LP – Futura Resistenza

The influence of the historical avant-garde is clearly evident in the work of the current generation. Work like Could Change by Marc Matter reminds us of an absolute classic written more than 50 years ago, Alvin Lucier’s I Am Sitting In A Room, a composition which highlighted the specific acoustic resonances of a neutral space and the basic laws of recording. In doing so, Lucier’s seminal work gave rise to a whole meta-music genre that focuses on processes as opposed to the realism of narratives, and doesn’t rely on the ubiquitous and often fetishized chords of the twelve-tone technique. Matter is a sound artist and eclectic intermedia experimenter who made his debut in the late 90s, collaborating with the Institut für Feinmotorik, of which he is also one of the founders. His experimental and multifaceted approach has seen him work in artist publishing, acoustic art and sound and visual poetry. Together with Marcus Maeder and Bernd Schurer, he also performed a Dadaist novel by Hugo Ball in the form of an experimental radio play for Radio DRS2. In Could Change, a work of almost 24 minutes (similar in duration to Lucier’s I Am Sitting In A Room), it is the loop of a vocal recording that focuses the listeners’ attention. That vocal is a computerized voice that continuously exhibits the phrasing of its automated source. The effect is hypnotic, the almost imperceptible changes over time pull the listener into an unknown aural environment, like a mantra, but where the ‘verb’ has no intelligible meaning. Technically what is happening is repeated fragments of an incomprehensible language lead to another under the guise of meditative music and a heartfelt celebration of a pre-internet avant-garde.

 

Marc Matter – Could Change