MEDERY, LUDOVIC — Les Pierres Seches

It�s within the framework of a disused factory located in Li�ge, a post-industrial city of Belgium that I gathered the sound recordings over a six months period (March till August 2016).
This factory is in St Leonard quarter (in the North part of the city, dubbed sometimes as �North Quarter�). At a time of whom some still remember, workshops, some small factories & stores flourished there between 1950 and 1980.
Historically, this quarter saw these factories and stores emerge and die. Scars from this process still strew across the place, namely empty shop fronts hastily refurbished with scraps and abandoned buildings not waiting anymore for its workers.
As the years went by, this quarter met different populations from the four corners of Europe and Africa, first for the coal, and then for the steel industry. The Meuse is the river which splits the city into two banks, the left one is bordered by St Leonard Quarter.
Intimately bound to the history of this Quarter, the building I explored is adjacent to the esplanade erected and completed in 2006. This esplanade which grew up as some breathing space and meeting place for its inhabitants had formerly a totally different function.
It was the place where the prison of the city sat. Moved by a vivid exploration desire and curiosity, I wandered through the site many times until it became inaccessible.
During my visits, I divided my sound recordings in 3 phases :
� sound ambience without intervention
� sound ambiences with interventions within the space
� searches for objects of all sizes allowing me to create other sounds and play sequences.
~
C�est dans le cadre d�une usine d�saffect�e de Li�ge, ville post-industrielle de Belgique, que j�ai r�alis� ces captations sonores sur une p�riode de 6 mois (mars � ao�t 2016).
Cette usine se situe dans le quartier St L�onard (situ� dans nord de la ville on le surnomme parfois Quartier Nord). A une �poque dont certains se souviennent encore, des ateliers, de petites usines et commerces y florissaient entre 1950 et 1980.
Historiquement, ce quartier a vu na�tre et mourir ces usines et commerces. Ces cicatrices encore visibles pars�ment le quartier. Vitrines vides r�habilit�es � la va-vite avec des bouts de rien et b�timents � l�abandon n�attendant plus les ouvriers qui les fr�quentaient. Au fil des ann�es, ce quartier a vu arriver diff�rentes populations venant des quatre coins de l�Europe et d�Afrique. D�abord pour le charbonnage, ensuite pour la sid�rurgie. � La Meuse � est le fleuve qui s�pare la ville en deux rives, la gauche est bord�e par le quartier Saint L�onard.
Intimement li� a l�histoire de ce quartier, le b�timent que j�ai visit� lors de cette exploration est attenant � l�esplanade qui � �t� construite et achev�e en 2006. Cette esplanade devenu espace de respiration et rencontre entre habitants avait auparavant une toute autre fonction, c��tait l� o� se situait la prison de la ville. Anim� par le d�sir d�exploration et la curiosit�, j�ai explor� � plusieurs occasions ce site jusqu�� ce qu�il soit compl�tement inaccessible.
Durant mes visites, j�ai d�cid� de diviser mes captations en trois phases;
� ambiance sonore sans intervention
� ambiance sonores avec interventions dans l�espace
� recherche d�objets de toute taille me permettant de cr�er d�autres sons et s�quences jeux.
(Ludovic Medery, January 2020)

LOCATION : a disused factory in Li�ge.
50.6500253 N / 5.5840799 E

Sound recordings made with omnidirectional, cardioid and contact mics. Additional electronic sounds made with analog synthesizer, a ring modulator, a delay, and a feedback generator.

Mixed, assembled, and mastered by Ludovic Medery 2017-2020.

Additional art card, cover design & treatments by Daniel Crokaert.
Based exclusively on photos by Cathy Alvarez Valle & Ludovic Medery.

https://unfathomless.bandcamp.com/album/les-pierres-s-ches