Darren McClure‘s Primary Locations springs from investigation of the relationship between sound and light, specifically conversion of color centre wavelengths along the visible light spectrum into audio frequencies. The visible spectrum of light runs from c. 7000A (deep red) to about 4000A (deep violet) (A=Angstrom, a measure of light). Human perceptible audio is between c. 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, so these two scales can be converted. Here the light range from red to orange has been converted to an audio range 397-431 Hz, yellow to lemon to 464-497 Hz, and blue to violet to 598-665 Hz. These primary colors provided three sets of audio frequency ranges that would become the first components for new music creation. Three locations, each containing one of these primary colors, were ID-ed—“red” being the main bridge at Matsumoto Castle, “yellow” a metal overpass supporting train lines, and “blue” a tarp-covered shed among farmland and rice fields. Various recordings of natural ambience and tones made at each place formed the basis of each track, with sine waves of a frequency correlated to the appropriate color/Hz range, along with other sound layers. Within each piece a sonic snapshot of the site, its ambience and the sound of its colors unfolds. Enfolding.
– Alan Lockett