Australian field recordist Philip Samartzis and percussionist Eugene Ughetti collaborate on a new performance work exploring the sounds of katabatic winds in and around an Antarctic base
The work of sound artist Philip Samartzis often involves expeditions to remote and wild locations. After being inspired by the epic percussive soundscapes he encountered on his first Australian Antarctic Division residency at Casey Station, Samartzis asked Eugene Ughetti if he could help him translate recordings from a second trip into a new performance work.
“Intrigued, I accepted the challenge,” says percussionist Ughetti, “provided I could create a live performance utilising the same recorded materials of ice, air and water. We undertook an ambitious collaboration with sound, instrument, lighting and industrial designers, a dramaturg and percussionist.”
“For Polar Force we built an environment, a white inflatable structure reminiscent of a remote research station on the ice,” he continues. “Emanating from outside the space come the complex and foreboding sounds of the natural environment. Inside, a live event akin to scientific research in sound occurs. This hour-long performance installation work gives rise to a hyper-realistic sensing of Antarctica, bursting with natural beauty, power and the audible evidence of human impact.”
In this video, Polar Force is performed by Matthias Schack-Arnott and Eugene Ughetti. Samartzis and Ughetti’s Polar Force CD will be released by Room40 in October 2021, alongside its companion release Array.
An excerpt from the work is also available as a download to Wire subscribers as part of The Wire Tapper 56. Wire subscribers can also read an interview with Samartzis from 2006 inside The Wire 270 via the online archive.
