space / image / word / sound II (DVD)

Neuma 450-202

space/image/word/sound II offers a rich journey through two-years’ worth (2014-2015) of Thomas DeLio’s purely electroacoustic creations for computer-generated sound and processed poetry. Musicians do not genuinely think of sound and time the way visual artists think of objects and space. But DeLio seems to have made music about that very concept. Many of the compositions on this disc turn the idea of linearity inside out so that sound is not time-oriented as much as it is an articulation of spatial volume. There is no way to acquire any linear bearings due to the quantity or positioning of sound in the surround space—as one might typically do when listening to more traditional compositional approaches. Rather, instead of hearing sound unfolding over time, the experience begins to be about the feel of textures that have spatial depth, the sense of sonic pressure, and time is not even a consideration. Even when poet P. Inman’s texts are in use, the music feels like a series of sonic explorations that completely eschew any sense of formal design. For DeLio it seems that form is no longer important if the whole idea is to stay in the moment. Yet, there is somehow a clear feeling of overall unity coming from the sonic characteristics of each composition—formal designs that are completely outside of time, like paintings. This music is by its very nature a radical departure from composition as we presently understand it and is, perhaps, history in the making.

This DVD is 5.0 surround-sound audio (no stereo versions are provided) for five full-spectrum speakers with no channel sent to the subwoofer. The configuration is front center, front left and right, and rear surround left and right. The disc menu appears on screen with composition titles that can be selected out of order, but the disc has been well-designed for listening from beginning to end.