Art imitates spirit—which is the energy of being alive. Limited only by our receptivity, it catalyzes change and reframes experience as it courses through our senses, emotions, and identity. In Future Nature, Sinuhé Vega Negrin’s lush tropical plant life and layered, contemplative totems invite us into the shared mystery of a fecund Earth witnessing itself. All life—plant, animal, and human—shares the same genetic instructions. All living things share some level of c0-awareness, maybe sentient, co-experience. This music is an amplification of the mystery carried within Sinuhé Vega Negrin’s Future Nature.
Every sound in this soundtrack originates from Central Florida’s natural world—but has been slowed down to be fully perceived. The rapid, intricate song of a Hermit Thrush, when time is stretched, reveals harmony, key, form, and meter. Multiple layers of slowed-down birdsong—originally recorded by Dr. Jonathan Beever in the UCF Arboretum—shape the secondary melodies and harmonies, featuring Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Whip-poor-wills, Mourning Doves, Tufted Titmice, Ravens, and many others.
Peaceful three-note chords accompanying the thrush’s high calls are composed from the sound of cricket song. Playing back their chorale at speeds that match the scale of an instrument gave me the ability to play them in harmony. The soft pops and crackles throughout are the ultrasonic responses from tomato plants, azaleas and viburnum recorded from my yard—sounds only recently discovered though they have forever been a part of everyday communication between all plants and insects. The tomato plant recordings come from the authors of that groundbreaking research, published in Cell titled, “Sounds Emitted by Plants Under Stress Are Airborne and Informative” by Itzhak Khait et al.). This science reveals a world of interconnection we have largely been deaf to—a world of sound that has surrounded us all along.
April 13-May13, 2025
MAITLAND ART CENTER
Inspired by the Dutch Vanitas tradition, Negrin’s new works evoke contemplation on mortality and the pursuit of divine wisdom through earthly reflections. The works invite viewers to reflect on their role in envisioning a FUTURE NATURE, where the need for a harmonious coexistence with nature is paramount, and where human and ecological resilience are intertwined.
My 4 channel (quadrophonic) ambient music repeats every 25 minutes, created using:
- Stereo 96kHz field recordings of the UCF Arboretum from April 2018 by Dr. Jonathan Beever, UCF Philosophy Dept.
- Stereo ultrasonic 192kHz recordings made by Keith Lay of Azaleas and other landscape plants in Oviedo
- Izotope RX8
- MetaSynth
- Logic Pro
- Sound Particles Skydust
- Sound Particles InDelay
- Vienna Suite Limiter Pro
- Ciinematic Rooms Professional
I shot these videos during the compositional process using Premiere and ScreenFlow software with an iPhone and Rode Wireless GO II wireless mics.
