Cycle Path by Hello Spiral

Cycle Path is a process led project I began in 2009.

A 'cycle' audio project was created in garageband. A fixed number of empty audio tracks with different and odd effect combinations on each one. All of them fading into each other.
I selected 12 pieces of audio based upon similar length to each other and the project and fed them into this 'cycle path' one by one.

The audio tracks ranged from already processed pieces by me, a recording of my sister making tea, a very noisy loop, a found cassette of a child going through speech therapy sessions etc.
I took these recordings which were now put through the same cycle of effects and began to splice them together in chronological order.
As in 1/4th of a second from Cycle I, followed by 1/4th of a second from Cycle II etc.

This took a very long time. I know I started the process at the end of 2009, according to the timestamp on the original aiff files I finished on 11th of February 2010.
I did not listen to this piece until I was finished processing it. I expected something chaotic and noisy. What I got *was* noisy, but strangely rhythmic also.

I had to split the piece in half as I ran out of laptop memory halfway through the process. So I ended up with two halves of the same composition. Both slightly different. I decided to take them in very different directions when it came to adorning and embellishing them both.

And then, as is habit for me, I put the finished thing away for a while. That awhile turned into ten years.

It was only when I started Memory Glands and I was asked what I was going to put out on this label that I remembered Cycle Path.

I've enjoyed this little album to myself over the years, and I hope you will too.

Joe. B/Hello Spiral, 2020

buy my fucking tapes