Seven Vignettes by Lee Patterson

The tracks presented here are studio works, edited and composed at my home in Manchester, UK, utilising a number of found or acquired objects.

Strongly influenced by my parallel and supporting practice of field recording, they feature the small (and often internal) sound fields of particular things and the specific processes applied to them. The processes include combustion, excitation with an e-bow, plucking and blowing. Such sounds are often accessed by the use of contact microphones, amplification and subsequent recording.

Nine Lucifers is the resultant material acquired from the burning of nine matches.

Springwork #3 was created with the decaying sound of two springs, when attached to a custom built, contact sensitive metal plate (Springplate) and plucked several times.

Three Hazelnuts Burn, as the title suggests, is the internal sound field of three burning hazelnuts, when attached to specially prepared, contact microphones.

Butane is composed from close-microphone recordings of discarded cigarette lighters as they are made to discharge their gaseous contents. They are accompanied by a Springrod - a self built instrument constructed from found steel tines prepared with cigarette lighter springs, placed upon a wooden sound box and played with an e-bow.

From Formby Point and Gent utilises a large pinecone from Formby Point, north of Liverpool, found whilst on an expedition to record the calls of Natterjack Toads. The cone is played by blowing across its individual blades or scales. This piece also features contact microphone recordings made of a kettle and heating pipes from a hotel room in Gent, Belgium, whilst on a recent recording trip.

Plateau #1 is the result of two sessions recorded by Enzo Donato in Manchester, during January 2009. The recordings were subsequently edited and multi-tracked to create the piece presented here. It features a number of the processes and objects that I use in live performances, including electric toothbrushes, Springrods, Andrews Liver Salts in water-filled wineglasses, Springplate and amplified CD players, as well as a recording of the studios' central heating system.

Lee Patterson, April, 2009

Lee Patterson uses sound making and recording to devise performances with a selection of amplified objects, devices and processes, from rock chalk to springs, from burning nuts to vibrating metal.
Based in Prestwich, Manchester, UK., he works internationally and has featured on UK TV, BBC Radios 3, 4 and 6, Resonance FM and on radio stations worldwide.