I am constantly amazed by musicians and artists who push to the next level in creating sounds that are unique and have never been heard before. The idea of making and developing sounds that are completely new is bizarre to me. It was strange to think about the “development” of sound as Russolo points out in the reading “The Art of Noise.” His idea that ” The ear of an eighteenth
century man never could have withstood the discordant intensity of some of the chords produced by our orchestras…” is something that I never though about- the beginnings and development of something I take for granted. I also liked how he highlighted that since the beginning of time, humans have constantly strived to achieve more. This applies to sound in that, by wanting to hear more, we create more.
I was drawn to Pauline Oliveros’ “Extended Voices” track from UbuWeb’s Sound archive. It is an extremely haunting audio clip. All of the sounds are created using human voice that has been altered or directed. The sounds that the voices create replicate other sounds, giving them a unique twist with a slightly creepy edge. The changes in volume in the voices adds to the suspense of the track. Oliveros’ ability to create or emulate sound using a different approach is extremely interesting. Using voices to create chords is haunting and gives an ethereal, “holy”ish sound that Russolo talks about in the reading.
Sounds are something that can easily be taken for granted. By being more in tune with the noises that we hear everyday, we are more inclined to create meaningful sound that goes beyond what is already being heard. Russolo urges the reader to push boundaries aside because sound is infinite in variety. This reading inspires me to create and discover new concepts in my work because the results are infinite.