alexander mcdonald

ALEXANDER MCDONALD
FILTER

The Silo has a unique acoustic, and I believe that by amplifying and sustaining a room’s harmonic one can gain a more complete sense of that space by both seeing and hearing the structure. The primary influence on this work is the space - its dimensions, location and contruction. During the recording the sounds of people within the space will become embedded in the recording and captured in the loop until it is switched off and replayed.

My intention is to showcase the unique acoustics of The Silo with a sound performance using the resonant harmonics of the structure itself. The process involves placing four or five large 400-500 Watt speakers into the sloped holes in upper floor and creating a stable resonant loop of feedback through amplifiers. This will then be filtered by a mixer to remove high piercing tones, and leave only lower range notes. The cylindrical space of the silo will determine a harmonic scale unique to the building which can then be played like a musical instrument.

A live performace will take place (dates and times to be confirmed), and as part of this, a recording will be taken of the sound within the feedback loop on the mixer, containing not only the hidden frequencies of the building but also distorted sounds of visitors from within the space.

After the performance is completed, the speakers will be inverted and the recording played into the downstairs room.