Turning Earth Sounds Into Ethereal Music: Inside the Making of Field Works’ “Stations”

Recording the Earth

The last time we spoke with Stuart Hyatt about his Field Works project, he had recently released an album of immersive music with the sounds of bats at its center. The new Field Works album, Stations, goes to a very different place than that in a very literal sense. For this album, Hyatt drew upon the work of EarthScope, recording the sounds of the planet itself and then bringing in a host of collaborators, including Laaraji and Qasim Naqvi, to transform those sounds into a haunting, gorgeous soundscape. Reached via email, Hyatt discussed how everything came together.

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Where Chamber Music Meets Miéville

Qasim Naqvi is one-third of the compelling, often experimental Brooklyn trio Dawn of Midi. He’s also a composer in his own right. Next month, NNA Tapes will release “Preamble”, a collection of new compositions written by Naqvi and performed by The Contemporary Music Ensemble of NYU. There’s also a literary connection, which may well interest those who like their music and their fiction unpredictable and unconventional.

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