Experiments in Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) using two reel-to-reel machines in an attempt after Konstantin Raudive & William Burroughs to establish contact with the dead. In the 21C electromagnetic tape is an anachronism. Dead media unwinds time from its spools. The dead are no longer human; and when the inhuman expire, do the inhuman become more human than human, at the moment of death? Two electromagnetic machines capture the unfolding of an era in which memory encodes the loving caress of electron imprinted tape. Two tape machines in tandem share their memories, silent at first but slowly amplified through continuous re-recording & simultaneous playback. Time out of joint falls in & out of tape sync; more inhuman than human loops the frequency. - tobias c. van Veen 2008 -
// concept
The twisted evolution of the concept went through a metamorphosis for me as I pondered what love might mean for machines, or that for machines to communicate, they must begin with love (*by love I think I mean, something from the raw intensity of anger to zen companionship -- somewhere inbetween is the erotic). I didn't want to tread into the digital realm, as so much of Work is a digital interface these days that I wanted my human experience with machinic love to have the intensity of a hands-on relationship. Thus I ended up turning to reel-to-reel machines & the experiments of Konstantin Raudive with blank media in his attempt to record & communicate with the 'voices of the dead'. (I had no idea at the time that John Hudak was exploring similar terrain -- though in the digital realm -- for his Turbulence commission, Voices from the Paradise Network.) This led to a series of investigations of the sonic realm arising between two networked R2R machines, a simple mixer and a DSP processor (to add spatialization and stereo channel manipulation to sometimes mono signals). These investigations revealed a performative realm, a space to improvise and develop a capacity to 'play' the machines, or rather tweak & twiddle their hard knobs into spasms of ecstasy, cries of joy &, at times, moans of despair. The machines sang to me & each other, & I was drawn into the deadzone... [ see interview with Greg Smith ]
. recording improvised winter 2008 using the Sony TC-580 and AKAI 4000db bi-directional reel-to-reel machines, an Eurorack UB802 mixer and a Roland RSP-550 stereo signal processor.
. recorded live 29.03.08 @ TEXTURES_22, Cagibi, MTL // using the following channeling equipment: Sony TC-580 and AKAI 4000db bi-directional reel-to-reel machines, an Eurorack UB802 mixer and a Roland RSP-550 stereo signal processor. thanks be had to Constantin Katsiris.
. ALL SOUND RAW thus OPEN EARS for THE DECEASED .
['til death do us a part] is a 2007 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts, Inc., for Networked_Music_Review. It was made possible with funding from the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney general at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
