"Wave Field" ends a period in which i was interested in writing music with notes. It became evident that i wanted to work with sound, with modulations and fluctuations impossible to notate. This was a major shift to a different way of thinking, as i found notes to be conceptual abstractions, which are to be later served by sounds.
Around that time (1993) i got to see Nirvana in Lisbon and the supporting band was the Buzzcocks. The venue's acoustics were so bad that all i could hear was an amorphous roar. While my attention drifted from this otherwise boring set, i began listening to that unarticulated stream of electric sound and found it extremely interesting and inspiring, a kind of liquid, abstract flux of rock sound. The room's resonance was literally liquefying this rock sound, in a way that plugged directly into my fascination for Alvin Lucier's piece "I am Sitting in a Room", turning it into a kind of Rosetta stone, resonance being the common key. It made me wonder, "what if that piece just went on and on, and how would that sound like through a guitar?". I wanted to consolidate these new ideas on distillation of rock and bring them down in a form of ambient music. Nirvana were great and actually sounded good, but when i got out, chatting with friends about the concert, i was already dreaming of "Wave Field".
While i was listening to the final mixes, i was amazed to discover "Wave Field" became a totally different thing if played at different levels. I was aware it could be ambient (played softly), but when i tried playing it really loud, i discovered a dense, powerfully charged stream of electricity. It's definitely not ambient, but something intensely hypnotizing. One can physically feel the wave.
Recently i heard the "Wave Field" CD and realized it could actually sound deeper and more spacious. This version is the result of a thorough remastering work, and it now sounds quite closer to what i was hearing in my head back in 1993.
Rafael Toral, Regada 2017
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"Wave Field" é o nome de uma peça com uma série de versões numeradas e irrepetíveis. Em Wave Field são explorados vários tipos de ressonâncias, loops e feedbacks, sempre produzidos a partir de uma guitarra eléctrica, usando também electrónica em tempo real e fita magnética. Altifalantes são colocados em redor do público.
O interesse pela ressonância(1) deriva da minha admiração pelo trabalho de Alvin Lucier, a quem Wave Field é dedicado. Embora Alvin Lucier seja conhecido pelo seu trabalho com ressonância acústica, em "Wave Field" esta é produzida por circuitos electrónicos.
"Wave Field" situa-se numa zona longínqua do território da música ambiental, no limiar da fronteira com uma área pantanosa onde se diluem vibrações essenciais e abstractas do rock, sob nuvens carregadas de ruído e povoadas por ecos de irradiação eléctrica.
(1) O aumento de volume de frequências específicas sob certas condições.
(texto original)
Rafael Toral, Lisboa, JAN 1995
credits
released June 1, 1995
LP version: Drag City (Chicago, USA), DC 702 (LP, 2018).
Reissue version: Dexter's Cigar/ Drag City (Chicago, USA), dex14 (CD, 1998).
Original Release: Moneyland Records (Lisboa, Portugal), MR$ 0595 (CD, 1995).
supported by 16 fans who also own “Wave Field (Remastered)”
Shimmering dread and wonder...thanks, Jim. Not just for this mesmerising piece but for all the magnificent variety you've given us over the years. Truly, thank you. costello75
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