Desierto
Desierto, Desert soundscapes
An invitation to go down the altiplano Potosino, a desertic mexican region north of San Luis Potosí state. On its elevated plains at 2000 meters height, the desert is far from being empty. We can listen to the inhabitants from the small villages widespread over the desert. Shepards guide us next to their flocks of sheep and goats, we travel by donkey or cart for plowing the fields. Between cactus and bushes, cows look for blades of grass. Back in town after a long journey, we found ourselves at the church in the patronal feast. As an echo of the train crossing the vastness, coyotes sing as their way of partying.
Arte Radio : arteradio.com/son/61669911/desierto
A sound piece by Félix Blume
Sound recording: Pierre Costard & Félix Blume
Production & mixing: Félix Blume
Thanks to the inhabitants of Wadley, Lavaderos, Charcas, Coyotillos, Presa Santa Gertrudis, San Antonio De Coronados, Estación Catorce and San Agustín.
Sound recording dates: July 2012, June 2019 & August 2021
Sound editing and mixing February, March & September 2021
Release date: 2022
Broadcast and listening sessions: Maison de la Poésie (Fr), Radio Campus Bruxelles (Be), Bruits #3 (Fr), Sonic Acts (Nl), Sonographe (Fr), Théâtre de Narbonne (Fr), Radio Campus Paris (Fr), Rien à voir (Fr, 2023), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Fr), Radiophrenia (UK), La Troisième Porte à Gauche (Fr), Monteaudio (Uy), Back to the Trees (Fr),
Exhibitions: Palais de Tokyo (Fr),
Nominated at Phonurgia Prize 2022
Talk about Desierto during Sonic Acts (English)
Press : Radio Campus Paris (Fr), Télérama (Fr),
Reviews:
Juliette Volcler:
“Voilà un désert habité de toutes parts. Si Pascal avait pu l’entendre, il n’aurait plus été effrayé par le “silence éternel des espaces infinis”. Félix Blume, explorant inlassablement les multiples expressions sonores qui caractérisent tel ou tel territoire, transforme l’écoute en un milieu vivant.”