Haroon Mirza's Stone Circle recording 'Waning Gibbous'

25 September 2020

Ballroom Marfa has announced the remastered release of Haroon Mirza’s composition Waning Gibbous originally written to inaugurate Stone Circle, his large-scale, solar-powered, outdoor, sonic sculpture inspired by ancient megaliths. The sculpture activates every full moon, creating complex patterns of electronic sound and light initiated by signals from solar energy harvested by the “mother” stone. “You see the electrical current as light and you hear it as sound,” said Mirza.

On September 25th, 2020, listeners everywhere can experience stone circle’s sonic activation from home through this composition. For the Waning Gibbous, Mirza collaborated with artist Jack Jelfs and electronic music producer Charlie Fieber. Using a variety of experimental recording and production techniques, Jelfs and Mirza recorded audio emanating from each of the eight marble stones in the circle. Fieber then processed the recordings using a variety of analog and digital techniques to highlight the delicate and intricate aural artifacts of the piece that include noise from the LED circuit, and other incidental sounds captured during the recording. Mirza describes the track as “a cross between Terry Riley and a ‘90s computer game and yet fully has the stone circle at its core.”

Click here to listen and download via Ballroom Marfa's Bandcamp page.

Image: Haroon Mirza stone circle, 2018. Commissioned by Ballroom Marfa. Courtesy hrm199, Ballroom Marfa, and Lisson Gallery. Photo by Rowdy Dugan