Ellen Fullman - Elemental View (2025) [Hi-Res]

"Elemental View" is a musical work by the pioneering composer Ellen Fullman for her unique Long String Instrument and the ensemble The Living Earth Show. The installation is a giant instrument of 136 long strings that occupies an industrial-sized space. The music explores the physics of string vibration, creating an immersive, ambient, and orchestral atmosphere. The performer plays the instrument by moving along it and drawing out sound with her fingertips, which generates constantly shifting waves of overtones. To create rhythmic textures, Fullman invented special percussive devices. The work also features a guitar and a Persian santur, whose microtonal tuning harmonizes with the main instrument, adding rhythmic and harmonic complexity to the composition.

composed by Ellen Fullman

Ellen Fullman: Long String Instrument, box bow, shovelette
Travis Andrews: box bow, shoveler, Hawaiian steel guitar
Andy Meyerson: box bow, shoveler, santur
recording engineer tracks 1, 2, 4: Theresa Wong
recording engineer tracks 3, 5, 6: Ellen Fullman
tracks 1, 2, 5: recorded at Headlands Center for the Arts
tracks 3 and overdubs on 5: recorded at EMPAC, Troy NY
track 6: recorded at Casa Ninja, Berkeley
microphone choice and placement for the LSI: Theresa Wong
mixed by Ellen Fullman and Theresa Wong
pre mastered by Thomas Dimuzio, Gench, San Francisco

Tracklist:
1-1 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Sustained Surface - Distant View [8:41]
1-2 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Dream Branch - Intimate Glint [8:12]
1-3 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Environmental Memory [4:20]
1-4 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Concentrated Merry-Go-Round [2:38]
1-5 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Surface Narrative in Four Parts [9:13]
1-6 Ellen Fullman;The Living Earth Show - Radio Coda [3:31]