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In 2011, American electronic musician James Ferraro released Far Side Virtual, a 'rubbery plastic symphony for global warming, dedicated to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch' (Gibb 2011). Cobbled together with general MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) sounds, abrasive hidef production values, and repetitive melodic gestures, Far Side Virtual beckons the listener to engage with the timbres of environmental consumption. By referencing visual, textual, and virtual aesthetics of corporate computer culture, Ferraro accentuates the ubiquitous sonic branding practices of the digital experience. As the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre circulates in an endless cycle, bits of microplastic converge and diverge in a 5000 square kilometre space. This decentralised concentration of debris does not fit the typical mould of a muse for musical composition. Yet Ferraro's attempt to encapsulate the sonic signifiers of the very gadgets and processes leading to such waste provides a refreshed space for music and environment to engage. This paper positions the elusive, shape-shifting soundscape of Far Side Virtual as a dynamic example of sonic ecology in praxis, both mirroring and sounding out the physical and aural realities of consumption and its complex after effects.
Somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean sits an island, or rather, a patch. It is a space of man-made mass proportions and some have estimated it to be twice the size of Texas. It is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) and it looks like this:
Contrary to popular belief, the GPGP is not as visible and cohesive as headlines would have us believe. In actuality, microscopic debris is spread throughout a large area of the ocean, making it impossible to view it as a concentrated object for study. Misconceptions have floated in and out of the mediascape since 1997 and myths continue to propagate like the increased amount of insect eggs laid on microplastic (Luanaigh 2010). In order to represent and conceive of ecological disasters it has become standard practice to generalise and simplify for maximum impact. As digital technologies open the floodgates for innumerable creative works to address environmental issues, generic codes affix themselves to representations of nature, constituting a blossoming and profitable eco-disaster entertainment complex.
This article will examine the 2011 album Far Side Virtual (FSV) by experimental electronic musician James Ferraro and its rich...