Arbor Ventus by john grzinich

This collection of tracks grew out of a long term practice of listening, in a more material sense, to objects, structures and plants in the contexts in which they exist (particularly the local contexts around where I live). Some might call this investigating more-than-human worlds. I tend to think of it as a practice of sensing reciprocal extensions, whether human made or not, as opportunities for intersubjective engagement. Here the focus is specifically on listening with trees. One could start by asking, what is it like to be a tree? Or maybe in this case, how does it feel to be a tree or even feel with a tree? We know all about the acoustic qualities of trees in their highly deconstructed forms as wooden instruments. But what about the physicality of living trees... trees as diverse species, essential agents of oxygen, carbon sequestration and endless other biological wonders -that have coevolved with the earth for at least 500 times longer than we have.

Here I recall an anecdote about human fallacy in understanding even the most basic needs of trees. Recall the notorious experiment in recreating a complete parallel living environment known as 'Biosphere 2'. Apart from gravity, Biosphere 2 (1) was completely sealed off from the planetary biosphere yet attempted to emulate the "real" earthly biosphere, complete with humans, as if it was a spaceship. Apart from the numerous faults and bizarre outcomes, one of the more notable conclusions came from the fact that the trees inside Biosphere 2 never reached maturity and were weak, sometimes breaking under their own weight (2). Eventually scientists deduced that there was one major factor lacking in the Biosphere 2 interior weather system, wind. It turns out, much of the strength and resilience of trees comes from their near constant 'stress' exposure to wind. That is, trees need and are inseparable from not only sun and water, but also wind.

So apart from attaching various microphones to tree trunks and branches, one crucial element was also considered for the original recordings, the wind conditions. Part of this has a practical reason, non-moving trees tend to be somewhat silent (depending on how sensitive one's listening devices are and what we are listening in to). So my intention here was not to listen to trees as objects but as 'trees being trees' in relation to their climatic surroundings. This relational aspect of listening, allows us to feel different forms of connection to the broader living world through nonverbal signs. What these signs mean is an open to interpretation. Here I will allow the listener to imagine what it is they are hearing in the chaotic dynamics of weather induced resonances found in the interior structures of the arboreal world.

"Plant architecture is not a haphazard affair but is the result of constant assessment and adjustment as conditions change", David Haskell 'The Songs of Trees' https://dghaskell.com

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2

2. https://www.peregrune.com/blogs/peregruneblog/b-the-trees-of-biosphere-2-growth-through-stress-b

Artist, composer and creator of sonic environments. Exploring the perception of sound and space to find resonance between people and places.

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