brownout [2005]
for prepared syringes and balloons

brownout is one stage before a blackout. it is the partly breakdown of a
system. we discovered the phenomenon while travelling in california: the
electricity system breaks down once in a while, often only in certain
neighbourhoods and for a few hours.
we thought that it was a nice title for a piece not using electricity...or,
the other way round: for times without electricity...

technical description:
a blown up balloon (about 40cm diameter) is pulled over the tip of a prepared
syringe. five to eight drops of water are inserted into the spaces of the male
part. then, the sound can be tuned by pulling the male part out. very slowly air
escapes through the syringe and produces sound at the exit point.
due to small irregularities in the material and preparation each object differs
in sound and duration (between 10 minutes and 8 hours approx.). thus the
overall effect is that of a slow moving and shifting soundscape with a general
process going from a global mass sound at the beginning to an appearance
of individual voices towards the end.

brownout_(mp3) (excerpt)

(diapason gallery, new york city 2006 / photos by tobias koch)