From a recording, a garment.
Every Phonarch piece moves through the same six stages — from the first recording I listen to, to the finished one-of-one garment on the rack. This page walks a sound through that translation, in order, the way the studio actually works. Click any heading to jump ahead, or read straight through.
Sound
The work starts with a sound — a song on repeat, a captured moment, a single sustained note. Someone brings the recording to the studio; that's the first thing on the table.
Frequency
I listen for what the recording is actually doing — tempo, harmonic weight, the shape of its decay, the loudness curve. Those become the grammar I think in.
Interpretation
The features become a score the way I'd score a part: tempo into where the seams sit, harmonics into how the panels drape, volume into how the surface holds light.
Paint
The score goes onto the cut cloth by hand — brush on the cut, not on a finished garment. The first mark moves with the grain of the fabric, which is why the work is one-of-one.
Garment
The cloth is sewn into a single chosen garment — the one that fits the score. Some pieces become a jacket, some a shirt, some a structural study. The garment is the surface the score earns.
Artifact
The finished Sonic Artifact — cut, painted, and sewn by Bryant McNeil in the studio — is photographed, signed, and released. No two repeat; when it's sold, it's gone.
See the finished pieces.
The six stages above end at the rack. Visit the shop for the finished, one-of-one audio-born pieces currently available — one recording per garment, no reprints.