To Hear the Earth Before the End of the World (Act I-iii ; Earth and Sky) is a 60min sound journey by LaMont Hamilton featuring improvised movement by artist brontë velez.
The title is an alternate phrasing on poet Ed Roberson's book To See the Earth Before the End of the World. Over the past years, artist LaMont Hamilton has been collecting biodata — field and electromagnetic recordings — from around the world to gain "a ground zero understanding of our changing Earth." Hearing glaciers cracking, smelling forest fires, the mechanical cacophony of land being razed — all felt on a cellular level.
“Music is the healing force of the universe.” Healing is the future of sound. Conversely, sound has also been used as a method of warfare, of manipulation, destruction. Thus the lines have been drawn. To echo Anthony Braxton, “a re-examination of our experience in this realm” is now in order. Understanding this is to understand our smallness in the equation, our finitude. Reckoning with that smallness is a necessary preparation for the voyage this work hopes to achieve.
