Charles Darwin believed that even human ancestors made musical sounds long before they could speak. Animals are still limited to this form of vocal expression today. During a visit to the Yukon in Canada, artist and cyberneticist Oswald Wiener noticed that sled dogs prefer to do this without an audience.
Whether love, hate or cool detachment – no musical instrument can express emotions as powerfully as the human voice. The sound works sung by New York artist Kristin Oppenheim herself consist of just a few words. Nevertheless, they powerfully address themes of longing and loneliness.
With the Dreamachine, Brion Gysin invented the first art object that had to be experienced with closed eyes and induced a state of light relaxation. The artist also worked on methods at the sonic level that were intended to alter the state of consciousness.
Electronic sounds were all the rage in the mid-1960s. The young American composer Jon Appleton was certain that they would enable him to reach the emotions and consciousness of a wider audience. In 1967, while waiting for a connecting flight at Newark Airport, he put this idea to the test.
When cyber-shamanism emerged in Japan in the 1980s, 3D sound recording technologies and brain machines were developed there to simulate the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. Henry Kawahara was at the centre of this movement.
In the early 1980s, a sampler cost as much as a mid-sized car and could record just six seconds of sound. Hamburg musician Holger Hiller rented such a device on a daily basis in order to leave common pop clichés behind.
