Rain Beast - New Soundscape Music Release
These recordings were partially collected in the unceded lands of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq, and Passamaquoddy peoples also known as the Wabanaki Confederacy, including what is now known as New Brunswick. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” that did not deal with the surrender of lands and resources but rather recognized Passamaquoddy, Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik titles. Some recordings were also collected in Tiohti:áke/Mooniyang/Montréal of which the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation is recognized as the custodians of these lands and waters.
Rain Beast is a collage of field recordings collected in New Brunswick and Montréal between 2018 and 2021. As part of a greater meditation on connecting technological mediums in artistic practice to notions of Anthropocene, this collection reflects upon the dissonances of nature and industry in the south of NB and some of the prominent soundmarks that relate to this theme. This collection is intended to address some of the nostalgias and issues of an audience local to this province, as well as to present an auditory picture to more distanced audiences, whose perspectives can be abstracted, building imaginative scenes from the sounds on display. Inspiration for these pieces comes from the repertoires of artists such as Hildegard Westerkamp, Barry Truax, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Many of the techniques and themes were guided through studying The World Soundscape Project, ideas surrounding deep listening from Pauline Oliveros, and theories of Auditory Scene Analysis from Albert Bregman. My hope for this work is that those who engage with it may find themselves inspired to listen deeply to the world, in many modes, with malleable perspectives, and to remember that we are very much a part of the family of nature.
credits
released June 17, 2022
All pieces composed, mixed, and mastered by Charles Harding.
Thanks to Am DeVito and Sam Risser who contributed field recordings to Hypermnesia following a downtown Montréal sound walk - April 2019.
Thanks to Erin Goodine, Emily Kennedy, and Mark Kleyn who contributed field recordings to Unsequestered following an O'dell Park sound walk in Fredericton - January 2021.
Beautiful artwork was created by Madeline Schmidt
Thanks to Eric Hill at Patient Records
Review - Grid City Magazine
“With Rain Beast, Harding encourages a deeper appreciation of the intersection between the things we’ve made and the things that make us.” - Matt Carter
Matt Carter
Making his Patient Records debut with Rain Beast, Charles Harding has stitched together a number of field recordings that pair the sounds of the natural world with the sounds of industry and manmade environments to explore the intersection between these two distinct and harmonious worlds.
Harding is a Fredericton musician and composer whose musical background taps everything from aggressive rock music to electro pop. A recent graduate of Concordia University’s Electroacoustic Studies Program, Harding’s new album was released during the 2022 Flourish Festival held recently in Fredericton.
As the title suggests, the sound of rain or running water is present across each of the album’s six tracks. When combined with numerous field recordings made by Harding between 2018 and 2021 as well as others by local artists Erin Goodine, Emily Kennedy, and Mark Kleyn, Rain Beast is a tapestry of sound and effort, and one that challenges the listener to consider their environment and appreciate the auditory nuances we so often overlook in our day to day existence. Through his work on this recording, Harding encourages a deeper appreciation of the intersection between the things we’ve made and the things that make us.
Patient Records
https://countingondownstairs.bandcamp.com
Putting a tone against a beat against a noise. It's all poetry and storytelling for the ears.
Releases by Counting on Downstairs along with other artists on similar trajectories as Patient Records.