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Electric Forests

Our daily life is made up of layered sound signals: some of them dominate our perception, devouring and burying the smallest sounds. Others - like the voice of electricity - travel through the soundscapes on frequencies that our ear, by its own nature, cannot listen.

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Listening to the sounds of the electric forests

Over the course of the modern era, we have dotted our cities with electrical and electronic devices that emit – constantly and involuntarily – a myriad of pulses, buzzes, sizzles and hisses. Even though we can't hear them with the naked ear, these sounds pass through us all the time. In a certain sense, we can say that we live in electric forests whose fronds vibrate continuously, although unheard: traffic lights, street lamps, underground cables, communication networks, anti-shoplifting devices... everything pulsates in silence and this parallel life, if appropriately amplified, has a wonderful voice.

Thanks to particular devices, L'Impero della Luce proposes a guided exploration of the electromagnetic sounds of a city, a soundwalk, a guided listening session and sound exploration of the urban electromagnetic environment: inspired by Christina Kubisch's "Electrical Walks", the Electric Forests project is a way to  unveil and understand another layer of our sonic reality. 

During our soundwalks participants will be using some Ether devices, the anti-radio produced by SOMA LAB – fundamental partner of our sonic adventure. ETHER is a wide-band receiver that makes it possible to perceive the electromagnetic landscape around you, the signals transmitted to the antennas, to the burglar alarms, the whistling of the current, the harmonic tones and rhythms of the vending machines, the rhombuses of the control units, the patterns of the traffic lights and the daring compositions of the shop windows….

No previous knowledge is required to participate in one of our electromagnetic walks: curiosity, love for listening and for sound are necessary.

Electric Forests is a project suitable for adults and for children aged six and over.

Want to host an Electric Forest session in your city?

Write to us: imperodellaluce@gmail.com

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