Sketches by gemma notara

body, breath and mind. three elements make up the corporeal composition of these sonic sketches.

Sketches is an ode to the landscape of the Blue Mountains, the land of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples.

This work consists of seven pianistic "sketches", or sonic drawings, which are the artist's intuitive depictions of the voices of the flora and fauna which were encountered during their time residing in Katoomba, NSW.

Each work came to life by virtue of "visual scores" depicting the sounds of individual voices of birds, the wind, the trees, and the texture of the ground: these scores were then used as a basis for spatial interpretation using the piano as a medium.

These recordings, which primarily took place onsite at the artist's residence in Katoomba, were then embedded amongst field recordings taken across several locations around the upper Blue Mountains region. Each piece is decidedly imperfect, unfinished, and conflicted. The making of Sketches is an exercise in intuitive expression of a felt sense of place. I hope that you enjoy.

Tracklist

1.	i like dancing with your skin	2:45

2.	charge for that	5:07

3.	lullaby for grace	5:56

4.	destabilise	2:32

5.	for piano and glass	3:30

6.	lament	5:19

7.	eucalypus mist	2:10

Credits

released February 12, 2021

all instruments performed by gemma notara
lyrebird recorded in Leura Forest, NSW
all other birdsong recorded from Mills garden at Fitzgerald st or at Blackheath NSW

recorded at the Sunroom, Fitzgerald Street Katoomba NSW
mixed by Gemma Notara
mastered by Shane Jarvie-Kohn
artwork original photo by Gemma Notara

i pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that this work took place on the stolen land of Darug and Gundungurra nations, sovereignty never ceded.

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