[spectre] 24th of Oct. (Sun), oscillation series. sonic theories and practices - NO. 3

[Shintaro Miyazaki]

24th of Oct. (Sun), oscillation series. sonic theories and practices -  
NO. 3


OSCILLATION SERIES - SONIC THEORIES AND PRACTISES

No. 3
date: 24th of October 2010, Sun, 6pm.
title: The Voice in Audio Media
with: Jens Gerrit Papenburg and Erik Bünger (moderated by Jan Thoben  
and Shintaro Miyazaki)
place: General Public, Schönhauser Allee 167c, Berlin

The 3rd session will be dedicated to the voice in audio media.

Abstract Jens Gerrit Papenburg: Tape Voices. On young Elvis Presley's  
Hiccup
One of the most common sounds which constituted young Elvis Presley's  
vocality is something which can be called hiccup-vocal-style. This  
vocal style inspired a bunch of rock'n'roll singers and became a part  
of the signature sound of the 1950s. The hiccup-vocal-style designates  
the quick changeover from chest voice to head voice and back again.  
This can be heard for example in the introduction of Presley's "Baby,  
let's play house" - his fourth single for the record label Sun - whose  
heavy laden echo sound was produced in 1955 by Sam Phillips in  
Memphis, Tennessee. I argue that this hiccup-vocal-style is a product  
of a resonance between two elements: Presley's voice on the one hand  
and Sam Phillips's tape-echo-system on the other hand. This resonance  
constituted a tape voice. This voice concept has two consequences  
which are not only relevant to rock'n'roll buffs but allow a deeper  
insight into the relationship between the human bo dy and technology  
in current media culture. As a tape voice (1) the voice is not only an  
expression of the interiority, soul or individuality of a subject but  
it is rather adapted to exteriorities and technology. (2) A tape voice  
is not a voice which is edited via cut and montage after it is  
recorded but it is a performative vocal style which is constituted in  
resonance with the physical structure of tape and its operativity.
Jens Gerrit Papenburg graduated in musicology, communication studies  
and business administration in Berlin. In 2005/2006 he started  
teaching at Humboldt-University and since 2006 is a member of staff in  
sound studies - acoustic communication from the university of the arts  
in Berlin. Since April 2006 he is research assistant at the chair of  
theory and history of popular music at Humboldt-University and co- 
founder of the project "Sound in Media Culture. Aspects of a Cultural  
History of Sound" which is funded by the DFG (German Research  
Foundation).


Erik Bünger: Artist Presentation
Erik Bünger will present his work in relation to the theme of 'the  
disembodied voice', a voice that travels between different contexts  
and historical situations. The rumbling divine voice from everywhere  
and nowhere, the voice of the demon in search for a body to take hold  
of, the ceaseless voice inside the head of the schizophrenic and the  
voice of the crooner who impregnates the listener through the ears.

Erik Bünger is a swedish artist, composer, musician and writer living  
in Berlin and Stockholm. He works with recontextualising and remixing  
media - appropriated from existing music and film - in performances,  
installations and web projects.

http://www.sonictheory.com