stopGOstop: field recordings, sound collage, and sound art

A walk in the park; computer generated midi composition, sine waves, manipulations and miscellaneous signal processing; waiting for the snow to melt; doing laundry; thinking about The Cherry Orchard.

A drive to Peekskill, NY; fragments of 1950’s interstate highway propaganda films; a re-arrangement of a musical reflection of James Turrell; Episode 114 of the podcast is a new composition created from fragments, pieced together through careful listening and in the spirit of James Hutton (1726–1797), a Scottish farmer,self-trained naturalist and founder of modern geology.

Dinosaurs! Unit Vectors! Shotgun Microphones! Frankenstein in outerspace! and more! stopGOstop presents A rock, a man and a connection, a new sound collage.

Dragnet! Apollo 11! George Kublers! the Lake Worth Monster! and more! stopGOstop presents I can not shake the theory that something is going to happen, a new sound collage.

The dull edge, the slow night, the stoical tones, the long breath. In the middle of winter a new composition for computer-controlled sine waves and field recordings.

stopGOstop presents The scale of the issue or the deepest shallow, an audio collage featuring recording about Charles Darwin, 4K televisions, the environment, materialism, the Cult of Pan, field recordings, digital signal processing and and so much more!!!! stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/110.mp3 Scroll down the the end of the post for download. Don’t forget check out the footnotes for episode 110 and if you haven’t please subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in your podcasting app of choice. You can always follow me on twitter or instagram — @JohnWanzel If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy 078: …of Man 079: …of Sense 080: …of Imagination

Moving in and out of public spaces, episode 109 of the podcast is a sound collage of binaural field recordings.

This week the program pairs a composition I wrote while sitting in the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center with field recordings of riding public transportation in Los Angles.

This week on the program a binaural field recording — a walk on the beach; under the pier; a few hundred yards and back again; up to the pier; watching the bumper cars, the roller coasters; a woman sings I’ve already made it.

This week on the program, synchronicity, retcon (retroactive continuity), tracing your ancestry through DNA tests, and STS-131,the first space shuttle after the Columbia disaster and much much more! stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled When I talk with Ivan I feel very good. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/106.mp3 stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Here is a link to a playlist of the source material. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel If you liked episode 106, you may also enjoy these past episodes: 096: Songs of the Damned 091: Semi-Western Grip 064: Farmers of the Fields of Stars  

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents A better place. Featuring recording about- aluminum, the history of cans, subscription model of capital, the economics of the an Anthropocene, and much much more footnotes

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents The best way to start the day. Featuring recording about- correlationism, how to write a novel, humans are not from earth, morning pages, and the invasion of Iraq. footnotes

breaking apart concrete blocks, a bit of feedback, a slow sine wave melody, erosion, moving rocks into a bucket, turning a burner on to boil water, a model railroad train zipping around the track, sitting at a suburban restaurant owned by an astronaut.

1. (drawing a large circle on the stage with his staff) 2. Here I am and am no I. This circle in all, these change changing in winterless, a dawn with an image of, an autumn change with a change of mist. 3. A cotton manufacturer… who decided to forgo his old waterwheel and invest in a steam engine, erect a chimney and order coal from a nearby pit did not, in all likelihood, entertain the possibility that this act could have any kind of relationship to… Arctic sea ice… The Tempest, Wm. Shakespeare Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany Fossil CapitalI: The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming, Andreas Malm

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents A welcome relief or an interruption, an audio collage featuring recording about the National Interstate Defense and Highways, Pittsburgh, James Baldwin, Eisenhower, Mahler, field recordings, digital signal processing and and so much more! Here is a link to a playlist of the source material.    

This week on the podcast the third of three new compositions for midi instruments and field recordings.

  This week on the podcast the second of three new compositions for midi instruments and field recordings.

  This week on the podcast the first of three new compositions for spring.

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents A Coupled System, a sound collage featuring recording about the fires, black holes and more.

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents Songs of the Damned, an audio collage. Featuring recording about the American Empire, the Ice Age, Norman Rockwell, Magic the Gathering, the digital future and much much more! stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Here is a link to a playlist of the source material. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/96.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 91, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 069: Harmony of the Worlds Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, the mysteries of time and space, game design, emotional development – listening to different ways of modeling the universe and Disco! Episode 064: Farmers of the Fields of Stars On earth and in outer space, an audio collage about technology, family and foodstuff. Featuring interviews and audio about the history of farming, 1970s tractors, learning to drive a tractor, backyard gardening, lettuce in near earth orbit, the year 3001, and Dead Space 2 in conjunction with digital signal processing. Episode 038: I don’t know if there’s an answer to this A trip to the moon, a march in the field, and the social and political power of empathy.

Episode 95 takes the speech and rhythmic patterns of episode 94, Arcadia, and uses it as data points, as signal to create voltage envelopes, as a way to create patterns and tones. The title is extracted from Thomas Moore’s Utopia, I have pasted a longer passage below. They sailed before with great caution, and only in summer time; but now they count all seasons alike, trusting wholly to the loadstone, in which they are, perhaps, more secure than safe; so that there is reason to fear that this discovery, which was thought would prove so much to their advantage, may, by their imprudence, become an occasion of much mischief to them. But it were too long to dwell on all that he told us he had observed in every place, it would be too great a digression from our present purpose: whatever is necessary to be told concerning those wise and prudent institutions which he observed among civilised nations, may perhaps be related by us on a more proper occasion. We asked him many questions concerning all these things, to which he answered very willingly; we made no inquiries after monsters, than which nothing is more common; for everywhere one may hear of ravenous dogs and wolves, and cruel men-eaters, but it is not so easy to find states that are well and wisely governed. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/95.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel If you liked episode 95, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 030: Ringing Rock State Park My friend Brian Taylor was in town for the art fairs so we drove to Ringing Rocks State Park. The episode is a binaural field recording of me walking around hitting rocks with a hammer for about 20 minutes. Some rocks ‘ring’ while others don’t. Brian was off in the distance casting a rock. We had a nice lunch at Ship Inn (not a part of the recording). Episode 021: PEAR The first work in the ad hoc Young Love Trilogy, a repackaging of old work for the stopGOstop podcast. Pear (2002) is concerned in general with how despair and desire effect the creation of a self that is mediated by personal and cultural experience. The text material for the project was produced by answers to fill-in-the-blank workbooks, as well as writings influenced by sections of St. Augustine’s Confession, Soren Kierkegaard’s A Sickness unto Death, and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, in light of genetic engineering, a psychobiography, along with language and computer systems. Episode 002: Brooklyn to Manhattan A binaural field recording on the N train, from 36th street Brooklyn to 42nd street Manhattan. At the time of this recording I had a studio in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. No introduction, about 37 minutes.

A sound collage featuring Space 1999, Vice President Wallace, Triangles, Gravity, and Bayes Rule alongside field recordings and digital signal manipulation. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/94.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel If you liked episode 94, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 078: …of Man Part one, of the Leviathan trilogy, listens to the preparations for war, whale hunting, Pirates! and the fear of a secret government, alongside field recordings, synthesizers and electroacoustic collage. Episode 070: I Want a Million Subscribers A president, protesters, the police, and the press, an audio collage. Episode 060: The Use of Reading and Recording An audio collage featuring… 70s and 80s computers, memory tricks, and the social history of a self-selecting clan of gamers.

A collage of binaural and stereo field recordings: a walk near my house in Mount Vernon, NY; a recording from my backyard as I trim a few trees; a recording alongside the a man-made lake near Highway 44 in suburban St. Louis; a recording of a walk back to work after lunch; among others. The tones are made through using a tone gate on the recordings, so when the wind creates a bit of mic noise, it is joined by tones and cords. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/093-field-notes.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel If you liked episode 93, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 068: Reading, walking, pizza/EDM, walking A binaural field recording in Amsterdam… the recording begins sitting in a plaza near the Athenaeum book store reading Children of Time, a fantastic evolutionary scifi book I purchased earlier that day. I then walked for a while until eventually I got hungry and I ordered a slice of New York Style Pizza… I ate the slice to EDM. The remainder of the recording is of wandering my way back the plaza near the bookstore.  Episode 048: From Rocks to Sea A new composition for headphones. featuring hitting ringing rocks, a bicycle, walking around a carnival, a bowed string, sitting on a plane, riding the 1 train, and walking on a beach. Episode 012: Central Park, Snow A binaural field recording of walking in Central Park after a snow storm. I start at the edge of the park, so there is some traffic noise. Once I enter the park there are horses, families playing, people talking and eventually me walking in Strawberry Fields covered in 8 inches of snow. It was a windy day, so there is some wind noise.

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents Unbalanced Force, the second of a series of related episodes about the Moon. Featuring recording about- rotation in space, the circle of fifths, Pythagoras, the speed of the earth through the universe, the moon as a malfunctioning sun and much more. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Here is a link to a playlist of the source material.

This week on the program… stopGOstop presents Semi-Western Grip, an audio collage about the truth and consequences of a moving frame of reference. This is the first of a pair of related podcasts about the Moon. Featuring recording about the moon, motorhomes, time and space, Australia, field recordings, tennis lessons, and so much more! stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Here is a link to a playlist of the source material. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/91.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 91, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 069: Harmony of the Worlds Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, the mysteries of time and space, game design, emotional development – listening to different ways of modeling the universe and Disco! Episode 064: Farmers of the Fields of Stars On earth and in outer space, an audio collage about technology, family and foodstuff. Featuring interviews and audio about the history of farming, 1970s tractors, learning to drive a tractor, backyard gardening, lettuce in near earth orbit, the year 3001, and Dead Space 2 in conjunction with digital signal processing. Episode 038: I don’t know if there’s an answer to this A trip to the moon, a march in the field, and the social and political power of empathy.

Part two of the mini-series collages the plight of humanity during end times capitalism through lectures, industry videos, and a sci-fi movie along with field recordings and digital signal processing. For further info please check out the footnotes.  

Part one of the EndTimesCapitalism mini-series collages the eschatology of technology — Artificial Intelligence, the Big Bang, consequences of capitalism, and the sci-fi classic Dune alongside field recordings and digital signal processing. For further info please check out the footnotes.

An eleven minute binaural recording from the finish line of the Sleepy Hallow Halloween 10k (pumpkin carved by my wife).

Rosco White with a Half-Wax Blend is a slow plotting quintet of sine wave-based software instruments. It concludes a trilogy of compositions that have thought about work and labor within a musical context. Each was scored for traditional instruments and then manipulated, collaged, and recombined. This score was for a brass ensemble, but its final instrumentation features resonant pure tones, with hits of the piano, base, or trombone folded into the waveform. In my mind, the resonance, and complexity of the tones equate to the perceived aftermath of work left in a room, both the immediate and long-lasting. For example, the odor of paint, hint of cleanser in the air, along with how a fresh coat of paint can change the very nature of a room.   If you haven’t already, make sure you check out…. Part 1: 085: A Durable Object Part 2: 086: T.M.O. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes! Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel

The episode begins with low-slow-open synth sounds that form a disjointed, yet repetitive theme. Sonically the first section features two synths, both rich in delay and field manipulation. The second section expands on the themes, slowly at first, then accelerated, repeating with slight variations. It’s voiced by midi piano with a modest amount of synth within the reverberations. The third section partially incorporates these two modes, jumping from the singsong-wide synth sounds, to the rhythmic rolling piano pattern, beeping and repeating high notes, and ending with slow somber tones. I have been thinking of the first section as morning lauds: a cup of coffee, a run in the park, a walk to the train, or any momentary reflection before the workday. The second section takes its pace and interruptions from repetitive tasks, sometimes sounding like a dance, or at other times, a chaotic ball rolling down a hill. The third part, is a uneven combination of the first two, the bit of work that stays in your head all the way until you fall asleep. T.M.O. is a direct follow up to episode 85, A Durable Object. The conclusion of this trilogy, Rosco White with a Half-Wax Blend, will be released as episode 86 of the podcast.  

A new composition featuring a software orchestra, computer-controlled synthesizers, and processed field recordings. The piece fully embraces traditional scoring techniques, tonality, and meter. Sonically the midi-controlled flutes, English horn, violin etc. are paired with FM synthesis to create the instrumentation. This joins and coordinates the electronic and orchestral sounds (even though they are both manifestations of software). When composing I was thinking about the pace and regularity of the workday. The repetition of the musical themes with only slight variations; the strong half-note cascades; the low grumble of a time-stretched boat motor: all become stand-ins for the physical and temporal aspects of work. In many ways, A Durable Object is a followup to Towards and The Falls, approaching work from a durational aspect.

Towards, is to be listened to while at work – doing tasks that you may not want to do, or monotonous tasks you like. I would suggest gardening, raking leaves, doing dishes, cleaning the house, watching tv or balancing a budget. Featuring binaural recordings of walking (in the woods, in a park, and on the train) alongside highly processed versions Chopin’s Nocturnes that have been stretched, collapsed and aggressively gated and EQ’d. The recording is just over 2 hours and 16 minutes in length. stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel  

This week on the stopGOstop podcast… A plot pickle or looking for a way out of the trouble we’re in, an audio collage of a 1990 speech concerning the emerging field of climate change by Carl Sagan and the made for cable movie Deceptions (1990), accompanied by synthesizer and digital signal processing.   stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ep83.mp3 Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 83, you may also enjoy these past episodes: 044: The Falls Besides a few brief respites, the piece is comprised of tones, grumbles, wa-wa’s, groans, beats and other sounds created through digital signal processing of recordings of Niagara Falls. The piece is made at a personal scale, three hours, a duration that is easy to imagine, but hard to hold onto. Ideally, The Falls is to be listened to while at work – doing tasks that you may not want to do or monotonous tasks you like. I would suggest gardening, raking leaves, doing dishes, painting a wall or changing light bulbs. 036: What is Keeping You Awake Right Now An audio collage about oil, capitalism, the environment and learning how to paint. 032: Early Summer Rainstorm A stereo recording of an early summer rainstorm in Mount Vernon, NY. I am starting to put small intros to the podcast- progress and professionalism, this episode is about 16 minutes long.

This week on the stopGOstop podcast… We will no not what will succeed, an audio collage of a 1988 interview with Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clark, along side the 2017 media availability of Bill Belichick, accompanied by synthesizer.   http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/we_will_no_not.mp3 stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 82, you may also enjoy these past episodes: 053: Contemplating the Universe Recordings while contemplating the universe: in a church while an organist practices; on a bench near a bookstore; in a car driving home. 042: Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything A new composition for headphones. Whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming, tinging, and whistling sounds. 003: Walking to the Store A binaural field recording, walking up Broadway to the store and back, to get some ice cream. It was a rainy night, I had an umbrella, but there still is some wind noise in this recording.  

This week on the program… there are problems that we can foresee, those that we can prepare for, those that we can dodge, those we can predict… there are others that we cause ourselves, these, the self-inflected are often the hardest. stopGOstop presents Soft Bodies, an audio collage about war, misfortune and disaster, mostly man-made. Featuring recording about the Challenger Disaster, the Dust Bowl, shipwrecks, resent and historic  environmental collapse and of course atomic power. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/081-soft_bodies-1.mp3 stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 81, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 069: Harmony of the Worlds  Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, the mysteries of time and space, game design, emotional development – listening to different ways of modeling the universe and Disco! Episode 064: Farmers of the Fields of Stars  On earth and in outer space, an audio collage about technology, family and foodstuff. Featuring interviews and audio about the history of farming, 1970s tractors, learning to drive a tractor, backyard gardening, lettuce in near earth orbit, the year 3001, and Dead Space 2 in conjunction with digital signal processing. Episode 038: I don’t know if there’s an answer to this  A trip to the moon, a march in the field, and the social and political power of empathy.

This week on the podcast, the exciting conclusion of special three part miniseries event, Leviathan. Part three…of Imagination, listens to Pirates! Whales! Secret Government Technology! Eldorado! Hobbes! Sound Collage! and Much! Much! More!

stopGOstop is proud to present the second installment of a special three part miniseries event, Leviathan. Part two, …of Sense, listens to World War III, the fundamental structure of natural law and Fargo, the whale dung sniffing dog, alongside field recordings, synthesizers and electroacoustic collage. And don’t forget to stop back next week for the the exciting conclusion, …of Imagination, listens to Pirates! Secret Government Technology! Hobbes! Mars! and Much Much More!

For the next three weeks stopGOstop is proud to present a special three part miniseries event, Leviathan. Part one, …of Man, listens to the preparations for war, whale hunting, Pirates! and the fear of a secret government, alongside field recordings, synthesizers and electroacoustic collage. ‘Tune in’ next week for part two, …of Sense, and in two weeks for the the exciting conclusion, …of Imagination. Pirates! Secret Government Technology! Hobbes! and Much Much More!

A stereo field recording from June 4, 2017 in Washington D.C. The recording begins sitting in Lafayette Square, near the North Lawn of White House. I then walked counterclockwise around the grounds of the White House (north, west, south, east, north). There is an unusually amount interference in the recording, especially present near the South Gate (14:45). I can only assume it is from the surveillance and detection devices at the gate and around the White House. After I walk past the South Gate you can hear in the distance, just down Pennsylvanian Avenue, the finish line for the Girls on the Run 5K. The run is ‘dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.’ At both the beginning and end of the recording there is the sound of a runner who blows Vuvuzela when he passes by the South Lawn. The recording is about 25 minutes. http://www.stopgostop.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ccw-white_house.mp3 stopGOstop is produced by John Wanzel. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast via this link RSS, or search for wanzel in itunes Follow me on twitter @JohnWanzel or friend me on facebook.com/jwanzel If you liked episode 77, you may also enjoy these past episodes: Episode 25: London Walk A binaural field recording of walking around London, I start inside a starbucks in High Holborn. I had hopes of recording the entire journey to Greenwich, but the batteries ran out after about 19 minutes. Episode 3: A Walk to the store A binaural field recording, walking up Broadway to the store and back, to get some ice cream. It was a rainy night, I had an umbrella, but there still is some wind noise in this recording, about 30 minutes. Episode 47: A Walk to the Library A binaural recording of a walk from our house to the Mount Vernon Public Library. The library was a gift to the city from Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1904. It is located in downtown Mount Vernon, across from the Post Office and up the hill from the Mount Vernon East Metro North Station. I returned the second book in Rachel Bach’s Paradox trilogy, Honor’s Knight, and picked up Jonathan Franzen’s new book Purity. Space Opera for Literary Soap Opera.  

  This week on the program, listening to a lecture on dark matter, ideas about how to gain universal knowledge, field recordings and zombies! stopGOstop is pleased to present the new audio collage — Give it to him or not, as you please.

To or at a distance, a new composition for headphones featuring churning, rustling, buzzing, humming, crickets, a river, and a bowed string.

This week on the program, listening to the Mississippi River, CAT6 cabling techniques, rope working and rigging, a lecture about cities in early capitalism and a Peter Gabrial! stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled I’m just jumping all over the place.

This week on the program, listening to Rube Goldberg machines, Isaac Asimov, ideas about artificial intelligence, and a couple of cover songs. stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled Don’t forget the happy thoughts.

This week on the program, listening to ideas about necessary connection, revolution, the commons, and UFOs. stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled The commons don’t fall from the sky.

A stereo field recording from October 2016 in Pacific, Missouri. The recording of Union Pacific No. 844 approaching, sitting and then leaving, was made at the intersection of First Street and the train tracks.

This week on the program – a president, protesters, the police, and the press – stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled I Want A Million Subscribers.  

This week on the program – Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, the mysteries of time and space, game design, emotional development – listening to different ways of modeling the universe and Disco! stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled Harmony of the Worlds. Check out these other episodes 039: I had an epiphany… 036: What is Keeping You Awake Right Now 026: The Omega Banker  

A binaural field recording from this past June in Amsterdam… the recording begins sitting in a plaza near the Athenaeum book store reading Children of Time, a fantastic evolutionary scifi book I purchased earlier that day. I then walked for a while until eventually I got hungry and I ordered a slice of New York Style Pizza… I ate the slice to EDM. The remainder of the recording is of wandering my way back the plaza near the bookstore.

This week on the program – listening to the the science of glacier change, Greenland, a lecture on Truman’s choice, a hypothetical nuclear attack, accompanied by digital signal processing – stopGOstop presents an audio collage entitled No one has the answer, but everyone has the answer.  

A stereo recording of a bike ride from Orchard Beach to our house in Mount Vernon. This is a photo of my old bike. I have upgraded to a matte black single speed. I have not tricked it out with reflective tape… yet.