Description
Michael Prime – Elements 1 – Compact Disc
Michael Prime’s work Elements 1 reflects his unique approach to sound art and bioacoustics, fields in which he has been a pioneering figure. Known for his innovative use of bioelectrical recordings from plants and fungi, Prime often explores the intersection of nature and technology, creating music that is deeply rooted in environmental sounds.
Elements 1 showcases Prime’s method of capturing and manipulating the bioelectrical activity of natural organisms to produce complex, textured soundscapes. His work frequently blends these organic sounds with electronic music techniques, creating compositions that are both ethereal and grounded in the natural world. This approach not only highlights the intrinsic musical qualities of the natural environment but also raises awareness about the subtle and often unnoticed dynamics that occur within ecosystems.
This album involves a careful arrangement of these sounds, possibly layered and processed to emphasize their musicality and to create a listening experience that is both immersive and thought-provoking. Through Elements 1, Prime invites listeners to engage with the natural world in a profoundly different way, encouraging a deeper consideration of our ecological surroundings and their hidden, sonic complexities.
Michael Prime presents himself as a sound ecologist, a title that describes his two passions: music and life. Active on the avant-garde music scene since 1985, he gained a solid reputation playing in electronic ensembles like Morphogenesis and Organum. Prime studied ecology and worked in that field for many years, conserving wildlife habitats in South London.
This work led to the development of techniques used to translate environmental and organic sound sources into music. He co-founded the live electronic improvisation group Morphogenesis in 1985 with Roger Sutherland, Adam Bohman, Ron Briefel, Clive Hall, and Fred Sansom and released a string of records with them on Streamline, Paradigm, Vintage Electronic Records, and his own label Mycophile.
In 1988, he started performing with the group Organum and released with them a 7′ for Les Disques du Soleil et de l’Acier in 1989 and a string of CDs in the 1990s. He has collaborated with such avant-garde luminaries as Jim O’Rourke and Eddie Prevost and formed the group Negative Entropy in 1997 with Geert Feytons of Noise-Makers Fifes.
Michael Prime’s art is mostly focused on letting the listener hear sounds that surround him but of which he remains unaware. This goes from the choice of environments in which he performs (caves, railroad tunnels, forests) to the type of sound sources he uses. On his 1998 CD Domestic Science he manipulated sounds from household appliances like a refrigerator and a washing machine.
But his most influential album is the 2000 release L-Fields on which he ingeniously uses bioelectric recordings of hallucinogenic plants to create haunting electro-acoustic works. He developed a technique allowing him to interact with plants, translating variations in their bioelectrical field into sound produced by an oscillator. He performed live with plants on numerous occasions.
Mycophile Records
Track Listing
1. Surface Tension
2. Salamander
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