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| Walls, Ceilings and Frequencies Kaspars Groševs, Artist freq_out – freq_out [0—∞Hz] (2004) freq_out – freq_out 2 (2005) | |
| “People tend to forget a simple truth – sound travels and spreads,” this was the simple explanation that the conceptual sound artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff gave in a recent speech during the IHME Days in Helsinki, to shed some light on the basic idea behind his installation freq_out. Works of art using sound are nothing new, likewise exhibitions with several such works side by side. In some cases the use of headphones can help the visitor, but most often one must tolerate unwanted ‘mutual relationships’ between sound installations, unless the exhibition space has been specifically adjusted to provide a better solution. The idea behind freq_out is brutally simple and ingenious: 12 artists working in various fields connected with sound and music have been invited to come along, and each has been assigned their own space in the room, a sound system and a range of frequency (for example, 0–25 Hz, 25–65 Hz, 95–90 Hz, etc.) At the finish, the loop compositions of each artist are played at the same time, creating a varied and freely flowing composition. The lengths of the works are different, and this means that the mutual combinations never repeat themselves. The visitor, moving around in the space, can find their own ‘viewpoint’. Everybody liked the installation so much that it has been repeated six more times since 2003, and almost all the artists have wanted to participate again and again. The nature of the installation as a whole is to a large extent determined by the space itself and the positioning of the work console of each artist, and each time they have been located in the most varied places: familiar gallery spaces, the headquarters of the Communist party, underground tunnels and museum gardens. As befits such an event, documentation is almost mandatory. In this case, I am going to review two compact discs, of which the first is difficult to listen to, but the other one is pleasantly soporific. | |
 freq_out 3 in the Communist Party headquarters, Paris. 2005 | |
| freq_out – freq_out [0—∞Hz] (Ash International, 2004) The first disc is a compilation of the separate compositions of each artist, which allows the listener to verify the narrow range of frequency assigned to each artist. The album starts with a minimal, earsplitting, highpitched whining sound, followed by slightly more pleasant rhythmical noises. The sound in each subsequent work becomes lower and deeper, until it ends with Finnbogi Pétursson’s scarcely audible bass thumps. The nature of the compositions fluctuates from gentle, minimalistic sound landscapes to rough noises and dense, brutal bass tones. The album concludes with a compilation of all the works arranged by BJNilsen. The Swedish sound artist has successfully mixed a well thoughtout sound composition, in which no more than three or four works are played simultaneously. This allows the listener both to discern the separate works and to appreciate the organic confluence. Not having seen (heard) the installation itself, from this disc alone it is hard to imagine how the installation would have sounded in its entirety. However, the last piece of the album offers an ‘idealized’ interaction, where the acoustics of the original space do not feature, and BJNilsen takes good care to demonstrate the effects in the best of order. Although the disc is at times a little difficult to listen to, its unemotionally assembled structure becomes a robust and convincing audio collage, simultaneously revealing the ‘kitchen’ of the installation and showing how each artist has used their sound space. In a way this is a reference to the creative work of Hausswolff himself – aesthetics and the protection of the listener’s ears in his recordings give way to the idea of the work and its dispassionate execution. Not infrequently, the artist in his recordings offers sound which exceeds its own boundaries and, in contact with space and living beings within that space, changes its form and nature. | |
 freq_out - freq_out. CD | |
| freq_out – freq_out 2 (Ash International, 2005) This disc contains one 60 minute long composition – a ‘live’ recording which documents the installation. In contrast to the previous recording, in this one it is practically impossible to discern any separate components, except for the hazy and hollow hiss which hardly ever ceases. The acoustics of the room add to the disarray, and, even though with more careful listening (for which earphones will serve best) one can hear many and varied details and nuances, overall the recording does not provide any development, only a flowing and incessant sound landscape. No noises, unevenness or recapitulation. After all, the problem of this concrete recording is not the content, but its documentary form, which, instead of (at least) 12 viewpoints to discover, leaves the listener just one – the most boring one. When listening to this album, Hausswolff’s claim that a new concept of creation of music has been fashioned for the 21st century may seem exaggerated or even naïve, just like the deliberate reference to Frank Zappa’s famous album Freak Out! which marked a new turn in the development of experimental music. Possibly we will discover the influence of freq_out with the distance of time, as the sound will always have to encounter unrelenting walls and ceilings which could also become the escape route out of the stereo cage, where new discoveries often are dependent on the deterioration of listeners’ memories. All freq_out recordings can be purchased direct from the Touch recording label online at: http://touchshop.org. The Touch Radio website provides the opportunity to listen, free of charge, to a performance of the freq_out orchestra at the Happy New Ears festival in Belgium: www.touchradio.org.uk/touchradio_35_freq_out_orchestra. html. /Translator into English: Vita Limanoviča/ | |
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