Butterfly Polite’s Little Bit Of Blog

I detest noise - The washing machine running through it’s motions, the hum of the freezer, the computer harddrive and fan, the ambient throb of distant traffic, the neighbour’s television leaking through the walls.  But it’s presence in the world probably heightens my love of the silence that contrasts with it - the utter noise void of the blood pumping through your ears.  It is rare that we get the opportunity to hear the complete absence of sound.  If you get time, and opportunity, try to find some silence today to listen to.  You will appreciate it - I assure you.

On an (un)related note, I was testing the relative levels of the new ButterflyPolite mixes.  This is a very tedious task - but is essentially to make sure that they are about the same volume when played next to one another.  As anyone who has made a compilation tape will know, the difference in levels between songs can be very jarring.  Especially if a delicate ballad is far louder than the rock riff-o-rama that preceded it.

In checking the levels, I loaded “If Not Tonight” and “Carousels” into  a player, and played them simultaneously.  The resulting noise was terrifying, dissonant, and slightly beautiful.  I listened for 2m50s (until the shorted one had finished) utterly transfixed.  The two songs are both quite shifty affairs with timing and key changes throughout.  It made perhaps the most awful/wonderful sound I have ever heard, and was all harmonized with a drone note from the computer fan.

I am fearful about repeating the experiment for fear that the impact will be dilluted.

What wonderful sounds have you heard today?