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te henga weather

by Simon Allen

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1.
monologue 06:29
2.
3.
squall 02:55
4.
fog below 17:48
5.
fast-talk 04:27

about

Simon Allen - testbed, springs, piano, prepared tuning forks, resonant metal &c.

Te Henga Weather was recorded between March and May 2020, soon after moving from the UK to West Auckland, New Zealand.

Te Henga has a complex coastal geography of mountainous grazing, forest, bush, marsh and volcanic sand dunes. Living on a ridge top, the view is dominated by the constant cycling of water - rivers of fog, sea fret, clouds that envelope the house and rain driving horizontal or passing in graceful curtains. The sun blisters and night skies are crystalline, often there is an eerie dead calm - extreme stillness in a place of exposure. Looking out to the horizon between headlands, the next landfall could be Tasmania, or Antarctica. It feels remote from the world, at a time when having space to move about in is a huge privilege.

The music was made with a small travelling resource plus whatever could be found under isolation at home. The testbed, played solo on tracks 1, 3 and 5, is a soundboard set into the opening of a flight case, onto which materials can be placed. It has fixed strings of narrow springs prepared with sheet rubber, magnets and rocks; spring reverberation colours every sound that touches it. The piano in the house is well worn in and tuned down ¼ tone to survive the maritime climate. Other sounds were found amongst leftovers and objects taking a rest around the place: a three legged candlestick that rings for two full minutes, fence wire from the bush, mattress springs from amongst bonfire ashes, and others.

credits

released July 24, 2020

Te Henga Weather is dedicated to Francesca Hanley - her constant presence in memory.

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Simon Allen London, UK

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