Purple Diary
[September 18 2010]
Ulysses by Soundwalk
In the Fall of 2009 the Soundwalk collective embarked aboard an old gaff rigged sailboat equipped with scanners and aerial antennae for a sound odyssey recording the hertzian frequencies along the shores of the Mediterranean basin. Soundwalk continuously scanned and recorded all possible radio interceptions over a range of 40 miles around the boat while close to shore and far out at sea.
The 1500 hours of sonic material recorded captures the essence of the Mediterranean coasts: conversations of Libyan fishermen on Greek cargo ships, passing yachts on the Corsican coast, customs officers off the Bay of Naples, voices and whispers, excerpts of music, distant radio noises and morse code communication. The resulting work is resonant of Homer’s Odyssey in the form of a sonic fresco totaling 24 hours.
Performance created by Stéphane Crasneanscki at the lightship Frying Pan, New York. Photo Olivier Zahm
