1- It echoes. A bell echoes. Textures and what seems to be water comes back and forth in waves. The bells jingling are about to announce something. It gains intensity. Frequencies are in a constant modulation that, no matter how altered the background might get, they still feel cohesive. Now we are submerging in these waves as if we were being dragged by the shore. There is closeness. There are different sound perspectives in a communion, and our own concept of space is being slowly modified. There is enough time -or space- for the listener to familiarise with the different shapes of sound. Something resonates from the depths of water. Is it us?
The shore feels closer now, vibrations reach the surface in a more distinctive way. If this was a landscape, it would be a nocturnal one, out in the countryside. This darkness is not generated by the absence of light. This is the same darkness that surrounds an old television set in our perception when we focus on the screen for a long time without closing our eyes. The shape of things can vary drastically. Have you ever stared at yourself in the mirror without blinking, until what you see starts changing? Joaquín Gutiérrez Hadid seems to be in an introspective path of chasing the core of a sound, spotting it, getting it undressed and then switching its essence into something else.
Don’t we all share the same elements with everything that surrounds us? And if so, shouldn’t the same thing happen to sound waves? Though generated with an in-detail technique, this work remains definitely enjoyable.
2- There is motion and longer lapses of silence in the beginning. As if a bigger distance should be needed at first. Heavy distortion processes make us think of static, glitches and the smooth ticking of a clock. The panning effect on the bells makes our perception stretch, as if preparing it for a transcendental experience.
What seemed to be motion in the beginning now shifts into longer pauses. As in the middle of a process of transmutation, these metallic vibrations are now in a sci-fi language. How does the wind sound in Mars? In the end, there are remains, still moving with the last winds. A soft and textured groove gives the impression of being the result of a complex machinery system.
3- Overlapping ticking and some surface scratches twinkle around a metallic breathing. What would it sound like if cyborgs would breathe? And if so, what would it sound like if a gigantic cyborg-creature of mythological origins would moan a lullaby? The first recognisable notes appear, and they emanate nostalgia. It’s the yearn for a past that shouldn’t be forgotten. Is this our future? How deep have we been submerging here?
Just as we ask ourselves that question, a recognisable ticking returns, and makes us remember the beginning of this journey. It makes us think of palindromes. How many shapes can one source of sound have? Joaquín Gutiérrez Hadid just made an attempt in answering that question. And the result is utterly beautiful.
sustain (trailer) – JOAQUÍN GUTIÉRREZ HADID from LINE on Vimeo.
