Plastiglomerates

Plastiglomerates is a collection of music exploring the theme of plastic in life. "Plastiglomerate" is a recently coined term used to describe a new geological phenomenon – Plastics which have been cemented into organic rock through geological processes. The new forms of plastic/rock combinations are often found on beaches and come in a bizarre and dazzling array of textures, shapes and colors. 

The term Plastiglomerate in the context of this collection of music is used as a metaphor - a way of describing the kinds of processes used to create the music, as well as the content, texture, and density of the sounds in it. As the term might suggest, this music collection contains a roughly-fused conglomeration of organic and inorganic sound, analog and digital, human and machine. 

This new work takes on the fears and hopes of technology’s relation to our own sense of human identity. With so many plastics in our bodies today, it might be worth asking ourselves if we are plastiglomerate too. How do I associate or dissociate or transcend these problematic relations to the artificial? Plastiglomerates is inspired by noise music like Melt Banana and Yasunao Tone; By experimental electronica like Eartheater, Little Snake and Tim Hecker; By the weirdnesses of Trout Mask Replica, by artists as different as Sun Ra and Arca and Darren McClure. 

The music is built from live improvised processing of existing material which, much like plastiglomerates, come from diverse sources, mostly different forms of corporate sound designed for consumption: Smooth jazz, pop music, random bits on the radio, prepackaged samples from Apple and other major audio software companies, etc. Some tracks consist entirely of computer-generated voices, by training a voice AI software on the music, effectively making this collection of music speak in its own voice, reciting processed sound poems. The main goal is to process and reprocess and reprocess again until it all coalesces. 

Jess Rowland is a New York City-based artist, musician, and composer. Much of her work explores the relationship between technologies, popular culture and other absurdities, investigating the weirdness of reality and how we all deal with it. In addition to her music and art practice, she works as an educator and advocate for new music.