Bill Fontana (US)
http://resoundings.org/

Golden Nica Digital Musics
Documentation

Speeds of Time 1

Scott George, Sound Engineer from Autograph Sound Recording Limited

Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art, House of Commons, Palace of Westminster

Meyer Sound Labs

Charlie Richmond, Richmond Sound Design

Speeds of Time 2

Scott George, Sound Engineer from Autograph Sound Recording Limited

BBC Radio 4

The Arts Council of England

Meyer Sound Labs

Tate Britain

Chelsea College of Art

Haunch of Venison Gallery

“Speeds of Time” is a musical deconstruction of the most famous acoustic icon and symbol of time, Big Ben. Live sensors and microphones are mounted on the clockwork mechanism and near the bells of Big Ben to generate a spatial-acoustic composition, which is placed in an historic colonnade of the New Palace Yard, directly below and within earshot of the bells. The presence of the sound sculpture in this setting interacts with the natural sound of the bells, creating a multi-dimensional acoustic zone.

While this work was installed in Westminster, a 12-hour multi-track recording of the sound sculpture was made that makes it possible to fully recreate the real time sense of this artwork, which can be realized as an eight-channel sound installation. This recording is fully accurate to real time and, if started at precisely five seconds before 10 o’clock, it will faithfully keep time.