dust a bit

by Klaus Filip and Thomas Grill, 2019–2021
commissioned by rotting sounds

Digital audio via laser beam

A musical motif in just intonation consisting of pure sine tones serves as starting material. It modulates the intensity of a laser beam. The laser is sent through the room with a mirror several times and finally directed to a phototransistor. On its way through the room, the optical signal is disturbed by the dust present in the air. Individual bits are changed. The dusty bitstream overwrites the memory of the original signal, is sent to the source material and again through the room.
This is repeated over hours, days and months and can be heard via headphones.

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Live audio stream of the installation at the Auditorium of Rotting Sounds

Archive

You can find archived sounds of the piece (1 min per hour) at the Rotting Sounds Archive.