Warning: Real Noise Approaching

In 1966 Steve Reich looped a sample of a black youth saying 'come out to show them' non-stop for 13 minutes with just a weird phase pattern to keep it interesting. Thirty years after these initial sound experiments all across Europe every weekend there were warehouses full of people spazzing out for hours on end to music directly influenced by Steve Reich's brand of minimalism.

Just as models walking down catwalks in Milan with peacocks gaffer taped to their faces somehow translate into a stylish new pair of sunglasses available in high street stores - so too do the weird unreasonable antics of the sound art world eventually work their way into popular culture. Because of this, by examining contemporary sound art it is possible to gain an indication of how the function of sound is changing within society - and an idea of what popular music might be like in a couple of decades time.

In the summer of 2008 David Byrne dissolved the boundary between sound source and venue when he created Playing The Building. He attached striking and vibrating mechanisms to the pipes, pillars and beams of New York's Battery Maritime Museum transforming it into a giant musical instrument. Members of the publicwere exposed to haunting wails, booms and clanks from all around them asthey wondered around and had the option of playing the building themselves sitting at the keys of a customised pump organ.

Later that year the Japanese sound artist Ujino Muneteru featured mechanical sound sculptures called Rotators in a high profile exhibition at Toko's Studio Depp. The Rotators are made up of three, usually heavily modified, domestic electrical appliances all conducted by a Rotator Head (A DJ turntable customised to rhythmically operate three electric switches). As the record turns the different electrical devices spurt on and off - producing mechanical noises orchestrated to resembles electronic dance music.

These two examples illustrate a general trend in contemporary sound art, including works by Nicolas Anatol Baginsky and Bjoern Schuelke, where practitioners are eschewing traditional instruments, loudspeakers and amplifiers in favour Real Noise.

This trend within the art world is just the tip of the iceberg. There is growing disillusionment with the the current state of popular sound. A sentiment of discontentment is spreading, induced by the flat half-experiences produced by digital sound,subwoofers and supertweeters. People have started to remember that there is something more to listening; something which can't be found in an ipod, or a fashionable night club.

For the advancement of Real Noise and the facilitation of the Real Noise revolution premises must be seized, be they derelict buildings, warehouses or fields. Real Noise sound sources must be located and brought to the new venues where they can be combined and orchestrated into mechanical Real Noise sound systems. These will be able to match the power andvolume of modern digital sound systems made up of signal processors, amplifiers and loud speakers, but they will far surpass them in their complexity, depth, integrity and immediacy. The Real Noise revolution will begin in earnest as soon as Real Noise sources are brought together in one place with people hungry to experience complete sound.

We are on the cusp of a new era in listening. The man on the street is ready to plunge into Real Noise - he just needs somewhere to begin his journey.

 

SOUND SYSTEM 2030: AN ARTIST'S IMPRESSION OF WHAT A REAL NOISE SOUND SYSTEM MIGHT BE LIKE.

A. Sound the alarm - A variety of alarm bells, car horns, smoke detectors and door bells are attached all over the walls of the venue. They can be turned on and off manually or in a programmed pattern using one of the Rotator Heads.

B. The Power - Chainsaws and belt sanders are hung around the venue and can be controlled by plungers in the control panel.

C. The blades - A dial allows the ceiling fans to be turned up to high speed. As well as producing a bassy 'wurring' noise they also create exhilarating gusts of cool air.

D. The Grind - Axel grinders and circular saws produce ear splitting screams and showers of sparks.

E. Pipes - Vibrating mechanisms are attached to the building's water pipes, which can be manipulated to produce clanks, drones and bongs.

F. The washing machine wall - Washing machines of many kinds are piled up in one corner. This can be turned into a vibrating, wailing wall of kinetic carnage at the flick of a switch.

G. River sluice gate - By pulling on this chain you raise the sluice gates allowing a river to run through the trench in the centre of the dance floor - this can be manipulated to produce anything from a soothing tinkle to a furious roar.

H. Howling - These large men located at the back of the venue have dogs on leads. By giving the dogs bear hugs the men cause them to make a howling noise. The men with dogs also double up as bouncers and drug dealers.

I. Diesel - Two levers operate the accelerators of the diesel engines located on both sides of the venue. The engines can tick over (thump, thump, thump) or they can be revved hard to make a roaring noise. Exhaust fumes are channelled outside through pipes.

J. The Green Man - The bleeps of the dance floor's pedestrian crossing have adjustable volume and tone.

K. Fog horn - The pressure of this powerful air horn can be controlled to produce various effects.

L. Boiler - The boiler has many different kinds of valves attached to it which all produce different sounds.

M. Jets - High pressure water jets hit different sized metal plates inside the dance floor's water channel.

N. The drill - A pneumatic drill rigged on a pillar on the dance floor.

O. The geese - The geese move around the warehouse reacting to the other noise sources within the venue, responding with their own loud honking call.

P. Light - This light is activated by a switch on the control panel and signals to the large men, letting them know when they should squeeze their dogs.

Q. The Rotator Heads - These devices originally conceived by Ujino Muneteru are customised DJ turntables and can be used to mechanically operative other kinetic machines within the venue.

R. The control panel - The switches/plungers/dials mounted on this panel allow the noise devices to be operated manually.