This is a true record of a sideways, twisting, churning severe air pressure system that never lets go in its hour plus power play of unrest.
GONE W/THE WIND: After receipt of the latest from a/v artist Simon Serc, it just so happens that wind is one of the natural/meteorological phenomena that fascinates me to all ends. I could listen to the sound of rain or thunderstorms for hours. On Bora Scura the field recordist presents an array of stunning heavy forces captured in Ajdovščina, Slovenia, that swirl and unfurl in ravaging patterns. He suggests that the strongest gusts can be in excess of 200mph, that’s pretty impressive, and scary for any life in its way as these harsh conditions will most definitely create serious damage to most anything it bears down upon. Though he’s used no processing there are other industrial and in-situ sounds like trucks, a barking dog, chimes going sideways, door hinges, walking sounds, church bells, etc. The white noise created from the thrash of these wind currents is quite soothing and strange almost like ocean waves before a major Nor’easter. This is out on CD (Pharmafabrik) and digital (Sonospace/Bandcamp).
The individual track titles are named for particular types of wind. The way in which the tones change and wind is captured from inside and out is so different as measured from the position of equilibrium, and the whistles and wails shift in whichever circumstances you are in physically. The wind shakes everything as it moves through space, the air acting as Mother Nature’s way of whisking everything from neighboring trees and various foreign detritus left behind. In these much fierce circumstances that artist was likely at some risk in the capture of these field recordings which remind me of some sounds conjured by, say, Daniel Menche. It’s sets off a visceral atonal set of environmental frequencies that stop and start without particular warning in “the region that separates the lower Adriatic coast from the Julian Alps range” as the artist shares. Wind like this can destroy anything natural or manmade, and are near hurricane force. At times it makes sounds like a whistling train engine, a steaming tea kettle or overly anxious birds or prey. There are a few moments where it sounds as if the wind is tearing a root from its foundation that is pretty dramatic as well as a few extremely peaceful ambient bits. But over and above, this is a true record of a sideways, twisting, churning severe air pressure system that never lets go in its hour plus power play of unrest.
LINK: https://toneshift.net/2018/04/29/bora-scura-by-simon-serc/