“recomputing space” is a psychogeographic study of urban sound in form of a sound-installation.
Following the commands and rhythm imposed by an algorithm, two persons walk around in chosen locations in the city, recording a mix of noise, language, music and the sound of their own steps. The chosen locations are public places, such as public squares, parks, tram stations etc.
The algorithm they follow is composed of a number of simple commands (left, right, forward, back, stop) and a metronome. It is rendered into sound and received on headphones. It tells the two microphone operators how to walk and provides the walking rhythm which structures their recordings . Both recorded soundtracks are later played back at the soundscape-installation, which consists of 30 loudspeakers ordered in a 5x6 matrix, placed on the floor approximately 2 meters from each other. The sounds "move" from speaker to speaker, reconstructing the paths of the microphone operators at the time of the recording.
The acustic result of this process fades between noise, language and music. The different sound-strata of urban locations emerge and lead to new relations by the simultaneous playback of the two recorded soundtracks.
The visitors are invited by the spatial arrangement of the loudspeakers to walk around and position themselves in relation to the moving sounds. Since the recordings are made in the same city of the exhibition, the project generates a connection between the exhibition space and the public sphere that surrounds it, activating the memory of the visitors, who are able to re-contextualize and identify the sounds.
"recomputing space" generates an alternative pattern of reception of urban sound, by developing a custom format to transfer it from the recorded locations into a soundscape-installation.