The Art of Attention III is a recomposition for saxophone and live electronics of the electroacoustic piece of the same name. Inspired by Anna Tsing’s words that invite us to « be attentive to ways of existing separately and,
at the same time, observe how these ways hold each other through sporadic but crucial coordinations. » (Anna Tsing 2017), we set out to listen to the polyphonies of the MSH Paris Nord garden.
Observing the symbioses that organise the garden and listening to the sound environments inspire us to create a mixed piece in which listening is at the heart of the interactions. The piece is an improvisation device between two musicians.
From a sound substrate recorded in the garden, saxophone and electronics in real time interact and modify the material, producing emergences, hybridizations and morphologies, in the construction of a listening relationship that is symbiotic.
The piece invites the listener to practice the art of attention, to listen to micro-sounds and multiple temporal polyphonies that organize a sound garden in movement.
I chose to illustrate this video with mushrooms from the garden collected with the camera because they are the beings with which I am practicing the art of attention at the moment.
Thinking of this quote from Merlin Sheldrake in « Entangled life »: « Mycelium is polyphony in bodily form. »
Recorded on 4 June 2022 during the Rendez-vous aux Jardins at the MSH Paris Nord
Saxophone improvisation: Sebastián Sarasa Molina
real-time electronics: Diane Schuh