In the manner of Alvin Lucier's famous 1969 sound work 'I am sitting in a room' the recording of Otto Hahn was played back into the space at the Kuenstlerhaus. Following Lucier, this broadcast was iteratively played back and re-recorded in situ numerous times. It is characteristic of such recordings that the legibility of the voice becomes obscured with each iteration of the recording process, and the resonant frequency of the room (the background) slowly takes over. This ultimately results in the production of an abstract tonal soundscape.
Four versions were made of this sound 'mirroring', with the original recording tuned to different pitches. These four resulting recordings were played back simultaneously, each emanating from a different speaker. Overall a 'chord' could be heard, but the intensity of any given 'note' varied with the listener's spatial proximity to each of the speakers in the installation.
Alongside the four abstract resonant recordings, the original spoken recording of Hahn (with its audible 'noise' from numerous analogue transfers) was synchronously played back off a 7 inch record, from a small record player with a built-in amplifier/ speaker.
Exhibited: Kuenstlerhaus Dortmund, Germany, September-October 2010.
Technology: Arduino/Record Player/Modified mp3 Players.
