Cervus by melissa pons
Recorded in 2022, it is in proximity to the Atlantic Forest that I find myself inspired and driven to conclude shaping this album.
The Iberian Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) was recorded near my home, in the Herdade do Sobroso, a wonderful enormous place with many wild and magnificent animals. The echoes of the rutting (brama) can be heard at great distances. Their rutting season starts when it's still very hot in August.
Upon researching about this animal I learned that two Portuguese legends tell that the devil has reincarnated in the body of this robust animal who tried to push two noble figures into the abyss and into a precipice. This is likely related to the red deer as a symbol of pagan devotion.
In France, late September, the forest spoke tall in total darkness and biting cold. An opposite experience to the first one. I didn't see a single Common Red Deer (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) but I could hear them relatively close. It was one of the most intense aural experiences I had - to the point where I had to take the headphones off out of exhaustion.
This made it difficult to listen and edit, requiring only short periods of work, which led to a careful shaping of this album, which has become slightly more experimental than the previous ones.
I'm becoming less interested in a purist approach as I dwell more and more into touching the senses deeply.
The more I listen, the more reverence I feel for more-than-humans and the clearer I understand we are all bodies in relation. I hope this will be your experience too.
Many thanks to Júlio Miguel and Engª Sofia for the enthusiasm and hospitality and to Jocelyn Robert.
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*This is for private use only and any commercial use requires a license from the author.*
Tracklist
| 1. | C. e. hispanicus - Enter | |
| 2. | C. e. hispanicus - Singing Winds | |
| 3. | C. e. hispanicus - Habitat | 3:01 |
| 4. | C. e. hispanicus - Movement | |
| 5. | C. e. hispanicus - Sunrise | 8:29 |
| 6. | C. e. hippelaphus - Enter | |
| 7. | C. e. hippelaphus - Dark Forest | |
| 8. | C. e. hippelaphus - Twilight | |
Credits
All sounds recorded, edited and mastered by Melissa Pons.
Cover art by Sérgio Silva
License
All rights reserved.
Melissa Pons is a nominated field recordist and award-winning sound designer based in Portugal. Throughout her years of practice, she has independently released field recording albums, music compositions upon commissions and her work has been streamed and featured in several media, like the BBC and NPR.
Her work orbits around the more-than-human-world and our complex relationship with it.