Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives)

by Francisco Meirino

supported by

Christophe Lejeune (freezincurtain) thumbnail

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

€5 EUR or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Jewel Box with black and white artwork

Includes unlimited streaming of Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 4 days

edition of 200 2 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

€8 EUR or more
Subscription

Subscribe now to receive all the new music Francisco Meirino creates, including this release and 15 back-catalog releases, delivered instantly to you via the Bandcamp app for iOS and Android. You’ll also get access to subscriber-only exclusives. Learn more.

Subscribe Now €25 EUR/year or more

	1.	Dying Oscillator 01:59
	2.	Backyard 05:34
	3.	H2CO3 06:06
	4.	Ultrasonic Discharge 05:14
	5.	Falling Snow (On A Metalplate) 01:36
	6.	Untitled 5 04:05
	7.	Manhole 04:49
	8.	The Basement 03:59
	9.	Strong Wind On Scaffold 06:31
	10.	Reel-to-Reel Motor & Voltage Discharges 05:09
	11.	Falling Snow 03:04
	12.	Ultrasonic Discharges II 06:01
	13.	Sonic Portrait Of A Car's Electromagnetic Field 02:10
	14.	Window Cleaners In Pudong, Shanghai 01:50
	15.	Ultrasonic Discharges III 02:29
	16.	Ventilation Sytem (CHUV - State Hospital) 04:14

about

Review by Chris Whitehead

The first release on Takanobu Hoshino’s OtO label, is quite a startling and daring launch. The Fukushima based sound artist has chosen Francisco Meirino to kick start his new venture with an album of stark beauty and purity. It requires a deep listening approach. I know that term is a bit of a cliché these days, but this time I think it is truly valid. This work simply will not reveal the truth at its core without respecting its subtlety.

As soon as ‘Undetected’ arrived through the post I couldn’t wait to hear it, so I slid it into the car CD player to listen to on the half hour drive to work. For a collection as subtle and nuanced as this, trying to appreciate the detail and peripheral disturbances involved proved unfruitful whilst motoring. During one particularly quiet spell I forgot I had I had a CD on at all, there was just the noise of the car’s engine until a sudden thump led me to momentarily think the exhaust had fallen off. It was actually an unidentified loud bang recorded in Meirino’s back yard.

I would suggest that this release requires some preparation before listening. Firstly the environment needs to be pretty silent, preferably dark to avoid visual distractions and obviously the listener needs to be comfortable. Headphones are essential. Ideally Francisco Meirino likes to play live in total darkness, and maybe we should follow his example. Some of the sounds revealed here are on the very cusp of audibility, and yet they are essential to the whole.

‘Undetected’ presents sixteen recordings from Meirino’s archives in an unadulterated form. They appear to be the sort of components from which he often constructs his tracks, but in this instance no composition takes place. Like the parts of an engine laid out on a workbench, Meirino invites us to examine these pure and unadorned sonic objects as they sit there in the cold light of day.

The first track follows a gently fizzing oscillator through its death throes. After two minutes of undulating static the device suddenly blinks out of existence forever with an impressive final burst. This sets the tone for what is to come: The sound of carbonic acid decomposing in water via a hydrophone, crisp and sharp: An unknown recording from a lost archive featuring drum rolls of charged pulses: A manhole on a construction site and strong wind on scaffolding. Sounds that in turn explore open spaces, manmade interiors and microscopic events within circuits and machines.

Three separate pieces are concerned with ultrasonic discharges in voltage circuits captured using electromagnetic field detectors. Like tiny stars punctuating the blackness of empty space, flickers of electricity momentarily flare into existence, only to die away in an instant. This practice reminds me of the Dark Matter search experiments carried out in a 1100 metre deep potash mine close to where I live. The depth of rock cuts out cosmic rays by a factor of 1 million allowing for ultra low background particle detection.

Two variations on the subject of falling snow (one of snow falling on a metal plate and one of it falling onto itself) provide a physical counterpoint to the ultrasonic discharges. Similar in the sense that they record points of sound set against a silent background, continuity is maintained. The sequencing of these selections is important. Listening to the tracks as they occur in order provides the best way into this secret world.

‘Reel to Reel Motor and Voltage Discharges’, gleaned from a tape recorder with belt and high density ground problems, begins with high pitched crackling and a thin sustained buzz before a deep throbbing bass sound underpins everything. Meirino’s fascination with malfunctioning machinery and failing systems seems to bleed into everything he does.

The disc closes with a loud, multichannel examination of a hospital’s ventilation system , rattling machine noise and churning turbines forming a deeply mechanical finale to a superb and hugely rewarding release. ‘Undetected’ delivers more secret pleasures with each exploration of its hidden undercurrents.

credits

released January 1, 2012

license

about

Francisco Meirino Lausanne, Switzerland

Francisco Meirino's music explores the tension between programmable material and the potential for its failure.
His work combines intricate textures, sonic precision, wide spatial panning and is fascinating by its physical intensity and detail precision.

www.franciscomeirino.com ... more

contact / help

Contact Francisco Meirino

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Francisco Meirino, you may also like:

MINUTIAED
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 14 fans who also own “Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives)”
go to album
Christ!
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 14 fans who also own “Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives)”
go to album
Another Set Of Days Now Over
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 14 fans who also own “Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives)”
go to album
Of Shadow and Substance
by Lea Bertucci

A disquieting, yet serene, reflection on industrial decay from the experimental New York-based composer. Bandcamp Album of the Day Dec 1, 2023
go to album
Cataclysmic System Binding Loss
by Carbon In Prose

Shards of static & distortion crash against disarmingly beautiful piano & synth melodies on this riveting new record from Carbon and Prose. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 30, 2022
go to album
Holographic Dreamtime
by Khôra

Less a solo act than a one-man megalith, Khôra builds impressive experimental soundscapes from modular synths, flutes, harps, and more. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 19, 2020
go to album
Some Event
by Kevin Drumm

supported by 14 fans who also own “Undetected (untreated recordings from on-site testimonies archives)”

Le silence va plus vite à reculons. Vincent Giard
go to album