so they say (2004).
Sound installation. 4 microphones, venue sound-system.
Artists: Amy Beeston and Matt Wilkens

This sound installation, titled so they say, was designed specifically for the month-long festival of art, Come 2 Ur Senses. The installation is a cross-synthesis of the artists’ work in the Netherlands. It uses the immediate environment – human sounds, activities and movements – as control for the manipulation of both live and pre-composed sound material. At times, the listeners are changed from being mere observers to being virtual ‘players’ of the music around them.

To match the Sunday afternoon vibe at Cremers Grand Café, the musical style is a mixture of gentle dance-like beats in various rhythmic structures. These are built from snatches of live sound, and create a texture of background layer for each track. Invisible games are set up where, according to criteria that change to suit the ‘scene’ being played, input sound is selected live from one of the four microphones spread on tables around the room, and is then recorded, reprocessed and transmitted back out through the venue’s sound system.

• A. Beeston and M. Wilkens, “so they say,” in Come 2 Ur Senses, Cremers Grand Cafe, Den Haag, The Netherlands. Audio-controlled sound installation. 23 May, 2004.
  [BibTeX] [link]

  @inproceedings{Beeston:2004ctus,
  author = {Beeston, Amy and Wilkens, Matt},
  title = {{so they say}},
  booktitle = {{Come 2 Ur Senses}},
  year = {2004},
  address = {Cremers Grand Cafe, Den Haag, The Netherlands. Audio-controlled sound installation. 23 May},
  link = {https://avbees.com/so-they-say/},
  month = may
  }