VART3490 - Installation Art Site Recording

The most prounounced sonic characteristics of the space I wanted to incorporate were those that tonally represent my emotional state when using the space as a studio. Some of these are emergent of the architectural and mechanical elements of the space independant of the elements I bring to it.

These elements include the massive heating ducts that run along the ceiling, the electromagnetic noise present in the lighting and the muffled voices of my the owner and his wife above, all of which are very present in my thoughts when I am present in the space. Just these elements are sonically rich enough to warrant a composition in themselves.

I used my Zoom h4N recorder's onboard microphone to capture 2 long recordings from either end of the rooms heating ducts while they were operating. One of these recordings was conducted while the owner and his wife were having dinner with the intention of capturing their conversation filtered through the floor as part of the recording.

I was unimpressed with the recording as it didn't adaquately capture the ominous rumble of the heating duct as effectively as I required for the composition. I created a contact microphone using a piezo disc to attach to the metal of the duct as a method to electrically capture the vibrations across its surface.

I used Zach Poff's design for his LED limiter circuit to prevent the h4N from recieving voltage spikes from the piezo.

I made another one of these so that I could capture a stereo recording direct into the h4N, though for a quadrophonic composition I would need to split these channels into discreet mono channels.

I used a design I found on the web to create a balanced contact microphone from two piezo discs with common ground with their positive wires wired independently to the positive and negative pins on an xlr microphone plug. The result was much more sensitivity on in the higher frequency ranges complimenting the other larger contact mic I created quite well. With both mics plugged into the Left and Right channels on the H4n I was able to capture a much greater range of the frequency spectrum and split into bass and highs which is ideal for the compositional stage.

Creating the balanced piezo contact mic

 

Lower freq capture from larger piezo contact mic on R channel

Upper freq capture from balanced piezo contact mic on L channel 

I made several of these stereo recordings from different positions along the duct. In order to get a better sound I would have liked to have made this piezo preamp design. The impedance mismatch in the simple DIY contact mic design creates a high pass filter which produces the scratchy, lifeless sound that is usually associated with contact mics. Unfortunately within the time allotted it was not practical to craft this preamp. What is practical is to address this in the compositional stage by supplying the missing bass frequencies through synthesis.

I also wanted to incorporate the electromagnetic and acoustic elements that I bring to the space. These consist of  a range of electrical devices I use within it. I used a pair of transducers to capture the electromagnetic signals being emitted from the key elements of the space I intended to represent in the final installation. These include the fluro light fittings, my laptop and external LCD screen, the power boards and wall outlets, my media centre (nintendo wii) and desk lamp.

Using only a palette of the above recordings I will use the compositional process to articulate my own representation of this workspace as an temporal amalgam of emergent acoustic markers and abstracted contextual sonic symbols. The composition intends purely to depict my conceptual respresentation of the space. As the composition will be abstracted, the literal elements are purely tools to work with in this process. The intention of the piece is to immerse those within the exhibition space into my mental state whilst working in my workroom through sonic and visual cues.