Mixmaster Troposphere from Sonic Hugs by Jim Denely

MIXMASTER TROPOSPHERE BY JIM DENLEY

The originary layer of Mixmaster Troposphere was recorded 15th March 2023 with Burbie Springs, Warrumbungle National Park. That morning I played flute in a clearing where I had camped overnight, recording with two hard disc recorders, one 10 metres from where I played, the other some distance away (at the end of the audio you hear me walking towards the distant device to switch it off). The additional voiceover and bass flute part were subsequently recorded and mixed with these recordings at Kaloola Studio, Sydney.

Three Aboriginal language groups intersect at Warrumbungles. To the north-west Wayilwan is the language of Country. To the north-east, the traditional language is Gamilaraay and to the south is Wiradjuri Country. Warrumbungle is a Gamilaraay word meaning crooked mountains. People would have been meeting to play music in these extraordinarily crooked Mountains for a very long time. This work is a sonic hug to these peoples and this tradition. It's also a sonic hug, a social and cohesive co-creation, with place, Avian, and Insect musickin.

The text is:

Mixmaster Troposphere

no obstacle, energised by Sun they are Weather,

a weighty layer – fleshy catalyst of communion.

They makes independence impossible.

Air's thickness is more than anatomical cord. They constitutes soundings, audibility, corporeity.

Birthed; a litter of multiplicititlets,

Flies, Avians, fluting – buzzing, billowing – swarming as voicescape.

Catch of breath pneumatically powers syrinx, streams across Flute's hole; cutting Air.

From flesh, Sound flies upon the front edge of an advancing wave-crest of intense in-formational energies,

surrounding, ear drumming, impassioning...

Phrase Weather musicking.

Tracklist

6.	Jim Denely - Mixmaster Troposphere	5:03

Credits

from Sonic Hugs, released August 17, 2024
JIM DENLEY

There is an emphasis on eco-musicality, spontaneity, and co-creation with musickin (human and more-than-human) in his 'as-weather' playing. He sees no clear distinctions between his roles as instrumentalist, improviser, producer/recordist and composer.

Interested in what his music instinct might learn from language, from 1989 to 2003 he worked with the text/music group Machine for Making Sense, with Amanda Stewart, Stevie Wishart, Rik Rue and Chris Mann. Jim co-formed 180º with Amanda Stewart and Nick Ashwood to continue this intertwining of text, speech and music, releasing their first recording, Submental in 2019.

When in Sydney he’s deeply involved with Splinter; improvised orchestrating defined by its radical inclusivity. They have recorded for ABCTV and Radio and developed a number of procedural scores, some of which they performed at Tectonics Festival, Adelaide in 2016. Their second CD, a 3 CD box set recorded at Lake Mungo, MUNGO was released in 2016. In recent years much of their orchestrating has involved 'as weather' engagement with place.

Through Fire, Crevice and the Hidden Valley (Splitrec CD16) documents his deep engagement with the Budawang Mountains south of Sydney and his current major project is a new set of recordings there, and around Gadigal Country (Sydney Harbour) which is part of PhD research he is currently undertaking at the dept. of Art, Design and Architecture at UNSW. The first release in this series is In Weather Volume 1: The Hidden Valley (Splitrec LP 31), the second With Weather Volume 2: Gadigal Country (Splitrec LP 32) was released 2023, and As Weather Volume 3: Budawang Mountains (Splitrec 33), was released in April 2024.

[Photograph Courtesy of Jim Denley]

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