Metaphonics: The Complete Field Works Recordings

Metaphonics: The Complete Field Works Recordings is a sprawling anthology of site-responsive music, imagery, and original text, spanning 7 vinyl LPs and a hardbound book. Inspired by Stuart Hyatt’s audio field recordings, musicians from around the world have contributed complex sonic narratives under the Field Works banner. Each album begins with Hyatt’s samples and soundscapes from a particular time and location, weaving them into musical phrases and ultimately into song cycles intended to give the listener a heightened and more nuanced sense of place. The companion book, Metaphonics, offers the listener context through original essays on acoustic ecology, human noise, and the aesthetics of our soundscape. An edition of 225, this very limited boxed set comes in custom packaging, and includes high-quality audio download codes for the entire 7xLP set.

The Field Works musicians:
Stuart Hyatt, Dan Deacon, Juana Molina, The Field, Pantha du Prince, Eluvium, Dntel, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Gazelle Twin, Visible Cloaks, The Album Leaf, Loscil, Matmos, Rafiq Bhatia, Paul de Jong, Julien Marchal, Mary Lattimore, Lali Puna, Lusine, B. Fleischmann, William Tyler, Nick Zammuto, Lullatone, Benoit Pioulard, Luke Abbott, Marcus Fischer, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Greg Davis, Player Piano, Prototokyo, Daring Ear, Enrique Ramirez, and Forrest Lewinger.

Born in the Ear:
Following an original essay by Erik Anderson, the album documents the collision of urban and rural to create a complex sonic portrait of Lancaster County, PA. Music contributions from Juana Molina, Eluvium, The Album Leaf, Paul de Jong, Greg Davis, Loscil, Forrest Lewinger, and Stuart Hyatt. Artwork by Courtland Ellis.

Pogue’s Run:
Music plotted along a humble waterway in Indianapolis. From its source, through the city, into a mysterious three-mile underground tunnel, and finally to the White River, Pogue’s Run represents the ongoing tension between nature and civilization. Music by Eluvium, Benoit Pioulard, Marcus Fischer, Rafael Anton Irisarri, and William Tyler. Original Essay by Ben H. Winters. Artwork by Casey Roberts.

The Fair State:
A sonic meditation on the State of Indiana on its 200th birthday. Inspired by Stuart Hyatt’s audio field recordings made during the Indiana State Fair, the album captures the complexity of a place as it wrestles with the 21st Century. Composed and performed by Julien Marchal, Mary Lattimore, Enrique Ramirez, Grover Parido, and Stuart Hyatt. Featuring signed and numbered prints by Nathaniel Russell.

Initial Sounds:
A two-album set containing ancient sounds from deep space and deep within our planet. Part 1 explores Earth’s primordial soundscape, from glaciers to volcanoes. Part 2 expands into outer space by sampling the chirps of gravitational waves. Music by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Dan Deacon, The Field, Pantha du Prince, Gazelle Twin, Visible Cloaks, and Stuart Hyatt. Visual Art by Nina Elder.

Glen Rose Formation:
Suites of pedal steel and orchestral ambiance inspired by the landscape and unique geology of south central Texas. Narrated by 89-year-old Mary McGrath Curry, the music is built around resonant frequencies measured in the Cave without a Name. Composed and performed by the Field Works Ensemble. With remixes by Dntel, Matmos, Lusine, Rafiq Bhatia, and Luke Abbott. Visual Art by Soomin Jung.

The National Road:
A 12-song cycle built around Stuart Hyatt’s audio field recordings made as he walked along a single street in Indianapolis. Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities provides the narrative framework as hundreds of fleeting moments are assembled into a sprawling sonic landscape. Music by Lali Puna, B. Fleischmann, Nick Zammuto, Lullatone, Daring Ear, Player Piano, Prototokyo, Forrest Lewinger, and Stuart Hyatt. Each track is paired with original artwork by Nathaniel Russell.

The Book and Liner Notes:
Metaphonics
The Field Works Listener’s Guide
Editors: Stuart Hyatt, Janneane Blevins, and Benjamin Blevins
Curated and designed by PRINTtEXT, the book features original essays based on the Field Works collection of music and inspired by naturalist Bernie Krause’s taxonomy of soundscapes. Krause writes the book’s foreword. Enrique Ramirez provides an introduction. Writing on Geophony (earth sounds) are Gustavo Valdivia and Yiorgis Sakellariou. Cheryl Tipp and Leah Barclay contribute essays on Biophony (animal sounds), while Sarah Laskow and Stuart Fowkes write about Anthropophony (human sounds). Expanding on Krause’s system is Budhaditya Chattopadhyay, who explores the notion of Cosmophony (sounds from outer space). Stuart Hyatt provides a track-by-track guide to the entire box set, trying to understand place through sound while revealing his messy, unpredictable approach to composition and collaboration. This gorgeous volume, published by Jap Sam Books, is richly illustrated with dozens of Hyatt’s street photos as well as original artwork by Manuja Waldia and Peter Liversidge.

TRACK LISTING 
A1. All These Things Are Real (Paul de Jong)
A2. They Coat the Land in Names (Eluvium)
A3. Just a Regular Street (Forrest Lewinger)

A4. Born in the Ear (The Album Leaf)

B1. Again and Again (Greg Davis)
B2. Dedication, Consecration (Juana Molina)
B3. Imprints (Loscil)
B4. The Last Long Walk (Stuart Hyatt)

C1. Today I Sample (Stuart Hyatt)
C2. The Source (Benoit Pioulard)
C3. Through The City (Marcus Fischer)
C4. The Tunnel (Eluvium)
C5. Into The White (Rafael Anton Irisarri)

D1. What Is The City Hiding (Stuart Hyatt)
D2. Pogue Out Walking (William Tyler)

E1. Welcome (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)
E2. Agriculture (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)
E3. Labor (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)
E4. Education (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)

F1. Industry (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)
F2. Trade (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal)
F3. Equality (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal, Mary Lattimore)
F4. Ecology (Stuart Hyatt, Julien Marchal, Mary Lattimore)

G1. Kinematic Wave (Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith)
G2. Into the Flux (Gazelle Twin)

H1. Flow (Visible Cloaks)
H2. Potentially Lahars (Dan Deacon)

I1. LIGO (The Field)

J1. Spacetime Drift (Pantha du Prince)
DIGITAL BONUS: The First Sound (Stuart Hyatt)

K1. Formation 1 (Stuart Hyatt)
K2. Formation 2 (Stuart Hyatt)
K3. Formation 3 (Stuart Hyatt)
K4. Formation 4 (Stuart Hyatt)

L1. Formation 1, Revisited - Dntel Remix (Dntel)
L2. Formation 2, Revisited - Lusine Remix (Lusine)
L3. Formation 3, Revisited - Matmos Remix (Matmos)
L4. Formation 4, Revisited - Rafiq Bhatia Remix (Rafiq Bhatia)
DIGITAL BONUS: Formations, Revisited - Luke Abbott Remix (Luke Abbott)
DIGITAL BONUS: What If The Luminous (Stuart Hyatt)

M1. Street Overture - Continuous Cities (Stuart Hyatt)
M2. Elevator - Cities and the Sky (Forrest Lewinger)
M3. Now it's Ready - Cities and Memory (B. Fleischmann)
M4. Free About Me - Hidden Cities (Lali Puna)
M5. Looking for Help - Cities and Desire (Player Piano)
M6. A Place to Sleep - Thin Cities (Prototokyo)

N1. I am Alive - Cities and Eyes (Nick Zammuto)
N2. The Footprint - Trading Cities (Daring Ear)
N3. Scratches - Cities and Signs (Daring Ear)
N4. No Longer Strange - Cities and Names (Forrest Lewinger)
N5. Fossils - Cities and the Dead (Stuart Hyatt and Lullatone)
N6. Mediated World - Cities and the Field (Stuart Hyatt)