TUNING THE WIND

Wind is air in motion. It makes no sound until it encounters an object. The sounds it produces depend on the strength of the wind and the shape and material of the object it touches. When the wind blows, trees sway, buildings rattle, materials move, and sound waves are generated. Some believe that temperature changes create layers of air, and that the friction between them forms a unique sound—perhaps the true voice of the wind, which birds may be the only creatures capable of recognising. Sometimes the wind howls; at other times, it sings or whistles, shifting from a gentle murmur to an angry roar. The wind’s range of frequencies, tones, and timbres is vast and varied. Tuning the Wind is a piece about the wind, made with the wind—an abstract expression of our ongoing conversation with nature.


Composer Aimée Portioli, known professionally as Grand River, recorded various types of wind and then reworked them through layering and pitch adjustment to create a musical piece where the wind itself becomes a prepared instrument. At times, the sound of the wind is tuned to the 440 Hz reference, while at other times, the instruments are tuned to the sound of the wind. In Tuning the Wind, nature and music merge seamlessly. Synthesizers and wind recordings become indistinguishable, blending natural sounds with human-made instruments. The boundary between a gust of wind and an instrument-generated sound fades away. Human artistry and nature’s symphony merge to become one.

Duration: 36'-40'
Tuning the Wind was created in 2022 as an installation piece. Since then, it has been adapted into multichannel, 4DSOUND, and stereo installations, as well as performed live on numerous occasions around the world.
Musical composition, arrangements, sound design and installation by Aimée Portioli
Foley wind recordings by Aimée Portioli and Pablo Diserens

UPCOMING/PRESENTED AT

BAO Music Festival, Val Trompia, IT *live stereo performance
Muzan Editions, Club Daphnia, Osaka, JP *live stereo performance
Festiwal Ambientalny, Wrocław, PL *live stereo performance
Candid Arts Gallery, London, UK *sound installation
Mono Lisboa, Lisbon, PT *live stereo performance
Paesaggi Sonori, Peltuinum, IT *live stereo performance
Live Cinema Festival, Rome, IT *live stereo performance
Son de Aquí, Oaxaca de Juárez, MX *live stereo performance
SONIC CINEMA, 3537, Paris, FR *sound installation in 4D spatial sound
Q3AMBIENTFEST, Kesselhaus, Potsdam, DE *live stereo performance
NEW NOW Festival, Essen, DE *sound installation in 4D spatial sound
Stone Nest, London, UK *4D spatial sound live performance
Mostra Festival, Barcelona, ES *live stereo performance
Folkwang Museum, Essen, DE *live stereo performance
FIBER Festival, Het Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, NL *4D spatial sound live performance
CTM Festival, MONOM, Berlin, DE *4D spatial sound live performance
C.P. Company Flagship Store, Milan, IT *live stereo performance

Duration: 20'
Musical composition, arrangements and installation by Aimée Portioli
"Future Desire" has been commissioned by Il Pianeta and presented at Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, IT in October 2021.

Duration: 5'35''
Musical composition and arrangements by Aimée Portioli
"Every Day A Little Less" has been commissioned and presented at La Galleria Nazionale, Rome, IT from December 2018 until January 2019. 
It was part of the exhibition ilmondoinfine: vivere tra le rovine, the piece was played in loop in the soundwundertunnel.

FUTURE DESIRE

"Future Desire" is a musical piece that explores the vision of a prospective upcoming world, yet only existing in one’s imagination. It is a projection of a breakthrough from the unsustainable contemporary times we are living in, a glimpse where images and ideas flutter and fade, where dreams gleam and decay.

The project is a response to “The Planet as Festival,” an embodiment of the futuristic vision of Ettore Sottsass. This projected world rejects the idea of a future based on consumption and production, and instead is inspired by creativity. If properly addressed, technological progress could generate income and bring unprecedented prosperity. The word school comes from skholē, the Greek word for “leisure”: we used to teach people to be free, now we teach them to work. “Future Desire” conveys a message of freedom.
It is a sound experience that accompanies the visionaries somewhere faraway and beautiful. A journey of enigmatic long-form synthesis, colourful electronic landscapes and heady atmospheres, inviting the human senses to drift towards conception.

EVERY DAY A LITTLE LESS

Feelings and emotions are complex experiences that involve a variety of physical, cognitive, and behavioral responses. The intensity and duration of these responses can vary depending on the situation and the individual.
Over time, emotions can fade out or become less intense due to a variety of factors.
One common factor is habituation or desensitization. When we experience a particular emotion repeatedly, our brains can become less sensitive to it.

"Every Day A Little Less" is collage-like composition expressing how time itself can play a role in the fading of emotions. As time passes, our memories and emotional experiences can become less vivid, and the emotional charge of a particular event can weaken. This is known as emotional decay, and it can occur naturally over time.