![]() These phonetically distinct sounds of human language originate from a speech synthesiser, here programmed to exclaim an emphatically effective nothingness. The hammering and soldering, mad inventor syndrome more succesfully transcended its expression in Stephan von Heune's Extended Schwitters (1987), a mechanised plywood android which utters random phonemes. In spite of the boinging hullabaloo of the show, there was relative indifference to the actual sounds themselves, as opposed to the processes by which they were arrived at. This error of judgement was compounded by the show's misuse of darkness, which conferred ludicrous importance to the comic works, and overt theatricality to the frequent doomy 'artistic' ones - recognisable by their overuse of reverb and groaning installation clichés. If the show had presented a more inclusive history of automata then the selection of works might have been less of a puzzle but it was neither a historical overview nor a more adventurous selection of contemporary sonic art. These, and a great many of other similar works, took 'Sonic Boom' to a hearty place, somewhere to the rear of Acker Bilk and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, art's loss being visiting children's gain. Other than numerous jokes about turntables, a representative gag which occured in Heri Dono's Watching the Marginal People (2000), and Paulo Feliciano and Rafael Toral's Toyzone (2000), involved, to art school effect, the use of prosthetic eyeballs which mechanically swivel. Mostly though, a very studenty, blokeish thing seemed to be going on, which included a great deal of kinetic automata of the slapstick kind. Just over 20 artists, composers and collaborators were presented, including Brian Eno and Max Eastley, as well as such bleakly titled collaborations as Greyworld, Disinformation and Project Dark. This wasn't for any lack of crashes, bleeps, tweeting sine-tones orscreeches, but the consequence of cumulative misjudgements, all of which originated from the best of intentions. The actuality, unfortunately, was nearer the whimper than the bang end of the meter. 'Sonic Boom', a show about sound art, was a bit like this you didn't actually like it very much, and were happy when it was all over, but in principle you were glad it existed.Ĭurated by musician and writer David Toop, the premise of the show was a good one and the inclusion of the onomatopoeic word Boom promised excitement. ![]() One day you realiser there is music in your collection which you cannot bring yourself to play - a little something by Steve Beresford and Tristan Honsinger, perhaps - unlistened to for nearly 20 years, but which you cannot bring yourself to throw out. ![]()
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