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.
Robotic vocoder voices in music were the symbol of an electronic future in the 1970s. The technology was already being used during the Second World War and was further developed in 1961 at Bell Labs in New Jersey, where computer music pioneer Max Mathews employed it to adapt a love song from 1892.
In fantasy and science fiction novels, American author Ursula K. Le Guin has created futuristic scenarios – often linked to Native American motifs. Always Coming Home, published in 1985, describes the life of the fictional Kesh people. To make their world audible, Le Guin recorded several songs with composer Todd Barton.
Mystery and poetry come together in the works of Guy de Cointet. The visual artist understood language as a system in its own right – and he deconstructed it. Dutch voice artist Jaap Blonk, active himself at the intersection of music, poetry and performance, interpreted Cointet's work ‘Nonomotithur’ in 1997.
The sausage products of German immigrant Oscar Mayer are popular in the United States – thanks to clever marketing and a catchy promotional song. In 2003, the Evolution Control Committee from Ohio, known for its crude appropriations, recognised the lyrics as a godsend and mixed them with the national anthem.
John Oswald established the concept of plunderphonics – the “stealing” of sounds for the sake of art. Here, the Canadian composer transforms a kitschy Christmas song into an absurd cartoon for the ears.
Charles Kellogg had already developed the ability to communicate with birds in their own language between the ages of four and six. In 1891, at the age of 23, the naturalist who grew up in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada brought his talent to the stage.
When the blind street musician Moondog roamed New York City in the early 1950s, he must have chosen the places where he laid out his instruments on the pavement with his ears. Sometimes it seems as if the sounds of the city were just waiting for him.
