Album Notes

Since the year 2000, Bangsplat (!*) has been exploring the possibilities of creating music with nothing more than a computer and audio software. Working with a fairly broad definition of the word "music", this exploration has resulted in five albums comprising a wide variety of sonic material, from processed bursts of pure noise to fully-developed experimental compositions.

Part proof-of-concept for "Happenstance", part experimental composition, "Birdstance" belongs to the latter category. Built from processed bird songs, it uses the compact disc as the basis for performance of the composition, rather than simply as a recording of it.

The CD contains 99 tracks, each a small piece of the bird song. It is designed to be played with the CD player in shuffle and repeat mode, resulting in a unique performance each time you play it. There is no predefined beginning or end; the piece lasts as long as you listen to it.

The samples available here are some of these tracks, not meant to be played independently from the rest. But they will give you a sense of what Birdstance as a whole sounds like.

This is ambient music in the truest sense of the word - the bird recordings were made by simply putting a microphone on a stand, pointed out of a window one night. These are ambient sounds, wholeheartedly couched in the tradition of Satie's Furniture Music; only every now and then they slap you to make sure you're sitting up straight and paying attention.