Distant car alarm. Thunderous industrial undercurrent. Passing transportation. Terse conversation. Pacing feet. These may not be a few of your favorite things, but they are among the many — the arguably countless — constituent parts of a uniquely satisfying field recording recently posted to the netlabel rainnetlabel.blogspot.com. The single track, almost 50 minutes (and as many megabytes) in length, marks the label’s 36th release, and it’s credited to Aairria. The file is only available as an OGG (no MP3), which is why it isn’t available for streaming, only download, here. Titled “Phonography Archive 01: Corridor Cabinet,” it suggests itself as a salvo in the world of mundane audio. The words “archive” and “cabinet,” however, reflect each other — the track is both an item in the proposed series, and itself a collection of disparate if linked sonic items. The overall effect is that of unspecified dread: emotionally remote, narratively ambiguous, sonically spare.
Aairria was previously featured here last November: disquiet.com. More on the musician here: aairriamusic.wordpress.com.
/ begin rant
Grrr. OGG. I understand the reason for publishing in OGG, but, at least with this label, if you require lossless format for submissions, then at least provide lossless format so as I listener I can transform it to mp3 if I wish. (Yes I know I can convert ogg to mp3, but this just rubs me the wrong way.
/ end rant
I hear you. I’m glad for OGG support, but higher-grade audio is always appreciated.
For me, the absence of MP3 seems like either an absurdly forward-looking consideration (i.e., should the format ever end up being legally proven to be proprietary that subsequently locks down its usage) or a straight-edge politically minded statement.
Either way, it’s just a hassle for me, because the streamer/wrapper I employ only handles MP3s.