SOUND INSTALLATION IN LIDKÖPING CITY GARDEN - PROJECT STORY
The installation I’ve been working on the whole summer is now up and running in Lidköping city garden! The piece is a collaboration with sculptor Tony Abrahamsson and my part of the work is called ”KÄRNMUSIK/CORE MUSIC”. A 35 minute sounding exploration of the materials concrete and ceramics and their production/creation process, re-interpreted as metaphors for core beliefs, self creation and reshaping of ground materials.
This is a little peek behind the creation process of the work itself.
June 2019:
In the beginning of june I started my different recordings. The plan looked like this:
Concrete:
Two buckets with concrete
Contact mic recording the blending of the raw concrete mix
Hydrophone recording the mix when water is added
Hydrophone recording as the blend becomes thicker
Hydrophone and contact mic recording as it solidifies
Hydrophone, contact mic, and a close Rode recording as the solid mass of concrete is demolished.
Ceramics:
Contact mic recording the blend of the raw material
Hydrophone recording as the raw material becomes clay-like
Closely put Rode Nt2 microphone records the burning process
Closely put Rode Nt2 microphone + contact mic records as the ceramics is demolished, meeting a hard surface.
I started with the concrete preparing a bunch of hydrophones and contact mics, as well as materials to mix concrete. I use fine and grainy concrete - The same materials that was being used to make the actual sculpture.
Step one was to attach the hydrophones to my two different buckets, press record, and then start mixing concrete!
The hydrophones was left inside the concrete-mix to solidify during the night
The day after I was met by two sweeet chunks of solid concrete, and my hydrophones still worked inside! Recording sound from inside of the concrete!
I recorded lots of sounds where I used the solid concrete as a sort of instrument, as the sound from inside created a very close and cool perspective.
Eventually I brought my sledgehammer and recorded sounds as I hit it repeatedly to get my hydrophones out! A very cathartic experience with each hit amplified with the sounds from inside.
After recording the creation process of the concrete, it was time for ceramics! I came into contact with a ceramic-artist close to where I live, Eva Skarbäck, and got permission to record sound as she burned ceramics in her electric burner (THANK YOU!). An almost sacral sound recorded with the help of two contact microphones attached to the burner/oven, and a regular Rode Ntg2 microphone.
In the middle of june I started the composing/editing of the piece. Around this time I also decided on the duration. It felt motivated to make a piece over 30 minutes to really give myself the chance to describe a process.
July 2019:
In the beginning of july I found my title - ”KÄRNMUSIK/CORE MUSIC”.
I'd edited about half of the piece - all sound was recorded, processed and put in some sort of structure according to their ground material, creation, dissolvement, and rebirth. I worked on the ending part of the piece where the order of the process would be broken and the materials different textures would be blended/mixed in some kind of chaotic, cathartic way --- from crushed to liquid --- from grainy to solid --- from flowing to burning etc.
August 2019:
In the beginning of august the piece was finished. 32 minutes and 52 seconds. The different parts look like this:
Structure :
Material (powder) is being poured down.
Water is added.
Materials mix, changes texture
Solidifies - and core frequencies are introduced.
Burning - Sacral, ritual - sound of burning from inside.
Crushed - core frequencies increas and creates distortion turning into material crushing.
PEACE
Quick Rewind: everything becomes solid again from crushed pieces, un-burned, dissolves, becomes soft, liquid.
Molten core flowa - Cronium, lava, Molten Core, the Elephant foot.
ENDING → Parts of the material solidifies, cools down.
CODA —> Parts of the materials gets crushed, But the melted core remains liquid/flowing.
The end result was two sculptues, a megaphone/flower-shape and a bench to sit on, framed by an house shape made of iron. A speaker was placed inside the megaphone/flower shaped sculpture, as well as two vibration speakers on two plexi discs above (making them into two 1x1 speakers). The piece starts when someone touch a sensor that is placed on a sign attached to the house-frame.
