Voices #6
◦ “voices” is the place where we ask, artists reply and you read.
here we got:
Fletina
answering some questions. We have already observed his field recordings / experimental / abstract work here.
[1. IDEA]
■ The A. O.: Can you tell us how “Becquerel” came to light?
► Fletina: I was reading about the French physicist Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel and his discovery of ‘The Photovoltaic Effect’ while I was experimenting with some recent field recordings of mine, and without me being particularly conscious of it – I was soundtracking the story of Becquerel’s early struggles and his eventual scientific breakthrough in my own head, and trying to sculpt sounds to match my vision, so the whole thing happened in a symbiotic kind of way. I wanted to make it a longform album-length piece to reflect the time and patience it must have took for Becquerel to make his discovery, while also keeping everything pretty vague and open to interpretation…
Through abstract sonic experimentation with room tones and various field recordings I found that I had created a vaguely dark and confined atmosphere that suited the theme of the release. The sound artist Anne-F Jacques described it as ”simultaneously full of sound but with a kind of hollow open space in the middle”. Given how abstract and ambiguous the piece (and my work in general) is – it’s pretty difficult to talk about, but the whole thing makes sense in my own head…
[2. CREATION]
■ The A. O.: How do you usually approach composition? Do you start with a concept, a sound, a state of mind or what else? How do you generally proceed from the initial seed to the complete work?
► Fletina: My approaches to composition tend to vary, depending on the specific project. Sometimes I get the spark of inspiration or a vision of the album I want to create in my head, and from there I try my best to go out and capture this feeling and atmosphere in sound, but other times I’m simply just messing around with field recordings or drones or whatever, and before I know it I’m onto something promising… Once I get the initial inspiration for a project – I tend to work pretty fast, because I get very passionate and obsessed with it, and also because I have a fear of losing momentum or ”steam” before the thing is complete.
[3. FEEDBACK]
■ The A. O.: What do you hope listeners feel or experience when engaging with your music?
► Fletina: I just hope that listeners feel SOMETHING when they listen to my work. Most of my stuff is pretty vague and abstract and non-musical, so it’s up to the listener to interpret it however they want. I imagine most people will just dismiss my work as weird or nonsensical or whatever, but for those who ”get it” – they can take what they will from it. Sometimes the way a certain project makes me feel is so different than the way it’s perceived by listeners, and that’s okay…
[4. IDENTITY]
■ The A. O.: In a world saturated with digital music content, how do you try to keep your sound distinct and personally meaningful?
► Fletina: Using my own equipment and production choices, and trusting my own instincts instead of emulating what others do. My recording equipment is embarrassingly simple and minimalistic, and I’m not a professional musician or sound artist, so I generally just mess around with various sounds until I create some kind of interesting atmosphere and audio environment that I like being immersed in. My lack of impressive gear and technical know-how may be a part of what keeps my sound distinct, who knows…
I question the meaning of what I do and why I do it all the time, so that’s a difficult one to answer… I guess I just try to be genuine and authentic, and create without external influence or pressure. If a project I’m working makes me feel something on an emotional level while working on it, then I suppose it does holds some personal meaning.
[5. INFLUENCES]
■ The A. O.: Name three albums that you consider relevant to your musical path and why.
► Fletina: ○ “Kelly Ruth – Forms”
Kelly Ruth is a Canadian artist that makes non-musical ambience and noise using a weaving loom and textile related tools. This debut album of hers from 2019 is so powerful and mesmerizing, full of puttering mechanical rhythms and textural drones which definitely had an influence on these elements that are prevalent in my own material.
○ “Conducive – Hidden Canals”
Conducive makes unique, immersive and strangely emotional sound collages out of field recordings and subtle drone music. The field recordings in this EP were mostly taken on the streets of an (unknown) French city and it really feels like you’re there, yet there’s elements of abstract surrealism in the music that makes it weirdly hallucinatory and darkly atmospheric. This short but stunning EP is one of my favourite sound art releases of all time that had a significant impact on my own creative approach.
○ “Cravune – A Secret Room”
Cravune was the old moniker of Italian sound artist Manuel Carbone. I love all his Cravune releases but ‘A Secret Room’ was the first one I heard, and it had a strong impact on me and my own work from that point onwards. It’s such a strange and beautiful album of intriguing textures and mysterious atmospheres. And it was through Cravune that I discovered the Here Free Press label, who went on to release my own debut EP.
[6. REGARDS]
■ The A. O.: Leave us with a quote you love.
► Fletina: “The more horrifying the world becomes, the more art becomes abstract.” (Paul Klee)