.
Credits
Composed from 19 minutes of unprocessed feedback recorded 5.30pm, 5 November, 2008, O’Artoteca, Milan with two Rode NT2 and two Soundman Professional binaural microphones. Mixed in O’ during November 2008.
Curgenven's work emphasizes physicality, our embodied response to sound & its relation to location, air, weather & architecture; including works produced for National Gallery of Australia, Palazzo Grassi Venice, Sydney Festival, Maerzmusik & Transmediale Berlin. The Wire (UK) surmises “behind the music lurk such [disparate] presences as Alvin Lucier, King Tubby, Murray Schafer and Eliane Radigue.”