Stereo mix of the multichannel fixed media version
I. Membrane
captures the most unforgettable experience during the recording session in the middle of the ocean on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It was the sonic traveling between the land and the underwater. Under the peaceful appearance of the surface was the incredibly dynamic world that I had never encountered, and everything was vividly unveiled in my headphone. But when I put down my headphone, everything seemed to disappear all of a sudden – only the world that I live in was left.
II. Rainstorm
is made in RTcmix using field recordings from my hometown Zhangzhou, Fujian, China during the summer storm season. Different techniques of sound synthesis, physical modeling and sample processing were applied in order to sonically transform and reconstruct the gloomy, depressing, and overwhelming visual memory of the frequent thunderstorms, as well as to juxtapose the fantasy and the reality.
III. The Last 23 of Us
takes the data of the estimated population size of the Hainan black-crested gibbon from 1950 to nowadays. The data is mapped into different parameters of the FM synthesizer and the IIR filter in RTcmix in order to show the rapid decline of the population in the past 65 years. Every 10 years equals 20 seconds of the piece. The frequency range also shrinks, which signifies the shrinkage of gibbon distribution over the years. The Hainan black crested gibbon or Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), is a species of gibbon found only on Hainan Island, China. The Hainan black-crested gibbon is under grave threat of extinction. They are currently identified as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.