Rhythmanalysis (originally published Feb 2017)

Being still and listening are a mindful practice in themselves, and they occur naturally as part of the practice of field recording. But being still and listening are not ‘all there is’ to field recording. There is of course the technical form itself, and the aspects of post-production that inevitably are involved. What I am to suggest is that after and beyond these circles of engagement there is a wider philosophical context in which the practice of field recording can be placed. We have touched on various forms of field recording, each having its own particular angle and associated practices. But beyond the practicalities of these forms of sound work lies a bigger picture. The bigger picture is what can unfold in our awareness. Of course while we are listening and recording there is awareness and we need it to perform the task. But rather like a cognitive post-production, perhaps more importantly comes an awareness afterwards, when we move from the immersive to the reflective. It is this reflection that can lead to an understanding and consciousness of ever widening circles. For this, the paradigm is what Lefebvre called rhythmanalysis. Just as fractal analysis infers the potentially infinite observation of repeating patterns creating larger or more complex shapes, rhythmanalysis can observe and consider then in audible terms, the macro and the micro-scopic aspects of sound and vibration, and patterns, in relation to our lives, and life itself, over time. To put this in context: field recording deals with sound, time, and location. As listeners and field recordists, we are dealing with the cynical energy of sound, which becomes recognisable as characteristic patterns. These patterns themselves may be part of larger temporal cycles. All of this occurs in places. From the cyclical modulation of the frequencies of sound waves we are ‘analysing’ when we are listening, to the patternsof the recognisable sounds we hear, to the patterns of the occurrence of the sounds, to the changes of the occurrences of the sounds in that space over a time, to the changes over history. Cycles, patterns, time, changes, rhythms, and ultimately rhythmanalysis. To clarify by revisiting the examples above: field recording is not simply frequency analysis; it is not simply pattern analysis, nor temporal analysis or historical analysis, but the one aspect that unites and connects all of these is the principle of rhythm. Therefore rhythm for the reasons above; and analysis because we are listening and thinking, we are making a recording but we listen back and we review, we analyse the content and we make comment. Field recording practice is a form of rhythmanalysis.