If / When — “A Wide Space Variable”

A Wide Space Variable compiles recent recordings by If / When, a solo project of Stuttgart, Germany-based musician and sound artist Chris Williams. The eight tracks experiment with a variety of tools and techniques that nevertheless achieve a cohesive, wistful mood. Field recordings, shortwave static, and snippets of ham radio transmissions mix with synthesized and acoustic sounds, resulting in a set of tightly composed scenic miniatures. Hints of anxiety drift through oneiric collages that take inspiration from fractured communications, found materials, and everyday discoveries and encounters. Oblique melodies inject sunshine and warmth into a melancholy background of obscured voices and ambivalent background noise.

Each physical package includes an ink-stamped, hand-numbered CD-R and a unique, hand-numbered print, contained in a hangable recycled bag for storage and display.

Details

1. Prelude
2. Waiting, Proud and Bold
3. Null Thesis Calligraphy
4. Low Information Zone
5. Coordinated Universal Time
6. Who Will Bury the Gravediggers?
7. The Long Ringdown
8. An Inverted Owl

CD-R, total runtime: 36:15

Object manipulations, recordings, synthesizers, programming, processing, mixing, print, package: Chris Williams

Produced 2021-2024 in the Yellow Hen Observatory

Digital download plus limited physical edition of 13 copies. This is Smooth Space Edition #4.

Ordering information

Please visit Bandcamp to download or purchase this edition.

CD-R with print: 12 Euros plus shipping
Digital download: 5 Euros

If you are ordering more than one item, it is recommended that you contact Smooth Space directly and list all items in one message. This will ensure the most efficient processing and shipping of your order.

Artist

Chris Williams (cwllms.net) is a Stuttgart, Germany based musician, sound artist, and editor. He was a founding member of The Glass Bees, a New York City-based project that between 2006 and 2013 developed and applied strategies for improvised sound-making, multimedia installation, and collaboration. Since relocating to Germany, he has self-released recordings and photography publications through Smooth Space Editions. He has presented multimedia and sound installations at Kunstraum 34 (Stuttgart), the generate!_lab Festival for Electronic Arts (Tübingen), and xCoAx — the Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X (Milan).