Deupree, Taylor / Willits, Christopher

Listening Garden

Label: Line Country: USA

"Listening Garden was developed as a sonic alteration of two quiet indoor/outdoor tea spaces installed at the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media in Yamaguchi, Japan in June of 2004. The audio installation was designed to heighten visitor's senses and alter the sonic space as they sat, read, or had quiet conversation amongst the trees. Taylor Deupree and Christopher Willits composed a number of short, randomly sequenced multi-channel soundworks using guitar and electronics. The fragments of sounds, while both gentle and subtly rich, are intentionally weathered, eroded and understated, generating a sonic bridge between the digital world of sound and the audiosphere of nature.

The audio on this CD is built from location recordings taken in the garden over the course of a week during the exhibit. The environmental and incidental sounds played a large part of the physical work and are captured and utilized in the recording. Listening Garden is meant to enhance the experience of simply sitting and enjoying one's place in time.

This CD is best heard in a similar situation and at a low background level. Headphones are not recommended.

Taylor Deupree is a sound artist, graphic designer, and photographer residing in New York. He is the founder 12k, a record label that focuses on minimalism and contemporary musical forms.

His solo works in recent years have explored a fusion of digital sound manipulation with organic and melodic textures that take influences from his interest in architecture, interior design, and photography. Themes of minimalism, stillness, atmosphere, nature, and imperfection prevade throughout his work . An intense passion for recording and studio technology creates a strong technological backdrop for all of his compositions.

Since 1993 Deupree has created critically acclaimed recordings for labels worldwide including Spekk, Plop, Noble (Japan), Ritornell/Mille Plateaux, Raster-Noton, Disko B (Germany), Sub Rosa (Belgium), Fällt (Ireland), Audio.NL (Netherlands), Room40 (Australia), Instinct Records, Caipirinha Music, Plastic City (USA), Dum (Finland), and of course 12k and LINE, among others. In January 1999, Deupree currated a compilation for New York's Caipirinha Music label that he titled "Microscopic Sound." This release was among the first to gather together artists of this style and helped put a name to a then-rising genre of electronic music.

Christopher Willits is a musician and multimedia artist located in San Francisco, California. Striking a delicate balance between acoustic and electronic sounds and systems, Christopher manages to defy genre distinctions while still defining a "sound" unto his own. His numerous solo releases and collaborations cover a broad spectrum of musical styles, and include one main commonality: Willits' unique use of the guitar with custom-made signal processing. This home-brewed software, along with Willits' 6-string prowess, generates a unique real-time mixture of improvised melody and rhythm. Willits' guitar lines and harmonies fold into each other. Notes and phrases hook and weave, creating complex patterns of interlocking rhythm, melody, and texture.

Willits' has a vast range of collaborations he is involved in, which include bands, sound installations, and film/video projects. Flossin, a band project organized and produced by Willits, is currently working on a new release that will feature the original lineup of Zach Hill (drummer from the band Hella), Miguel Depedro (Kid606) and Willits, plus Matmos and a familiar remixing cast of indie-electronic/rock artists. Christopher Willits and Brad Laner (formerly of Medicine) recently released a new album as the North Valley Subconscious Orchestra on Ghostly International in late August 2006. Taylor Deupree (12k label-head) and Willits have released two full-length studio albums and a recent Live CD. Other collaborators include Latrice Barnett (Galactic, Kaskade, Handsome Boy Modeling School), Paul D¹Amour (Tool, Lusk), Ryuichi Sakamoto (YMO), and video artist Scott Pagano."-Line