* The 1st edition of the MAGMA hydrophone has sold out. If you want one, please subscribe to the wait list for the 2nd edition:

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The compilation

Finally out, this collection of sonic artworks is a gift for lovers of sound art, experimental music, and acoustic ecology who seek to explore new frontiers in listening and field recording via unconventional instruments.

Using a device called ‘MAGMA’, a rich diversity of artists from across the globe has captured subtle vibrations, resonances and underlying rhythms of elements like water, earth, wind, and electromagnetism, in such contrasting locations as a beach in the periphery of the Torness nuclear power plant, in Scotland; a frozen river in Berlin; windy Patagonia; or the roots of a tree in Medellín.

Within this compilation, pure and processed soundscapes come together —while everyday objects morph into musical instruments, and performative gestures explore the acoustic properties of various geological environments, territories, materials, and textures— based on the shared notion that the matter of the world is in constant vibration, and that listening to the non-human sounds contributes to more empathetic and ecological relationships with other forms of life.

This compendium of creative exercises with piezoelectricity also hopes to provides fresh insight into a technology that continues to stimulate musicians and sound artists alike, by enabling a particular form of listening through physical contact, thus revealing both sonic materials and the materiality of sounds.

You can find it on Bandcamp and on your favourite streaming platforms, except for Spotify, of course, which we’ve recently quit for all of the reasons we already know.

The device

Conceived and carefully handcrafted in Medellín by Colombian artist and curator Jorge Barco under his platform Maquinas Mestizas, MAGMA is an amphibious device in the shape of a magnetic sphere. Based on piezoelectricity, this highly sensitive and resistant contact hydrophone was specifically designed to allow for deep sound exploration by apprehending the vibrations of natural, urban, domestic or studio environments.

It works both as a hydrophone and contact mic — a device that captures audio vibrations through physical contact with a solid surface or immersion in a liquid, converting them into an electrical signal. Widely used to transform common objects into “musical instruments,” this technology has inspired musicians and sound artists for many years due to its unique ability to change the way we listen. This sonic exploration has revealed new ways of understanding sounds, as well as a different perception of the sonic materiality of objects.

MAGMA uses 55mm quartz piezoelectrics and neodymium magnets imported from Japan. The cable colour varies depending on market availability. The silicones and sealants used are environmentally friendly. With MAGMA, a wide range of sound experiments can be carried out through physical contact, as it captures the vibrations of moving water, and its aluminium capsule is resistant to seawater. Its magnetic tip allows it to adhere to structures, parts, or metallic instruments, and hit them to explore their sound.

Connect MAGMA to your recorder using a ⅛" or XLR plug for field recording, directly to a mixer or amplifier to explore its electroacoustic and performative aspects in textures; experiment with feedback and noise by adding effects and bringing it closer to the speaker.

The full release

MAGMA - Materia Vibrante can acquired both digitally or under the shape of an actual MAGMA hydrophone. We love the idea of sharing such a tool within the context of a release, since it represents an open invitation for future MAGMA owners to participate in the next volume of this same record series. The full package includes:

• 1 MAGMA contact hydrophone (XLR or jack connector);

• 1 offset printed zine with technical info, thoughts, essays and a download code for the digital compilation;

• hand stamped box & obi strip

This is a VERY limited edition, so grab yours while you can.

I WANT IT

The free sound bank

Additionally, we welcome you to download the free collective sound bank A Fourth State of Water, comprised of 85 royalty free samples and raw field recordings, conducted with the MAGMA hydrophone, by some of the artists and later used as sonic materials to compose their sound works for MAGMA - Materia en Vibración.

You are welcome to download this sound bank and recycle, reuse and remix all of the included sounds in any way you wish!

FREE DOWNLOAD

About Jorge Barco

Curator at MAMM - Museum of Modern Art of Medellín, Jorge Barco is a Colombian sound artist whose work lies at the intersection of cosmogony, ecology, and sound. Over the past few years, he has conducted extensive research spanning instrument building, field recording, and experimentation with low-fi and DIY technologies, brought together in his project “Máquinas Mestizas”. His creative approach draws from various disciplines such as media geology, sound studies, and ancestral and shamanic knowledge.

Listening as an imperative quest for empathy with both the human and non-human is at the heart of his research and artistic practice. This leads him to develop a series of installations, devices, and performances that explore the resonance of matter and the sonic landscape. In this context, Barco has developed the MAGMA device as a tool for DIY technological sovereignty, which is being widely used by artists and researchers from different parts of the world in artistic, musical, educational, and bioacoustics fields.

Credits

Curatorship, microphone design & manufacture by Jorge Barco / Maquinas Mestizas

Mastering by Lucas Palmeira

Cover illustration by Lägrima

Packaging design by Nayara Siler

Product photos by Grafonola aka Joana Magalhães

Project management by Hugo Branco, Jorge Loura & Sofia Marques

Translation to English by Ana Rita Lopes

Sound artists: Ana Maria Romano, Claudia Schmitz, David Wells, Diana María Restrepo, Diego Makedonsky, Diego Santamaria, El Sujeto Erroneo, Ennio Ricciard, Err.Plu, Eunice Martins, Frans Van Lent, Fredy Vallejos, Hugo Branco, Jazzmincz, Jorge Barco, Jorge Haro, Juan Pablo Pacheco, Julie Rousse, León David Cobo, Luis Fernando Franco, Magio, Producto hEchizo (Mariangela Aponte Núñez & Andrés Lopez Giraldo), Mauricio Rivera Henao, Menhir & Alvaro Walls, Miguel Isaza, Nicola Heim, Santiago Botero, Simon Whetham, Stalker Ego

Download the Press Release

We welcome you to download this free collective sound bank, comprised of 85 royalty free samples and raw field recordings, conducted in such contrasting locations as a beach in the periphery of the Torness nuclear power plant, in Scotland; a frozen river in Berlin; windy Patagonia; or the roots of a tree in Medellín.

All of the sounds were recorded using the MAGMA contact hydrophone, an amphibious device in the shape of a magnetic sphere, conceived and handcrafted in Medellín by Colombian artist and curator Jorge Barco. Based on piezoelectricity, this highly sensitive and resistant contact hydrophone was specifically designed to allow for deep sound exploration by apprehending the vibrations of natural, urban, domestic or studio environments.

Recently released by VIC NIC, MAGMA - Materia en Vibración is a compilation based on the shared notion that the matter of the world is in constant vibration, and that listening to the non-human sounds contributes to more empathetic and ecological relationships with other forms of life. While pure and processed soundscapes come together, everyday objects morph into musical instruments, and performative gestures explore the acoustic properties of various geological environments, territories, materials, and textures.

Besides releasing the compilation digitally and under the shape of a contact hydrophone, we’ve made freely available some of the sounds and recordings that were used to compose the featured works. You are absolutely welcome to recycle, reuse and remix all of the included sounds in any creative way you wish. Enjoy!

FREE DOWNLOAD

Recording artists

Ana Maria Romano, Diana Restrepo, Diego Makedonsky, El Sujeto Erroneo, Hugo Branco, Juan Pablo Pacheco, Jorge Barco, Jazzmin Marulanda and Santiago Botero.

+ free sounds

If you enjoyed this free sound bank, check out our previously released Negative Mass, featuring samples and recordings conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic by artists such as AGF, BJ Nilsen, Budhaditya Chattopadhyay, Laura Romero and many others, and later used to compose their sound works for our 2021 compilation New Chronologies of Sound.

A few days before releasing the long awaited compilation MAGMA: Materia en Vibración, our favourite Serbian band, Skier and Yeti, are dropping the music video for “Belizna”, the second single in their upcoming album.

We’re really happy to release the debut album — Adventures in a Blizzard — of this unique duo hailing from the artistic underground of Belgrade. Available very soon on your favourite music platforms, you can already pre-order the album in both vinyl and digital formats from Bandcamp.

While we put the final touches to the long delayed compilations From Chronos to Kairos and MAGMA: Materia en Vibración, it’s time we finally reveal Kannik — the first single from the upcoming album of Serbian band Skier and Yeti, crafted by VJ Videognome.

Having hosted their wild live show on several occasions, we couldn’t be happier to release the debut album — Adventures in a Blizzard — of this unique duo hailing from the artistic underground of Belgrade. The album is already available for pre-order in both vinyl and digital formats.

“It was by far Eurosonic's most absurd act. After all, who uses their skis as a bass and electric guitar? And it's not often that a real yeti sits behind a drum kit. A skier and a yeti: sworn enemies, you might say. Yet the musical symbiosis is admirable: the bass rhythms are sampled and looped into danceable, bite-sized chunks. (...) Skier and Yeti give a beautiful performance that will not soon be forgotten.” — André Rozendaal for makeafuzz.com

Equipped with skilled breakbeats, heavy basses, phased-out riffs, a disposition for nonsense, and their own brew of musical instruments handmade out of winter-sports apparel, these rakija-drinking creatures can blend low rock, bass music and psychedelia like a wind turbine surfing an avalanche.

Adventures in a Blizzard not only represents their debut album, but also celebrates the first decade of Skier and Yeti’s very particular journey: a raw, honest, energetic and cheerful record that we just can’t stop listening to on repeat. Exciting!

All photos by Grafonola