estlin usher
2020, self-released

https://estlin.bandcamp.com/album/rain-synthesis

Field recording from May 2020 on Side A. Synthetically generated rain simulation (noise, filters, feedback) on Side B. Each individual cassette in the release is designed to be unique, with different realizations of arbitrary processes.

A stochastically driven panning function is applied to each recording, using ambisonic encoding and reverberation to place the sound in and around the auditory field. These panning processes are designed to chart a path through the listening environment that maps out the limits of this perceptual layer, and situates it against the sense of space implied by the source material itself.

The rain simulation (Side B) is run as a unique implementation of a random/noise algorithm resulting in a minimally differential sound topography in each take.

Transparent variation within repetition. Perceptual interplay between virtual and implied environments. Synthetic ecoacoustics.

Produced as a C20 cassette with artwork and brief liner notes. Limited run of 15 copies. Rain Synthesis is recorded to cassette with randomized panning functions so that each cassette is minimally unique.

Early in the isolation of 2020, my basement studio flooded. The field recording of rain on Side A is from the same thunderstorm that decimated gear, literature, and memories. Humbling. But could have been much worse. These tapes are salvaged from the flood, dried, and repurposed for individual release. The magnetic tape is warped in places, distorting the sound from the original recordings. Nature and calamity imprinted onto this physical form.

For listening with humility and in awe of nature. Exercise patience.