MF Clarke - Arrays

A Closer Listen

Many of us wish that we could be in two places at once.  Either we have too much to do, and would like to divide ourselves, or we are in one place, dreaming of being in another.  MF Clarke offers a reflection of this wish in aural form, combining data sonification material from the Hudson River with related data from the Arctic and Antarctic and field recordings from Greenland.  To this she adds her own glass instrumentation, guitar and voice, creating a “third location” that exists only in the mind: a latitude and longitude in which different seasons can co-exist.

“polar hudson” is the first instance, a blend of sources that sounds like an ecosystem, albeit a cold one.  The data sonification was taken from the “subbottoms” of sites, although one can hear what sounds like frozen birds chirping over the ice.  It may be important to remember that due to climate change, parts of the Antarctic may soon sound more like parts of the Hudson River, and vice versa.  The bubbles and crackles are melded to a soft drone that provides its own soothing aura. Pleasant pinging, like deep sea sonar, signifies a yearning for the unknown, while dogs bark their excitement above.  A helicopter rotor drowns out the other sounds, but is less an intrusion than a human presence.

“snohole” is treated and distorted, sounding like a winter storm from the safety of a house, but with windows on all sides.  When the storm passes, the singer emerges.  Clarke’s voice becomes another drone: rising and falling tones that harmonize with her guitar, mimic her data and flow like the tides of a frigid sea.  But then on “confluence,” the artist returns home to the East Coast,   Wind chimes roll amid a mass of crickets, signifying late summer and early autumn.  A vehicle passes; a river flows.  This world is not yet frozen, and Clarke’s guitar is a gentle guide.  In the video, one sees the soft tug between the arctic blues and violets and the late verdant green.

One of the oddest things that the mind forgets is the reversal of seasons in opposing hemispheres. While it’s easy to remember that it’s cold at the equator and warm at the poles, it’s harder to recall that one nation’s autumn is another nation’s spring.  Arrays is a kind reminder.  In the same way, “Cities 1-4” returns a sense of wonder to city environments by concentrating on field recordings and collected data.  Not that Clarke is suggesting another ice age, far from it; instead, she invites her listeners to hold multiple scenes in their minds simultaneously, and intuit the connections. (Richard Allen)