blake gordon
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the Magic Theater: underground soundscape installation/performance
"TONIGHT AT THE MAGIC THEATER
FOR MADMEN ONLY
PRICE OF ADMITTANCE YOUR MIND
NOT FOR EVERYBODY HERMINE IS IN HELL."
-Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf
I approached the soundscape similar to a scene. Sounds were thought of as residing in the foreground, middleground, or background.
THE PREMISE:
I continued to explore the relationship between sound and space, this time bringing sound to an captivating acoustic space: an 8ft. tall tunnel underneath the city.
The space was rich experientially but also provided fertile grounds for acoustics. Reverb, reflections, resonant tones were all abundant.
Michael Carroll and I learned quickyl that acoustic instruments sounded best in these spaces and we learned to treat the speakers such:
- tweaking EQs, shifting balance, and creating volume swells that were absorbed in the thick reverb of the tunnel.
Up close textures and higher tones held, in the distance reverberated swells floated you through an ocean of noise.
THE APPROACH:
THE AUDIO:
THE EXIT: