[O+A]

Quiet is the New Loud

- mobile sound installation, USA | Austria

Intro

Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger open your ears to the peacefulness of a small city like Bruges. In comparison to their respective stamping grounds of New York and Berlin, Bruges doesn’t only look beautiful but it sounds it too. Here, you can still hear the sound of footsteps on cobbles, a duck ruffling its feathers and even someone whispering. [O+A] decode the city’s acoustics. They offer a new, sensual approach to designing the city of the future as a creative space.

About Quiet is the New Loud

[O+A] have set up several ways to enjoy the city acoustically.

Songlines

Navigate the city like a bat by listening to the reverberations of buildings. You set off with a floating speaker that is activated at certain locations by a GPS-driven network. The architectural environment is made audible through echolocation. There are three separate ‘songlines’:

— Water Songline (1,3 km; 25 minutes)
— Park Songline (1,4 km; 25 minutes / 2,7 km; 60 minutes)
— Night Songline (1,6 km; 45 minutes)

Earmarks
[O+A] captured 17 special listening experiences in Bruges. With the walking map as back-up, let your ears be your guide as you traverse the city. You will experience the sounds of horses hooves, burbling water, rustling trees and all the other aspects of the city’s unique soundscape. More info.

Brugge tuned
[O+A] convert urban sounds into harmonic vibrations. Lie down on the bright red platform on Jan van Eyck Square and let the realtime sounds caused by cars, buses and people physically penetrate you. Disturbing and irritating noises are transformed into a Zen experience.

Sounding Brugge
[O+A] in collaboration with city carillonneur Frank Deleu

A specially written carillon composition activates the historic city centre’s acoustics with a series of simple tones and rhythmic patterns. Wander about discovering the city’s resonance. Every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at the time of the regular carillon concerts.

Links

OFFICIAL WEBSITE www.o-a.info

USA         OFK

Listen

Permanent installation Harmonic Bridge 1998 at MASSMoCa

Listen here >

Essential Info

[O+A]
Quiet is the New Loud Outdoor

20.05 - 18.10.2015

outdoor - Free

Songlines: Poortersloge Tue - Sun | 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Earmarks : 24/7
Map available at the informationpoints

Brugge tuned- Jan Van Eyckplein

Sounding Brugge: Wed - Sat - Sun | 11:00 AM -12:00 PM

#TRIEBRU15
#OAQUIETISTHENEWLOUD

Bio

Bruce Odland (1952, Milwaukee, US) and Sam Auinger (1956, Linz, Austria) are composers and philosophers of modern life who like to think with their ears. Odland describes himself as a sonic thinker, composer and sound artist. Auinger studied composition with Cesar Bresgen and computer music with Irmfried Radauer at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. They founded [O+A] in 1989. A transatlantic partnership, they create installations that allow us to listen differently and to reconnect with our environment. They bring a hearing perspective to a visually dominated culture. [O+A] are primarily known for their large-scale public sound installations that transform city sounds into harmonies in real time.

Other works

GARDEN OF TIME
1990
BLUE MOON
2004 - New York, Verenigde Staten
REQUIEM FOR FOSSIL FUELS
2007-2010 - Performance
SONIC VISTA FRANKFURT
2010 - Frankfurt, Duitsland
HEARING VIEW
2013 - Rheinau, Zwitserland

the artist