Close to home, in Abercych, west Wales, I take to walking by a small
river, realising more and more that we can work only where we happen
to be, whatever we do, it will resonate both within our locality and
beyond it. And so these short and intimate compositions have effect
on, and are affected by their place within, a larger global body of
water.
Duck
whitehead:
I find a place in the bend of the river overhung by the roots of a
large ash tree, and duck the neck of the guitar into the river here,
covering the machine heads and lower strings. Next I plug in the mini
amp: the water resonates through the strings, producing gentle
harmonics. I tie the guitar to the tree in this position, balancing
the body against the tree with a small stick. The sound is made both
by the movement of the water, an occasional gust of wind, and
birdsong along with the almost imperceptible movement of the tree. I
attach the microphones to small branches and sit on the river bank to
listen.
I send the field recordings to Barnaby Oliver. Keeping their
timeline, he mixes the sound for CD.
oliver:
Starting with the complete, unedited recording, I add layers of treatments – a mixture of non-realtime digital processing, and live manipulations using my Revox reel-to-reel tape machine and spring reverb. Illuminating and magnifying the harmonic undulations of the guitar, I sink deeper into the sound in meditative stillness.
The CD is available as part of the book Walking to Work.
Wade
whitehead:
After a winter and early spring of walking the banks of the Dulais, I
decide that to begin to understand the workings of this river I must
enter it.
On April 6th I wade the river from beneath the fall to close to its
mouth with the Cych.
Wearing the guitar on my back, microphones on my head and carrying a
mini amp the walk becomes an evolving composition made by the power
of the water, its dialogue with the banks, trees and bed, and with
this man carrying a guitar.
In a small pool I drop up to my neck in it, a dog barks and a man
asks me what I am doing.
I send the field recordings to Barnaby Oliver. Keeping their
timeline, he mixes the sound for CD.
oliver:
Using the complete, unedited recording, I created several layers of live sound treatments using my Revox reel-to-reel tape recorder. I aim to move with the surroundings, as if treading lightly through the trees, aware of the sound and movement all around. Eventually the original sound is faded out, leaving the treatments to end on their own.
The CD is available as part of the book Walking to Work.
Dulais Wade / Duck was presented as part of a solo show at the Yorkshire
Sculpture Park September – November 2006 and at the Sonic Arts Network Expo in
Plymouth July 2007.