steve roden + stephen vitiello: the spaces contained in each

Steve Roden and Stephen Vitiello are sound artists working at the nexus of sculpture and acoustics. They are professional listeners, embedding themselves in the auditory and relishing that which is encompassed in their horizon of listening. It's a shared horizon, then, that is at the core of The Spaces Contained in Each. Recorded as part of their joint residency on Governors Island in New York, this edition documents their installation work created for the unique acoustics of the island's St. Cornelius Chapel. Like many of the recordings that populate their solo discographies, The Spaces Contained in Each dwells in a zone of rich textural soundscapes. Distant bells toll at the edges of perception, field recordings flutter amid bursts of modular synth and other electronics. The sound field is constantly evolving and unfolding as layer upon layer of sound draws the listener deeper into the sound space. Moments of hushed tonality break into explosive bursts of frequency, though at no time does the work break its auditory suspension of disbelief. This collaboration sounds out new pathways into fields of sound well-explored by each of these artists. It marks an accumulation of their works, both individually and as collaborators.