VN003
9 July 2021
New Chronologies
of Sound
Various Artists
An odd collection of sound works for even odder times
Every event of planetary dimensions generates a new perceived time axis: a collectively perceived “before-during-after relation”, shared at a global scale. If “before” means what most of the world has obliviously come to consider as normality; and “during” refers to the current situation of confinement, de-confinement or re-confinement (depending on the context); “after” still insists, maybe more than ever, in presenting itself as an absolute enigma, open to infinite new speculations, anxieties and expectations.
How does this new perceived time axis affect our ways of listening? How does it affect the ways in which we create? How can fields such as sound art and acoustic ecology generate reflection about the new anxieties and expectations introduced by such uncertainty? And how are sound artists across the globe responding to emerging limitations and challenges?
Commissioned to VIC NIC by the Aveiro Municipality via Teatro Aveirense within the context of the “Culture in Times of (un)Certainty” municipal strategy, New Chronologies of Sound proposes to generate debate on such issues by developing a collection of sound works based on field recordings, which reflect upon those matters.
With curatorship from Hugo Branco (VIC NIC) and consultancy from Jorge Barco (MAMM), the artistic research project gathers artists and researchers from all over the globe — AGF (DE), Budhaditya Chattopadhyay (IN), BJ Nilsen (SE), Diana Combo (PT), Gustavo Costa (PT), Hugo Branco (PT), Kyoka (JP), Laura Romero (ES), Lawrence English (ES), Matthew Herbert (UK), Miguel Isaza (CO) and Natalia Valencia Zuluaga (CO)— encompassing a broad diversity of aesthetics, geographies, processual latitudes and conceptual attitudes, which range from pure field recordings and processed soundscapes down to more musical or compositional uses of found sounds.
Tracklist
1. Laura Romero MASA 4:44
2. Lawrence English After Dark in Shizumi 4:48
3. Kyoka BirdVoiceWindNoise 4:30
4. Miguel Isaza Por Ahora 4:23
5. Sonoscopia Luminous Flux 4:13
6. Matthew Herbert 10,001 Drops of Composer’s Blood 1:28
7. Hugo Branco Stereolized (We shall not be tamed) 4:47
8. AGF Friction, the Gate (excerpt) 4:14
9. Diana Combo Mosso, Poco Mosso, Quasi Calmo (excerpt) 4:26
10. Budhaditya Chattopadhyay Indecent Whispers 4:36
11. Natalia Valencia Zuluaga Journey Through the Glass 4:37
12. BJ Nilsen Three Locations 4:30
Physical
Limited edition of 500 vinyl & 250 CD
Mastered for vinyl and digital by Lawrence English —head of the mythical label Room 40— both physical formats include the respective digital download code and the second edition of our indisciplined obi-zine.
Spanish visual artist Lägrima and Brazilian designer Nayara Siler join forces once more to bring you two beautifully crafted objects, which also include Jorge Barco and Hugo Branco’s notes about each of the featured artists and sound works. Get these before they’re gone!

Free Sound Bank
Negative Mass
Negative Mass is a free collective sound bank, comprised of around 30 royalty free samples and recordings used by some of the artists featured in the New Chronologies of Sound collection to compose their sound works.
Download the sound bank for free, take a close listen and reuse these found sounds in any way you wish!
Release Launch
Round table + collaborative performance
For the project launch we hosted an arts residency at VIC // Aveiro Arts House with participating artists BJ Nilsen (SE) and Diana Combo (PT), consultant Jorge Branco (MAMM / CO) and curator Hugo Branco (PT), who presented a collaborative performance at GrETUA, together with participating artist Gustavo Costa (Sonoscopia / PT), who also presented a workshop about deep listening and the usage of field recording within artistic contexts.
The event also featured a round table with the aforementioned artists, together with researchers Ana Flávia Miguel (INET-md -/ PT) and Rosa Alice Branco (ID+ / PT).
Press
V/A ~ New Chronologies of Sound (ENG) | A Closer Listen
A la escucha de nuevas cronologías del sonido (ES) | Sul Ponticello
Herbert ou AGF interrogam como pode a pandemia afectar a nossa forma de escutar (PT) | Ípsilon – Público
“Ouvimos coisas que não se ouviam há muito tempo”(PT) | Observador
O GRETUA recebe já amanhã a apresentação do projecto Novas Cronologias do Som (PT) | Rimas e Batidas
Colecção de Peças Sonoras desenvolvidas em confinamento (PT) | Glam Magazine
Teatro Aveirense apresenta Novas Cronologias do Som (PT) | Potugal Rebelde
As novas cronologias do som que a pandemia trouxe (PT) | Diário de Coimbra
Artistas e investigadores internacionais juntam-se em torno dos “sons da pandemia” (PT) | Terra Nova
VIC NIC e o Teatro Aveirense juntam-se para colocar Aveiro no mapa da arte sonora (PT) | Gerador
Five new releases you need to know (ENG) | The Moderns
Credits
Commissioned by Teatro Aveirense / Aveiro Municipality
Curated by Hugo Branco
Consultancy by Jorge Barco
Mastered by Lawrence English
Cover illustration by Lägrima
Cover design by Nayara Siler
With the support of Direcção Geral das Artes
Partners: MAMM | INET-md | GrETUA | MUSA | AEJE