Subject: ¥Christina Kubisch & Christopher Williams – Groundwave Rondo
(Magnetic Traveling) – premiere broadcast on Czech Radio – 26 Feb 2016
From: christina kubisch
Christina Kubisch & Christopher Williams: Groundwave Rondo (Magnetic
traveling)
A collaboration between composers and sound artists Christina Kubisch,
who has worked with the phenomena of electromagnetic induction since
the late seventies, and Christopher Williams, who discovered the
hidden worlds of radio in 2007.
The piece will be broadcast on Czech Radio (Český rozhlas) on 26
February 2016 at 10 pm CET.
It is also available for streaming here:
http://www.rozhlas.cz/radiocustica_english/project/_zprava/1584797
In an old dictionary from 1912 the term Reise (travel) is defined as
„Bewegungen nach entfernten Orten“ (movements to distant places).
Today the idea of reaching distant places is mostly seen as a digital
travel and not as a real physical experience.
Our trip to the Czech Republic in October 2015 was both.
We traveled between „distant“ places which we did not know before, by
train, tram, funicular, and on foot. And we traveled between different
realities: „natural“ sounds, the worlds of electromagnetic fields, and
the worlds of radiowaves. Armed with special headphones that make
electrical currents audible, and with an AM radio that receives radio
waves interrupted and transformed by moving trains, for two days we
explored many different ways of traveling.
We sat still, moved around, listened passively, and actively captured
sounds by directing our tools in different directions; we visited
small cities, villages, a forest, and a mountain. The trip took us
from Berlin to Liberec, meandering most of the time between the German
Saxon area and the northern Czech Republic.An interesting aspect of
recording was the change to our perception of everyday reality.
Intense invisible wavelengths contrasted with the view of peaceful and
sometimes uniform landscapes, or with train compartments whose
passengers experienced quite different soundscapes than we did. It
made us understand that there are many realities surrounding us that
we do not normally see or hear.Groundwave Rondo (Magnetic Traveling)
is an extension of this adventure, this experience of a dual reality.
The structure of the piece follows the itinerary of the two days of
traveling. The soundscape ends with the arrival at the top of the
Jeschken, the mountain above Liberec which is home to a Czech radio
transmitter.
Some parts of the composition were elaborated together, some
improvised individually as a surprise to the the partner. Williams‘
contrabass improvisation, an instrumental journey in itself, gives a
frame and a narrative anchor to this intense and arresting auditory
experience and brings the listener back to a sound reality which he
knows. Sometimes.
Magnetic and radio recordings: Christina Kubisch and Christopher Williams
Field recordings: Christina Kubisch and Christopher Williams
Contrabass: Christopher Williams
Contrabass recordings: Eckehard Güther
Final mix: Christina Kubisch and Christopher Williams
Sound engineering: Eckehard Güther
Christopher Williams listening to radio waves Christina Kubisch
listening to electromagnetic fields Foto: Christina
Kubisch Foto: Christopher Williams