A remarkable and ever-innovating sound artist, Christina Kubisch is known for her electrical walks, evolving since the early 1970s, where you can hear the otherwise inaudible electromagnetic noise of the environment through specially designed headphones.
While researching electromagnetic waves in Trondheim, she uncovered the sound of the tram from the city centre to the surrounding hills. They were so impressive and musical that she immediately decided to base her piece for Trondheim Voices on this discovery. The vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices then ‘sang along’ to Christina’s tram recordings, creating new vocal parts which went through several transformations, being rerecorded until the voices sounded ethereal and abstract. That stage is the starting point for Strømsanger (‘electrical singers’).
After the concert, artistic director Bjørnar Habbestad in nyMusikk will lead a conversation with composer Christina Kubisch and singer Anita Kaasbøll. Duration approximately 20 min.
NB: Experience one of Christina Kubisch’s Electrical Walks at our extended event Ultima at Deichman on 23.09. Check out her archive of electromagnetic sounds from cities around the world, created especially for Ultima, at: electricalwalks.org
Kubisch wok was comissioned by nyMusikk Trondheim.
Read more on nyMusikk's website.
Tickets please! A replacement tram service driven by Trondheim Voices and Christina Kubisch. Loved the piece and the singers! Especially the last section, where the beautiful, poetic names of the tram stops along the line turned into a strange kind of sound poetry. Now I have togo visit Trondheim.
Lighting systems, wireless communications, radar, anti-theft security devices, surveillance cameras, mobile phones, computers, tram cables, antennae, navigation systems, ATMs, Wi-Fi routers, neon signs, public transportation networks, etc, all generate electrical fields – hidden as if under cloaks of invisibility, but with incredible presence. The sounds are much more varied and musical than you might expect, and Christina Kubisch’s Electrical Walks have revealed them via our headphones since the 1970s. This vocal project is an exciting new journey through invisible terrain she has made her own.