AMN Reviews: Natasha Barrett – Reconfiguring The Landscape (Persistence of Sound; 2023)

First things first, this album will be released on September 1^st on the Persistence of Sound label.  They have released a number of things from Natasha Barrett and I believe I’ve written about them all (and then some) in this space.  BIG thank you to the folks at PoS for continuing this examination of one of the most vital creators in the acousmatic/electro-acoustic space.

A few quotes from the CD booklet will give the listener (hopefully you) some grounding on the nature (and I use that word purposefully) of these recordings:

Reconfiguring the Landscape (2019–2022) was an artistic research project investigating how 3-D electroacoustic composition and sound-art can evoke and provoke a new awareness of our outdoor sound environment.

3D impulse responses capturing an acoustic ‘fingerprint’ of the outdoor space were recorded, and used in composition to magnify subtle acoustic features which everyday listening may easily miss.

The tracks on this CD are remixes of three installations and one two-part work that hovers in between installation and concert format. They are composed from the installation materials and unmodified site-specific recordings and intend to capture the immersive personal listening experience of ‘being there’.

Barrett has been at the vanguard of the 3D ambisonics / environmental space for several years now (as her last few recordings will attest) but I think Reconfiguring The Landscape may be my favorite of her recent output.  Uncanny as it seems, it only took one word for me to develop a personal “way” of hearing these pieces.  While there are plenty of technicalities explained on her website and, within the CD’s booklet… I’m going to leave that all alone in this write-up and try to speak about it phenomenologically.

In the second quote above she speaks of “fingerprints”.  Fingerprints, impressions, traces, signatures… but of what?  Of whom?  (Apologies to Umberto Eco in advance as I’m about to argue that there can be some very logical, maybe even obvious correspondences drawn between Barrett’s sound art and the esoteric world of Jakob Böhme.)

The 17^th Century philosopher / mystic Jakob Böhme developed an extremely complex and idiosyncratic cosmology that resulted in a highly unusual creation myth.  One of his doctrines was that of “signatures”.  He believed that (speaking from a Christian viewpoint although certainly not adhering to their strict orthodoxies at the time) the supreme being, the ineffable one… in its infinite wisdom left marks, or signatures on all animate and inanimate things.  A divine imprint so to speak, with a thread leading up to, and ultimately ending with “the one” or, if you prefer… “the NO-one”. 

Additionally, Böhme felt that humans, regardless of their materialistic burdens can attain a salvific level of “oneness”, the one true reality achieved by a very personal contemplation of the divine.  The key word “personal” was not something that the dominant Christian church fathers appreciated, it’s a very gnostic view in fact which resulted in him being branded as a heretic.  These signatures, per Böhme, basically epitomize the esoteric concepts of “as above, so below”.  Or, put another way, the macrocosm all the way down to the microcosm.

The above paragraphs are admittedly sparse when it comes to Böhme’s complete doctrine but, I think these aspects will be sufficient to demonstrate a connection to Barrett’s work.  Böhme’s philosophy is very complex and written in a highly unusual manner (he was not a particularly educated man and it seemed he found it difficult to put his thoughts into words), and “getting” him is difficult.

On Reconfiguring The Landscape, there are five locational recordings in total.  Two from Venice Italy, one from Graz Austria, one from a medieval castle in Oslo Norway and one from a fjord on the outskirts of Oslo.  Looking at these compositions from a strictly “field recording” level without any additional electronics layered in, I think the sense of place is extensively demonstrated in wonderful detail. But it’s not until Barrett works her own particular earth magik (electronic overlays) on these field recordings that allow this album to reach its heights.  As the hyper-realistic transparency becomes manifest, those “signatures” I was alluding to above reveal themselves.

The album is imbued with a sense of closeness. Things are heard and subsequently imaged.  Minutia is revealed.  Signatures become apparent.  In the mind of the listener, are these symbols?  Archetypes?  Reality?  They are there… you must look/listen for them, but they ARE there and it’s up to the individual listener to interpret at will.  (The question of these images being corporeal objects via symbols or incorporeal, possibly synesthetic sensations is another interesting byway to look at… another time maybe.)

Barrett’s music acts as a portal to a place where nature and technology converge, blurring the boundaries between the organic and the synthetic.  By integrating natural sounds—water flowing, birds singing, winds howling, etc. with electronically generated sonic maneuvers, Barrett symbolically unites the earthly and (Böhme’s) divine aspects of creation.  Böhme’s philosophy posits that everything in the physical world bears divine imprints and Barrett’s soundscapes exemplify and reveal this concept by amalgamating the diverse sonic elements into harmonious wholes through her hyper-realism lens.

The immersive quality of Barrett’s music amplifies the connection between the listener and the divine signatures present in the sonic textures. Her compositions envelop the listener/traveler in a transformative experience where the material world dissolves into the spiritual. The fluid transitions between different soundscapes mirror Böhme’s belief in the interconnectedness of all things. By embracing the interconnected nature of the acousmatic journey, listeners (may) become attuned to the divine marks inscribed on whatever aspect of creation Barrett might be showing us.

Moreover, Barrett’s meticulous craftsmanship perhaps represents a reflection of divine intelligence and design. Each sound texture, pattern, and spatial arrangement can be interpreted as symbolic representations of Böhme’s divine attributes. By engaging listeners in a contemplative journey through her sounds, the composer facilitates the beginning of an understanding of the harmonious order inherent in creation—an order that Böhme saw as the embodiment of the divine in all things.  An active and close listening to these pieces is indeed… key!

At the core of Böhme’s philosophy lies the inner conflict between the desire to manifest oneself and the realization of one’s pure self. Barrett’s acousmatic compositions resonate with this notion, inviting listeners to embark on an introspective journey of natural awareness. The immersive nature of her music draws the listener’s focus inward, echoing Böhme’s emphasis on inner reflection resulting in spiritual growth.

This “way” of exploring acousmatic music interests me, and I think the style lends itself very well to phenomenological examinations like this.  I hope to do further write-ups looking at this type of music with a similar focus. In the meantime, if these comments resonate with you, I would highly suggest you put this album on your wishlist.  Even the title, Reconfiguring The Landscape… suggests in some way a deeper way of melding nature and vision through sound.  A way that was extremely rewarding for this listener. It’s certainly one of the strongest acousmatic records I’ve heard in recent memory.  Unequivocally recommended!

Mike Eisenberg
Meisenberg1@hotmail.com