Illinois Birdscapes by Rob Frye
Originally created in quadraphonic sound for Experimental Sound Studio's Florasonic installation in the Fern Room of the Lincoln Park Conservatory in Chicago, IL (January- April, 2023), Legacy Effect and Gremel are condensed and remixed here in stereo.
Pause to listen, and you might hear evolutionary sounds emerging in the Fern Room. Field recordings gathered in the Prairie State of Illinois are manipulated to reveal a native soundscape just as exotic as the flora showcased inside the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Slowing down bird sounds to a human-friendly speed unveils a beauty and complexity achieved over millennia.
Rob Frye is a musician and birder interested in bioacoustics and convergence. For him it’s all about sound - as vital communication, recreation, and knowledge in and of itself. Seasonal employment as a Avian Survey Technician with the Institute for Bird Populations (2012-2016) and the Illinois Natural History Survey (2021 and 2022) influenced his practice of listening.
Dew on the Square features JayVe Montgomery on C melody saxophone and Ben Lamar Gay on cornet. This piece and the accompanying video were originally part of Frye's series of works called "Evolutionary Sounds," and was released by the Wexner Center for the Arts in September, 2020.
Dog Days cicadas were recorded at Sand Ridge State Park on a Flux Bikes ride from St. Louis to Chicago.
Album photo by Ryan Brown (StL).
Tracklist
| 1. | Legacy Effect | 4:46 |
| 2. | Gremel | 9:11 |
| 3. | Dog Days at Sand Ridge | 2:30 |
| 4. | Slow Bird (Dew on the Square) | 3:54 |
