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Discussions for Earth Baby commenced in December 2008 in Tokyo. Tomoko Konoike outlined the formal and physical aspects of the central sculpture and its installation. From this outline, discussions centred on three dimensions related to the installation:

• the sound that the open-mouthed baby would make
• the sound of the 'earth' from which it came
• the sound of the 'new world' space into which the baby was being born

These three dimensions (which also relate to time phases of the baby's 'travel' from the centre of the earth to the surface in the gallery space) then formed the basis for developing sound textures and sound atmospheres, each of which would relate specifically or collectively to aspects of the installation. At this stage the dialogue was quite conceptual and philosophical, but it also leaned substanitally on the ouvre of Konoike's work which deals with transitional states, phantasmagorical landscapes, cataclysmic ecology and psycho-sexual imaginings of the human form. The general directives were:

• have some sounds slightly rising in pitch in waves, so that the sound is always ‘rising up’
• have most sounds build in waves and periodic surges of sound, like the earth is breathing
• have sounds sourced from the Southern Hemisphere – so that they make their way to the Northern Hemisphere – like the baby’s voice rising out of the volcanic mass

A set of sounds were then decided on to be recorded which related to the ideas discussed:

A: Wolves howling
B: Cicadas from Queensland tableland (incredible waves of cicada noise as the cicadas speak to each other across a large valley or forest area)
C: Tokyo train carriage creaking (sounds like a baby crying softly in its sleep)
D: High-pitched chord of voice-like hollow ringing from train travelling fast (sounds like a group of babies cooing)
E: Rubbing/rasping of ceramic cups to effect ‘volcanic rock voice’ texture (this can be performed to sound almost like a deep voice speaking an unknown language, mostly made of vowel sounds)
F: Rolling logs along ground (to simulate earth moving)
G: Rolling stones along wooden floor (to simulate thunder)
H: Creaking rope (to relate to the baby stretching upwards from the ground)
I: Bubbling mud (to suggest the heat of the molten earth)
J: Steaming kettle (to suggest the heat of the molten earth)
K: Types of whirling strings/materials in wind – experiment with circular ‘bull-roarer’ effects (the ‘bull-roarer’ is an Aboriginal ‘sound-making’ instrument)
L: Various marbles spinning around wooden and earthenware bowls (this would sound great spinning around the room)
M: Water pouring thinly onto rubber covering over drain to create resonant drum rolling texture (this is a strong resonant sound with a rich deep tone)
N: Unevenly bottomed ceramic cup or bowl rattling on a wooden table until it comes to rest
O: Drum kit rumbling produced with fans, vibrators, etc. (sounds like the drum kit is alive and ‘playing itself’)
P: Various sheets of hard material rumbling produced with fans, vibrators, etc. (again, sounds like the material is vibrating in response to deep underground activity – like distant earthquake shaking)
Q: Gurgling of water slowly being drained from a deep bath (this makes a voice-like gurgle) R: Fireworks from festivals and celebrations S: Breathing through hollow tubes and cylinders T: vocal singing of sustained pitches to multi-track for choiir effects

Not all of these sounds ended up in the final version, but the overalll feel and intonation of these type of sounds and their sculpting largely became the basis of the completed piece. Mono and stereo recordings (both in the field and in the studio) were assembled, then sampled into sections and fragments to generate 'performable' sounds via MIDI modulation.

In addition, a series of recordings of real-time performances using bowed cymbals, extended guitars, and hand-played drum skins were produced. These more 'musical' elements were performed in large arcs of 'breathing rhythms' in accordance with the other sounds. Finally, a 'sample choir' was constructed from singing a 2 and half octave range of rising whole tones which were overlaid in a series of stereo layers. At any one point, the left side would be a true-pitch recording of one tone, while the right side pitch would be a pitch-altered version of the sampling of an alternative tone. The result is a slighly shimmering mix of 'real' and 'artificial' voice. A ten-note tetrachord sequence was composed in preparation for splitting the multiple voice recordings across multiple speakers in the final installation. The general blurring between 'real' and 'artificial' instrumentation and aural processing - ie. of making drums surge like waves and wave recordings rhythmically pulse like drum rolls - is an idea inspired by Toru Takemitsu's ground-breaking score for Maskai Kobayashi's Kwaidan (1964).

A 'suite' incorporating all these sounds was composed and produced in stereo across March and April in 2009 in Melbourne, then uploaded online for Konoike to check in Tokyo. Upon hearing these, Konoike decided on incorporating some ocean wave sounds. In May 2009, these new sounds were added to a new mixage in Melbourne, blending in well with the 'breathing rhythms' which informed the way in which all the sounds were performed.

Contents of this page © Philip Brophy. Images © Tomoko Konoike - courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo