Astronomers have used ground-based and spacecraft-mounted sensors for decades to measure radio waves, electromagnetic fields, and plasma fluctuations. Through frequency manipulation techniques referred to as data sonification, these signals are transformed into audible files. Thus, one can listen to the “sounds” of outer space – even where these sounds were not discernible in their original form.
Sonologyst (Raffaele Pezzella, head of the Unexplained Sounds Group labels) has taken sonification files provided by NASA and further manipulated them into an album of experimental drones. The result is 13 distinct pieces, each sourced from a different location and set of sensors. As with much of Pezzella’s previous output as Sonologyst, Planetarium is drawn to an inquiry into aspects of science through auditory expression.
It can be hard to determine where the NASA files end and Pezzella’s efforts begin. These tracks contain fluttering and chirping, voices, and oscillating drones. The structures are gritty and rough, reflecting the noisiness of naturally occurring processes. Some are especially dark, such as the cavernous drone of Ultra Low Black Hole Frequencies. Another recording, Earth Magnetic Waves, is in the same general sonic vicinity, though with a lilting cosmic tone throughout. Kuiper Belt incorporates synth and abstract noises. As a bonus, the album ends with 57 minutes of the original NASA sound files.
The pairing of the sounds of space with Pezzella’s compositions is a natural one. Both are based on an exploration of the unknown – a focus on atmosphere and tension without resolution. Space may be largely silent to the human ear, but when its electromagnetic fragments are made audible, they resonate with the same characteristics that drive Pezzella’s explorations.
Planetarium will be released on June 27 by Cold Spring Records.
