BOTEZCO

LYDUR,
August 24-29 2010

A new installation resulting in blisters, splinters and ringing ears. On August 24 I'll be firing up the beast.

LYDUR is an oversized sound installation custom-built for DogA's main hall. It consists of modified furniture, home made wooden crates, trumpet horns and a 3.5 meter tall wooden sound funnel, retrofitted with speaker drivers. The sculpture-like construction forms a object orchestra that performs an infinite composition based on that most precious element; time. Scroll down to read more or download project pdf.

Download the Poster (A3- pdf)
Download the Poster Black/White (A3- pdf)

Download the Flyer (A5-pdf)
Download the Flyer Black/White(A5-pdf)

DogA

I have been given the opportunity to build a sound installation at the Design and Architecture Centre (DogA) in my hometown of Oslo, Norway. The exhibition space is an amazing old brick factory hall; 34 meters long, 10 meters wide, with a 12 meter high ceiling. The acoustics are similar to what you'll find in a church, but that's just one of the many challenges I'll be facing before the opening.

Objects

For six weeks I have been building, buying and borrowing a variety of wooden constructions. Much of it is old furniture that I have had to modify. Back in the day furniture was built with quality wood, so these old gems produce good resonance when retrofitted with speakers. I have also been running shuttle service between my local timber merchant for a fresh supply of plywood for the more experimental speaker boxes.

In addition to the thirty odd number of objects I'm constructing, I will also erect a 3.5meter tall and 8meter long sound funnel on site. Over the course of these weeks I've acquired a wide variety of speaker drivers with an equally wide frequency range from a wide selection of sources. Some were picked cheap cheap from recession rocked US vendors. The lighter stuff winged its way across the Atlantic as hand luggage. Bulkier bits were bought in Norway at extortionate prices.

The Score

The score is a generative composition; made in real time using custom software. At the heart is the modern military clock (24.00) with a metronome ticking at quarter second intervals. The software generates the score by sending the current time through a series of algorithms mixed in with a bit of random happiness. The software looks at the entire day, sections of time and other more relative concepts of time such as "in a minute". Together they make up the ever-changing score.

Background

London 2007-2009

Building speakers was never really the plan. It was intended to be a way of taking electronic music out of the computer. Hayhurst and myself had been wearing headphones for over two years while experimenting with sounds. It had come to the point where we were loosing our ability to speak.

We settled on the idea of putting together a virtual 4 piece band. For that we would need 4 amps and 4 speakers. In the course of our research, all roads led to the mysterious world of valve/tube amps. Vintage and unique sounding, this was also an affordable option for us.

It took about a year to acquire a diverse range of speaker drivers and amplifiers. We also built speaker boxes, not really thinking about how well they would perform but more how much we could influence/colour the sound with shapes and forms. The project, dubbed Prehistoric Man, started in my old studio in Brick Lane's Truman Brewery, East London. I was then sharing the space with a friend, who patiently suggested we get a rehearsal studio.

Instead I moved to a new space in a friend's studio across the road. Ideal really. There were 3 other guys in that studio, each with his own desk. Like them, I also had a kind of desk space rental agreement. But by month six we had well exceeded our welcome. It was winter in London and we needed to shop around our new orchestra.

Our first gig was at the Pure Evil Gallery. We had befriended the gallerist "mr Evil" by e-mailing him some pictures of the rig. He was enthusiastic. On a dark and drizzly January night we moved our rig into his space for a "show". It never moved out.

New York 2009-present

I have since parted with the first rig and Prehistoric Man. All due to my relocation to New York City. Thankfully we havea lot of space at the house, both with and without roof. I have been busy. The new project Rushjob is with Hayhirst's childhood friend Mick Monk, who happened to move to NY at the same time as us. It took 6 months to re-purchase and re-build a new rig.

DogA

Speaker drivers are way too heavy to transport across the ocean, so for the DogA rig I've had to buy a new full set of speaker drivers. Trying to find those kinds of parts in the land of New has been a genuine challenge. Time is ticking. At one point I thought I had it all sorted, but then some guy snatched what I intended to buy from right under my nose. To rub salt in the wound, he was buying it for his daughter's russebuss.

Many parts are needed to complete this project. Not to mention amplifiers. I am looking for sponsors. Am in desperate need of 8-10 x 30-100w valve/tube amps. Want to help? Get in touch, timon@botezco.com.

Thank you for your support.