Hant Variance

Sabisha Friedberg's double LP The Hant Variance was recorded at EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Troy, NY) with Peter Edwards in a custom-tuned environment using advanced multi-channel recording techniques to capture a configuration of spatialized sound sources. The piece combines granular synthesis, analog synthesizers, tone oscillators, and field recordings. The low-end bass, which was recorded live with a subwoofer configuration that allowed for rapid directional shifts, serves as a sonic armature for the piece. Sustained pure tones shift minimally and the allocation of sound engenders a sense of aural disorientation. This landscape, with the premise of summoning a new phantom or haunted sonic space, exists in an interstitial, albeit present zone. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friedberg's composition, performance, and installation work draws on the phenomenological and phantasmagorical, exploring perceptual delineation of space through sound, and low-end experiential thresholds. She has performed and presented installations widely in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, and the US, and received commissions through residencies at ISSUE Project Room, EMPAC, and The Clocktower Gallery. In 2013 she presented the solo exhibition Levitation at Audio Visual Arts. Friedberg received her MFA from Bard College following undergraduate studies at San Francisco Art Institute. Peter Edwards is an American artist and musician living in Holland, best known for his DIY experimental electronics website Casper electronics. His work has been presented internationally at venues including The MIT Media Lab, Transmediale, Dutch Electronic Arts Festival, New York Electronic Arts Festival, and Performa, among others. Sabisha Friedberg: oscillators; Peter Edwards: oscillators. Arrangements and mix: Sabisha Friedberg. Balance and edits: Todd Voss. Mastering: Rashad Becker.