12”, 45 RPM. Ensonify. Side A: Phantasmatic Inspiration. Side B: Phantasmatic Expiration. Lathe. 2020
Ensonify is a sound piece commissioned by the nonprofit Rogers Art Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada for which I chose aural breath as the primary material. The piece was recorded direct to magnetic tape on a reel to reel machine during the months of October and September of 2020. The 12” includes three separate inserts with a text I wrote as an introduction as well as five additional photographs I made during the period of recording.
The following is an excerpt from the text, “We average 20,000 breaths per day and most of our breaths are involuntary. If we need to control the volume or frequency of air moving in and out of our lungs for the purposes of speaking, singing, or playing a musical instrument, then we’re able to do so voluntarily. Unlike the heart whose beating we can’t pause, we can also choose to hold our breaths in anticipation of a meaningful event or to swim underwater.
If we live in a polluted environment, we may struggle to breathe. In large cities within the United States, studies have shown that people of color suffer more as asthmatics due to higher amounts of exposure to nitrogen dioxide. Additionally, if we’re the victims of police brutality and state sanctioned violence, our breath is taken away even after we make it known that we can't breathe…
Through the sound of the breath itself, we’re able to connect with something fundamental about our bodies. Our bodies are affected by the frequencies and intensities within the sound of the air moving through our respiratory system. How are different bodies affected by the sound of these frequencies and intensities as we share aural atmospheres?”