about
Myth/Science Dubcology, a two performance series, is a tribute to Sun Ra on his 100th anniversary of his birth and Washington Park, reflecting on the creative and cultural space the composer and the park creates. Myth/Science Dubcology follows Norman’s practice of gardening, collecting and creating as a way
to connect people to history, space, ecology and community. This practice fulfills a need for us to
understand our ecology, history and sense of place through sound. Through this understanding we
can improve our communities. Norman improvised and processed recordings from Washington Park and Sun Ra's audio collection from the Creative Audio Archives live with AVREEAYL RA , Dan Godston and Angel Bat Dawid. This performance is in the spirit of creativity using sound and space as Sun Ra and the park’s designer Frederick Law Olmsted had in composing and designing.
"In June 2011 I started recording the sounds of Washington Park, 1) to continue my Electro-Acoustic Dubcology series, 2) because I was inspired by the compositions and writings by Sun Ra 3) I was inspired by the park itself and it’s designer Frederick Law Olmsted. Washington Park (Chicago, IL USA) was designed by American Landscape Architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1870's. I have captured the sound character of this place through field recordings. Along with the ecology, I have recorded activities and events at the park. My inspiration for this project is Sun Ra and his pamphlets he handed out while he was preaching in the park in the 1950's, along with other black speakers of diverse religious and political persuasions. Recording of my walks including picnics, events like the African Fest, walks across the meadow, by the lagoon and sound interventions. My recordings and performance with this quartet focuses on the park as a conduit for creative thought, cultural history, ecological preservation and recreation.
Myth/Science, referring to Sun Ra’s Arkestra and his studies of religion, numerology and science and “Dubcology” referring to ecology, the science of the relationships between organisms and their environments and a recording studio method made popular in Jamaica in the early 1970's called dub. The recording and composition processes are a combination of acoustic-ecology, electro-acoustic composition and dub sound practice." - Norman W. Long
credits
released August 15, 2019
Norman W. Long (field recordings, samples, electronics), Angel Elmore (piano, clarinet), Dan
Godston (trumpet, small instruments) and AVREEAYL RA (percussion).
Program Curated by Norman W. Long
Recorded at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago, IL October 14, 2014
license