Richard Francis‘s solo synthesizer and computer performance at Fotofono in New York this past July 15 took every microsonic musician’s nightmare and turned it into a performance (MP3). The nightmare is a simple one: people start talking. Quiet music like that which Francis lets slowly seep from his equipment is the sort that barely is audible over the tone of the room in which it is heard, music that can be mistaken for — music that can draw inspiration and source material from — the buzz inherent in the equipment on which it is made.
The voices in the piece are muffled, to the extent that in documentary evidence like this MP3, they could be mistaken for actual, thoughtless, inconsequential yet consequential conversation, the kind that frequently mars live recordings — not an audio component determinedly acted upon.
Track originally posted at fotofono.net, where it shares space with two other sets also recorded that evening. More on Francis at richardfrancis.net.nz.