It all started in 1994, in a bathroom. An air vent above the bathtub attracted my attention. There, in the dusty environment, air became noise, music. Microphones were brought into contact with this acoustic territory to transmit the sonority of the aeraulic device directly. Since that day, I have been attentive to the flow of air in the modern architecture. This CD presents a selection of sound recordings made in Paris in buildings of various ages and dimensions. Without seeking to itemize mechanized ventilation systems in any methodical manner, I was interested in documenting their sonic and musical qualities. My approach wasn't strictly scientific, but nor was it primarily musical. All the sound recordings were made using a boom and of a pair of condenser microphones. Direct contact with the material was avoided. The recordings were subsequently assembled and equalized to optimize their abstract qualities, i.e. I sought to emphasize only sonic particularities related to the acoustics of the point of listening, not events related to the external movements (sounds of doors, or voices): a listening devoid of both context and reference.
(Eric La Casa, 2006)

Eric La Casa

«My work is just as much to interrogate the perception of reality as it is to expand the idea of what music consists of today.» Born in 1968, he works as tape music composer, sound plastician and associate producer for France Culture, French national radio. La Casa’s work is a research into the question of listening: from the landscape (the concept) to the field recording.
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