Point Nemo

Point Nemo is an audio work created by Unit 404. Made with the 2021 Open Call "Sound Cinema" in mind, this audio work marks the first publication for Unit 404.

Listen to it here: File Download ^{(81.3mb .wav file from Unit 404)}

Concept

from www.unit404.net:

“Point Nemo” sends its listeners to the very depths of a dark and unknown sea. To start the journey one is confronted with a feeling of isolation in a continuously shrinking space, fenced in and controlled by powers one wields no influence over. Isolation always implies the existence of something beyond its limitations. This piece intends to examine the border that lies between the self and the world it isolates itself from. Instead of working as a collective from the start, we decided to first confront this subject individually. Later, we assembled the sounds we created to construct a kind of collage. The different layers of synthesizers, vocal performances and field and hydrophone recordings combine to create a piece of sound art that tries to bridge the gap between curiosity and fear, anxiety and euphoria. As the introductory words that seem so encouraging at first fade away in a brassy and unsettling echo, we commence a journey without destination, a mission without goal. Only one fact is a given: We are going deeper. The frequency spectrum of “Point Nemo” digs a deep trench, the bottom of which we slowly approach. The pressure rises. The strain on our vehicle increases steadily until we finally lose orientation completely and sink to the bottom of a depressing silence.

But the journey is not over yet.

Between all the dark and spherical sounds, chimes and cries of seagulls, there are liberating moments as well. Progressive, technoid elements accompanied by the hectic howls of a theremin and the incessant beeping of a sonar device alleviate the pressure on our ears. We have finally arrived.