Lawrence English: A Mirror Holds The Sky

- In Act 3, Scene 2 of Hamlet, the protagonist asks the actors of a play within the play, “to hold as ’twere, the mirror up to nature”. This is the premise of A Mirror Holds the Sky, a sonic playbook of field recordings by Lawrence English.

The narrative begins as Spring transitions into Summer 2008 at Francisco Lopez’ Mamori Sound Project, a two-week workshop cum residency for sound artists and composers. During this time English amassed more than fifty hours of recorded listenings at Mamori Lake in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Thanks to the passage of time and the influence of Luc Ferrari (more specifically, his use of untreated material) on English’s approach to field recording, they are now flawlessly compressed and fully realised in a thirty-seven-minute homage to the world’s largest and most diverse biome.

English describes his residency as one of the most deeply affecting experiences he has had, and it is easy to hear why. Equal parts a euphony and cacophony of sounds, the ecosystem of Mamori Lake is brought to life through English’s art of listening. It would be reasonable to assume that these recordings have been cleverly manipulated to intensify their layers and depths, but English presents his experience of nature’s dialogue in unadulterated form. Flora, weather, and landscape interact with a cast of fauna, immersing the listener within the milieu as they journey through the Amazon in six scenes.

The opening act, The Jungle, centres the listener with the quintessentially Amazonian screaming piha emerging from the busyings of other birds and insects. The familiarity of these sounds creates a tranquillity which is fleeting, thanks to the eerie calls of howler monkeys, an unnerving sound which could be mistaken for howling wind. Peace is restored as the listener descends to The River. The hero of the second act is the water itself and the way it frames sound below and above surface level. After climbing out onto The Island, the listener is confronted by grotesque and sustained croaking, the origin of which remains a mystery and is equally likely to be predictable (amphibian) as unpredictable (White Throated Toucan).

The whining drones of a few persistent insects manage to overshadow the noise of others during The Shore and irritate the listener to great effect. Lower pitched hums of insects and birds living harmoniously are a welcome refuge in The Tower, but perhaps the greatest sanctuary comes via rolling thunder and the deluge in The Rain, which stills the scene as the listener comes full circle. The overall experience is both meditative and discomforting, which is thematic throughout English’s body of work.

In A Mirror Holds The Sky, English presents a reflection of nature in the sonic realisation of his subjective reality. And if my research has told me anything it is that English will be as interested in your listening experience, as his own experience in recording and releasing it.

- Tristan Birrell.
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