Francisco López

Francisco López transforms the environmental recordings captured by his equipment into fascinating, disconcerting imaginary worlds –alternative universes that require a profound listening, free from aesthetic prejudices and especially from the need to associate what we hear with our actual surroundings. Because while the essential ingredients of López's work – his "musical objects", in Schaefferian terms – are often sourced from nature (insects, rivers, the wind, birds, urban soundscapes), his music totally transcends the original context of these p honemes {extracted from http://ww w.ubu.com/sound/spanish_avant. html}

Sound Matter

Collectively transforming city sound environments into sonic virtualities

"Sound Matter" is a series of collective projects conceived and directed by sound artist Francisco López. In each project a small group of experienced sound artists / composers is teamed up to work collectively in and on the city where they live / work. The artists explore the city sound environments, gather field recordings, generate a series of shared pools of sonic materials -both original and transformed- and then create several original pieces that are presented live in an immersive multi-channel set-up, in which a new sonic virtual city is generated.

BIRMINGHAM SOUND MATTER (2009)

Organized by Modulate
Participating artists:
Helena Gough, Annie Mahtani, Nicholas Bullen, Cormac Faulkner, Martin Clarke, Bobby Bird, Mark Harris.

Towards the blur by Francisco López November 2001

I refuse my nationality. As I would do with any nationality. Patriotism is a form of tribal sickness that is not cured by travelling -as many believe-but rather by simply considering people as what they should be: individuals.

The nomad doesn't "go out to see the world". He / she lives it, and "out" has no meaning for him / her.

Music as a tint for language: so often and since such a long time, so good for story-telling, so bad for music.

Many times I feel nature as a giant ghost with no language and without the slightest interest on me. That's when it becomes a thrilling experience.

Ticks are more noble than birds: they don't hide their nature behind a song.

There should be special labyrinths for explorers. Unknown places need a break. We should be concerned about the loss of unkonwnness in our world. Another option is to go back to legends.

Be careful if you are a mutant; there are many Blade Runners out there.

{Extracted from: http://www.franciscolopez.net/env.html}
"The illusion of realism or the fallacy of the 'real' The recordings of La Selva have not been modified or subjected to any process of further mixing or additions. In a traditional context, it could therefore be said that this work features 'pure' straight nature sound environments, as it is often claimed in many nature recordings releases. Yet I believe this to be too simplistic and also to obscure a series of problems on the sense of reality and its portrayal through sound recordings..."

"...Furthermore, a sound environment is not only the consequence of all its sound-producing components, but also of all its sound-transmitting and sound-modifying elements. The birdsong we hear in the forest is as much a consequence of the bird as of the trees or the forest floor. If we are really listening, the topography, the degree of humidity of the air or the type of materials in the topsoil are as essential and definitory as the sound-producing animals that inhabit a certain space."