MELLEM-RUM (inbetween-space)

A sound installation with 12 tape loops
Nikolaj Church tower
by jbrandtp

The installation explores our comprehension of a  audio work, where each part has been mitigated in various degrees according to how distant from the listener they are.
In the Nikolaj Church staircase tower are monted 12 tape loop machines with speakers.

Sound material is various computer processings of the sound of a metal rod (Chime).
A great variety of sounds from harmonic sounds with complex spectral texture to ythmic noises are generated by computer applications such as Lemur, Sound Hack, Sound Maker, SuperCollider, Meta Synthetics and GRM-tools.
A wide range of different sounds ar created, and yet they all keep a weak notion of their metallic source.

The soundmaterial is sorted by the 4 elements so that the tower climbs through earth, water, fire and air. Each element consists of 3 loops. All 12 loops have different lengths of 4-10 min, so their relative positions change at each run. All loops consist of the periods of silence in order to mix them with the other loops farther away.
It is the interaction between the individual parts (the tapeloops) of the installation and the audience distance from them and position, which is the basis for the installation. When a loop is at a distance, it will not only have a small volume; floor-sections (spaces) will also change the sounds spectrum by attenuating some frequencies more than others. Similarly, the room-reflection of sound become more pronounced and thus coloring the sound, the more distant the sound source is.

Installation is planned to run in Nikolaj in a week. Earth element (ie the 3 loops near ground-level) will only be used 2 hours each day to give the church visitors the opportunity to use the jukebox set up in the tower floor area. The other three elements, however, will be able to function independently and jukebox, when it is used, interfere with sound work, and also give a sense of the distance.