Arcane Candy

This CD, titled Untitled 74 by Francisco Lopez, consists of one track that is 48 minutes and 48 seconds long. The following is a minute-by-minute description:

0:00 to 1:08 — Digital silence.
1:09 to 3:35 — With the stereo amplifier set at loud room volume, this section is far below the threshold of human perception. Only when the volume knob is turned all the way up is any sound audible. The sound source is unrecognizable. It could possibly be some sort of ambient tape hiss plus a person “fiddling” around with with an object in their hands.
3:36 to 6:41 — Digital silence.
6:42 to 13:27 — With the stereo amplifier set at loud room volume, this section is barely audible. It sounds like this could be some sort of ambient room “noise” with pouring rain outside. The only definitely recognizable sound is an insect, which buzzes by the microphone at 7:06, 7:34, 10:10 to 10:13, 10:28, 10:32, 10:35 to 10:36, 10:55 to 11:01, 11:16 to 11:18, 11:24, 11:34 to 11:40, 12:15, 12:30, 12:42 to 12:43, 12:47 to 12:49 and 12:53.
13:28 to 18:48 — Digital silence.
18:49 to 37:46 — With the stereo amplifier set at loud room volume, this section starts out barely audible. An extremely dense field of sound builds up very slowly, gradually becoming incredibly loud over the next 10 or so minutes. The sound source is unrecognizable but “evokes” the experience of standing inside a tornado, an Earthquake, 10,000 jet engines, sustained thunder, ocean floor murk, and the core of a spiral galaxy—all at the same time. A bit after the 30-minute mark, an incredibly low-pitched sound moves in and combines with the above, along with some sort of “industrial” clanking sound way off in the distance (which only lasts a few minutes). At 37:46, all sound abruptly stops.
37:47 to 46:01 — Digital silence.
46:02 to 48:48 — With the stereo amplifier set at loud room volume, this section is a little bit louder than the first two, but is still barely audible. The sound source is somewhat more identifiable as ambient room sound, with maybe a piece of furniture getting bumped, someone “fiddling” around with an object in their hands and some distant outside noise. That human voice ever so faint and far off in the distance…was it on the CD or outside my room—echoing forever a million miles away?

Housed in a clear, CD single jewel case with nothing but the artist’s name, title and catalog number printed on a piece of clear acetate, and record label / copyright info printed on the inner ring (right near the center hole) on an otherwise blank disc, this is among the most micro / macro mysterious listening experiences of all time.

Label: Table of the Elements Catalog Number: TC 43 Format: CD Packaging: Thin jewel case Tracks: 1 Total Time: 48:48 Country: United States Released: 1998 More: Official

Text ©2003 Arcane Candy

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 19th, 2023 at 3:40 pm and is filed under Francisco Lopez. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.