David Vélez is the Columbian sound artist based in Huddersfield who happens to be an expert in bio-acoustics, and is very knowledgeable about many aspects of plant life. He generates sounds from his growing plants, as he did on his Beta Vulgaris record in 2023, celebrating the lives and times of the beet.
On today’s item Comfort Food (FLAMING PINES FLP134), the project is shown to be even more holistic than we realised, as he explores the growth, nurturing and career path of his favourite vegetables (even Brian Wilson never went this far), and indeed the three pieces here ‘Nitrogen’, ‘Potassium’ and ‘Phosphorous’ are named for the elements needed for these roots to thrive. It takes a special kind of dedication to attend to the “comfort” of the plants in one’s allotment, but that’s exactly what our man is doing, exhibiting a rare compassion. The other added element this time is cooking; he claims he is “record[ing] the preparation of the recipes I cook with these vegetables”, perhaps emulating the project of the Sonic Catering Band, who (under the auspices of Peter Strickland) incorporated live cooking with pots and pans on stage and on record. Comfort Food thus presents three discrete elements – the sounds of plants growing in the soil, the natural noises made by vegetables as captured by bio-acoustic methods, and the sonic textures of cooking.
In all matters, David Vélez shows his empathy and one-ness with nature, stressing at all times that he wishes to “provide solace”. Record mastered by Bruno Duplant, with whom Vélez has a long-standing collaborative history. Linda Velandia did the cheerful colourful cover drawings. Fine record of under-stated, soothing ambient drones and electro-acoustic experimentation, and throughout its duration the benign intent of the creator passes on a feeling of well-being and physical health. (09/10/2024)