Jen Kutler: Sonified Physiological Indicators of Empathy
Cacophonous Revival Recordings

Sonified Physiological Indicators of Empathy might be a mouthful, but the title's justified by its contents. New York-based multidisciplinary artist Jen Kutler created her material using physiological data collected and then analyzed for indicators of empathetic response to sounds of violence. Test subjects were outfitted with sensors designed to read various physiological responses and then exposed to violence-themed audio clips for ten seconds followed by ten seconds of silence. The data was then converted into MIDI files and given synthetic voices, with further manipulations applied involving processing, sampled human voices, field recordings, and prepared piano. Available in cassette, CD, and download formats, the release features six sound works totaling thirty-seven minutes.

If ever a recording benefited from playback via headphones or an immersive surround-sound environment, Kutler's definitely qualifies. The settings are ultra-dense soundscapes within which blurry textures abound and unearthly vocals and instrument timbres drift. In the opening “Feasible,” cavernous rumblings emerge alongside steely, organ-like tones, the latter perhaps the result of stretched-out piano voicings and the whole somehow managing to suggest ties to both dark ambient at its most macabre and Baroque music. Weird twanging noises accent field recordings of waves and wind during the woozy “Borders,” identification of the elements again a challenge. The wordless singing of a children's choir distances “A Piece for Amplified Children” from the other settings, though here too Kutler expands on the presentation by adding bird sounds and a thick textural mass to the arrangement. Of the six tracks, it's this one that's the most combustible and mind-melting.

February 2021