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1.
Swan Song I 20:25
2.
Swan Song II 20:08
3.
4.
Mash I 14:59
5.
Spirit I 06:34
6.
Beat 04:40
7.
Pump 03:49
8.
Neck 03:00
9.
Source 04:14
10.
11.
Mash II 13:44
12.
13.
Cask 10:27
14.
Spirit II 09:09
15.
Swan Song IV 26:38
16.

about

Two stills from a whisky distillery were retired on June 28, 2019 after serving for 12 years. They were removed through the roof by a crane and replaced by new ones. The swan neck portions of the old stills were then cut by master coppersmith Dennis McBain.

The swan necks were used as part of a kinetic sound sculpture. Through each swan neck recordings made throughout the distillery were played: the Robbie Dhu Spring cairn where the source of water for the distillery flows, the cooperage floor where casks are being repaired, vats where barley goes through the various stages of germination, the bottling floor, the River Fiddich where the used water ends up, and a choir made up of staff working at William Grant & Sons (which houses Balvenie and Glenfiddich distilleries) in Dufftown, Scotland.

Each member of the makeshift choir contributed two short voice recordings, one of the highest pitched sound they could produce, and the other the lowest. They were asked to hold the sound for as long as possible. The resulting recordings were arranged according to how long they’ve each been at their job and in relation to the age of the distillery (founded in 1886).

In the sculpture, swirling around the swan necks are skeletal crane-like devices that trigger the playback of the recordings.

In the publication, the same recordings were used as a starting point.

The sounds are mashed together. They are treated kinetically. They are distilled acoustically. They are mangled mechanically.

-----

Two stills from a whisky distillery were retired on June 28, 2019 after serving for 12 years. They were removed through the roof by a crane and replaced by new ones. The swan neck portions of the old stills were then cut by master coppersmith Dennis McBain.

The swan necks were used as part of a kinetic sound sculpture. Through each swan neck recordings made throughout the distillery were played: the Robbie Dhu Spring cairn where the source of water for the distillery flows, the cooperage floor where casks are being repaired, vats where barley goes through the various stages of germination, the bottling floor, the River Fiddich where the used water ends up, and a choir made up of staff working at William Grant & Sons (which houses Balvenie and Glenfiddich distilleries) in Dufftown, Scotland.

Each member of the makeshift choir contributed two short voice recordings, one of the highest pitched sound they could produce, and the other the lowest. They were asked to hold the sound for as long as possible. The resulting recordings were arranged according to how long they’ve each been at their job and in relation to the age of the distillery (founded in 1886).

In the sculpture, swirling around the swan necks are skeletal crane-like devices that trigger the playback of the recordings.

In the publication, the same recordings were used as a starting point.

The sounds are mashed together. They are treated kinetically. They are distilled acoustically. They are mangled mechanically.


Marla Hlady and Christof Migone each have long-standing individual artistic practices. They started to collaborate in 2015 in joint projects that combine pre-existing solo concerns and recurring strategies into works that accent site and sound space. They have performed at Ftarri (Tokyo, Experimental Intermedia (NYC), Arraymusic and Electric Perfume (both in Toronto). They have installed their joint work at ArKO Museum (Seoul), Errant Bodies (Berlin), Glenfiddich Gallery (Scotland), and Christie Contemporary (Toronto).

Marla Hlady has an MFA from York University (Toronto) and is tenured faculty at the University of Toronto. Christof Migone has an MFA from NSCAD (Halifax), a PhD in Performance Studies from NYU, and is tenured faculty at the Western University. Both have international careers, including exhibitions or events in Australia, Korea, Japan, the USA, and in 15 European countries. Hlady is in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, Museum London, Canada Council Art Bank, amongst others. She is represented by Christie Contemporary (Toronto) and has had over 30 solo exhibitions since 1991. She has been the recipient of commissions and residencies from Avatar, Artengine, Art Metropole, InterAccess Electronic Media, Arraymusic Ensemble, Five Thousand Generation of Birds, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Gallery, Kling & Bang, etc. Migone performed at the 2012 Whitney Biennial, Liquid Architecture, LUFF, Mutek, Cave 12, Hangar Bicocca, Onassis Stegi, Irtijal, etc. A book compiling his writings on sound art, Sonic Somatic: Performances of the Unsound Body was published in 2012 by Errant Bodies Press. He has been the recipient of commissions from the Tate Modern, Dazibao, Kunstradio, Centre for Art Tapes, New Adventures in Sound Art, Radio Canada, New American Radio.

credits

released February 14, 2023

Recordings by Marla Hlady & Christof Migone during a 3-month artist residency in the summer of 2019 at Glenfiddich (Dufftown, Scotland).

Mixing by Christof Migone, Toronto, 2019-2022.

Photographs and drawings by Marla Hlady & Christof Migone.
The drawings are part of the Spirit Shift series made on Monday June 10, 2019. That day, we spent an entire shift on the floor of the Spirit Supply Building shadowing the workers. We produced a sonic score of their gestures in the form of one drawing per hour. This is the stage when casks are filled with spirit on one end and are emptied of whisky at the other end. In between the two ends of the process are years, sometimes decades, of the spirit maturing in the casks.

Mastering by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, Montréal.

Thanks to Miguel Carvalhais at Crónica, and everyone at Glenfiddich, in particular Andy Fairgrieve (Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program).

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Crónica is a label based in Porto, Portugal.

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