Taking a few minutes to talk about Minutes.
It all sort of began with the "New York" Minute, which was for a project where ppeople from all over contributes a minute of sound work that would be joined together and played at some performances. They rejected my minute, which is a fine minute, and even finer led me to creating this series of minutes a year or two later.
I had been making field recordings on recent trips and also doing a lot of local recordings in preparation for a new international collaboration project. So, with the exception of the New York Minute, all of the minutes are made from sounds found at the specified locations which I freely altered and looped, etc. I really have no intention to express the particular flavor or essence of any location, but some offered some unique sounds.
Here are some production notes:
San Francisco
Market Street on a Thursday night. Asian woman collecting cans and crushing them. Chatty tourists. Street car. Other cars. The low basso ostinato is from a horn honk.
Doumo (Milano)
The Duomo Cathedral features a continuous roar from all the tourists talking. Many languages. Baby carriages with squeaky wheels.
Bergamo
Fininculare railway going up to the town full of noisy. obnoxious tourists.
Uzes
Cheese stall at the farmers market in this medeival town in southern France. Fussy baby. Sheets being torn off to wrap cheese. Plus a venerable old printing press.
Marseilles
Sidewalk cafe by the bay. Motor scooter. Police car.
Barcelona
Construction on Mount Juic. Bus ride with manic family.
Sitges
Mediterrean Sea with convenient airplane.