Old Raney is a computer-based improvisation using field recordings from the Alan Lomax archive as source material. The field recordings I chose for this piece are significantly filled with pops, clicks, and scrapes from the acetate disc recording media used in the 1930s and 1940s. The recording media mistakes are a framework for the improvisation and are blended with the voices and sounds of the musicians being recorded. The result is a tapestry of noise, processed musical instruments, and processed voices of the characters Alan Lomax encountered creating a sonic world that is a blend of processed computer-based sounds and old analog disc sounds.

Listen to a studio version of Old Raney

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Listen to a live performance of Old Raney

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