So much about sustainability is about change. Looking at where we are and where we want to go. But often sustainability planning feels like binary choices about technologies, policies, and projects. What if there might be a different way to think about that? Today we explore a different kind of metaphor – metamorphosis. Xayide, the alter ego of musician Aura Danielle Muñoz Barragán, has described how metamorphosis implies potential, that “the blueprint for transformation is always there”. We talk about how those ideas of potential and transformation are part of music, sounds, and “the fluidity of life”.

Links and bio

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/xayidemusic/

Chrysalis https://renatura.bandcamp.com/album/chrysalis

Label re:natura https://www.instagram.com/label.re.natura/

A special live edition of sustain.fm featuring drusnoise performing the composition ‘There is no separation’. drusnoise explores the sociomaterial world through light, plants, radio, electromagnetic radiation, heartbeats, and carbon dioxide concentration data. The improvised composition and performance questions the story that we are separate from nature. That nature is separate from us. That nature is for us to control. But we are a part of nature. Nature is part of us. There is no separation. drusnoise performs with modular synthesizers, samplers, sensors, electro-acoustic instruments, climate data and poetic explanations of the performance element with vocals by Erbse followed by an artist talk and Q&A.

Recorded live at RBL.LAB Berlin 22.01.2025

Many thanks to Dario and the RBL team for technical support for the performance and live broadcast

Bio

drusnoise integrates analog modular synthesizers with digital FX and organic samples to create a style that flows from lush ambient tones to gritty techno. Known in the outside world as Dr. Steve Williams, his academic work includes conducting and publishing research on sustainable energy transition, sound, and energy justice in Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. He brings plants, heartbeats, light sensors, sonified climate change data, quantum physics concepts, and air quality data to create sustainable live techno and sound art sets. drusnoise is a live, electronic music producer, sound artist, co-founder of Berlin Modular Society, curator of sustain.fm showcasing sound, music, and sustainabiility through live events and workshops, and the host of the Radio Banda Larga show ‘sustain’.

https://rbl.media/en/programs/sustain/

https://instagram.com/drusnoise

https://sustain.fm

Steve Williams’ researcher profile

https://www.sv.uio.no/iss/english/people/aca/stephegw/index.html

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=mHq_ZhEAAAAJ

Welcome to the end of 2024 episode of sustain.fm radio. I can’t believe how fast the year has gone by and it was a nice treat to put this episode together. It gave me a chance to reflect on the incredible variety of artistic approaches to sound, music, and sustainability. I am so grateful to all of the artists who shared their time and sounds with me over the year, and I hope you enjoy their sounds.

For this episode, we only have music, no interviews this time. You will hear sounds from all of the artists I interviewed this year ranging from archival sound pieces to techno to sound art compositions to meditations and trash music. Thanks so much to Veronica Mota, Veerle Pennock and Etta Harbor as Parallel Problems, Felipe Vareschi, Monica Sand, Priscilla Haring-Kuipers from This is Not Rocket Science, Melissa Ingaruca Moreno, Juan C. Duarte Regino, Gina Lo, Luis Fernando Amaya for sharing their sounds. And there are some sounds from me – drusnoise – in there too.

We have an exciting 2025 coming up with some great guests already on deck, live events planned in Berlin, Oslo, and Lisbon, and some cool research projects starting up soon too. Get in touch with us through sustain.fm or info@drusnoise. We would love to hear your thoughts on our shows, ideas or suggestions for future shows, or if you want to bring a sustain.fm event to your town. Have a great rest of 2024 and will see you next year. For now, enjoy the sounds.

Track listing

Monica Sand – Elegi

Luis Fernando Amaya – Bestiario @luisongolilongo

Melissa Ingaruca Moreno & drusnoise – Endarken @mel_ingaruca

Gina Lo – Live at Berlin Modular Society @ginalololo

drusnoise – Future Soundscapes - Live in Gothenburg @drusnoise

Juan Carlos Duarte Regino – Soundgifts @j.c_d.r

Felipe Vareschi – Noise Mapping @frmvar

Veronica Mota – Utopie und Widerstand

drusnoise – We are but dust and shadows – Live in Graz

This is not Rocket Science – Live at Clubsynth @rocket_not

Parallel Problems – Live at Voltage Control Amsterdam @elektortek @ettaharbar