Duncan Whitley (2009)

G.D Parada Second Half

“Play it!” is a work through sound recordings during two residencies at Binaural/Nodar between 2008-2009, produced specifically for this CD. The work is the result of acomprehensive field survey (multi-channel field recordings, video and interviews) at the amateur football club Grupo Desportivo de Parada, in the village of Parada de Ester (neighboring the village of Nodar).

When capturing the sounds of training on the clay court at Parada, I started by looking for patterns that occurred in the training sessions–some choreographic sense perceived by me might have been apparent–and key sounds of the training sessions–for example, the blowing regular whistle, in this case not the referee’s action in a match but the coach and his assistants limiting the duration of the drills.

Duncan Whitley graduated in Fine Arts at Kingston University, where he studied between 1996 and 1999, working almost exclusively on sound installations. In the following years his work continued to focus on “site specific” interventions, producing a body of work presented in both conventional art spaces and “non-art spaces” (from domestic environments to abandoned apartments to Anglican churches).

From 2004 on wards, his practice focused on stereo field and multi-channel sound recordings, developing a significant archive of projects in the field of phonography. Her sound work documents the rituals associated with social events: the highly formal Holy Week processions in Seville; fan dynamics in various English football leagues; the processes of controlled demolition of apartment buildings in England and Scotland.

Duncan Whitley studied BA Hons Fine Art at Kingston University from 1996 to 1999, where he worked almost exclusively with sound installation. In the following years his work continued with a focus on site-specific interventions, producing work in both sanctioned art spaces and ‘non-artspaces’ (from domestic environments, to derelict flats, to Church of England churches). From 2004 his practice shifted towards stereo and multichannel ‘field recording’, developing a significant archive of project-specific phonographic studies. His sound recording work documents the ritual of social events: the highly formalised Semana Santa processions in Seville; football spectator ship across different tiers of the British football league; the controlled demolition of high-rise flats in cities around England and Scotland.