Burned By Stars

(2024, synthesized soundscapes, sample manipulation, live instrumentation, manipulated video projections, full-color zine, guided Mars earthquake meditation, Custer Institute and Observatory, Peconic, NY)

Burned by Stars is a multi-layered ambient soundscape and performance inspired by deep space, the cosmos and the hyper-local sounds of New York City and the North Fork. It incorporates various NASA samples including sun sonification, Jupiter sounds from 2001, a hiss-like radio noise generated by electrons moving along magnetic field lines from the Saturnian moon Enceladus, and the sound of Kepler – Star Kic12268220C (light curve waves converted to sound). Closer to home, the tracks include air and insect sounds from Peconic, NY, the whine of a passing NYC street cleaning truck, and the stretched-out vibrations of a destroyed piano we found in the trash in Astoria, Queens, home of the Steinway factory. The performance includes a guided meditation to the first recorded sound of an earthquake on Mars written by Julia LoFaso.