[…] “The five works on the album originate in site-specific projects … acting as a sonic focal point from which perceptions about the listener’s surroundings could be highlighted, altered, expanded and, yes, reconfigured. … the two Impossible Moments from Venice … go far beyond anything naturalistic, moving swiftly between various forms of water over which bells, people, animals and birds swiftly pass by in the midst of less identifiable but nonetheless ostensibly real-world noises. … Speaking Spaces 2: Surfaces from Graz began life as a pair of indoor and outdoor installations. One of the most striking aspects of this piece is its persistent duality of nature and character. Field recordings and electronic sounds; sustained pitched noise and sporadic bleeping elements; burbling details and drifting ambience – these dualities create a soundworld that’s simultaneously restful and energetic, pulling the ear between these different (but not exactly polarised) frames of reference. … It’s no exaggeration to say that the experience of being ‘inside’ Presence / Nærvær was a virtual but very real reconfiguring of my listening space, relocating me back to that hill by the harbour in Oslo, surrounded by the manifold sounds of the city embellished by electronic, synthetic and processed sounds to create a hyperreal, surreal environment that was fully enclosing. Barrett’s compositions are at the forefront of surround sound ambisonics, yet despite being reduced here to a mere two channels, her work remains powerfully, amazingly, immersive.” [reviewed in September] […]
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[…] “The five works on the album originate in site-specific projects … acting as a sonic focal point from which perceptions about the listener’s surroundings could be highlighted, altered, expanded and, yes, reconfigured. … the two Impossible Moments from Venice … go far beyond anything naturalistic, moving swiftly between various forms of water over which bells, people, animals and birds swiftly pass by in the midst of less identifiable but nonetheless ostensibly real-world noises. … Speaking Spaces 2: Surfaces from Graz began life as a pair of indoor and outdoor installations. One of the most striking aspects of this piece is its persistent duality of nature and character. Field recordings and electronic sounds; sustained pitched noise and sporadic bleeping elements; burbling details and drifting ambience – these dualities create a soundworld that’s simultaneously restful and energetic, pulling the ear between these different (but not exactly polarised) frames of reference. … It’s no exaggeration to say that the experience of being ‘inside’ Presence / Nærvær was a virtual but very real reconfiguring of my listening space, relocating me back to that hill by the harbour in Oslo, surrounded by the manifold sounds of the city embellished by electronic, synthetic and processed sounds to create a hyperreal, surreal environment that was fully enclosing. Barrett’s compositions are at the forefront of surround sound ambisonics, yet despite being reduced here to a mere two channels, her work remains powerfully, amazingly, immersive.” [reviewed in September] […]