.namklaw
(2009-2011)
Portable Sound-Art Device
namklaw is a portable sound-art mobile multi-installation that seeks to rethink the concept of the portable audio device, using various cassette players (walkmans) to reproduce a 20 channel sound composition. Each device consists of a woven bejuco wearable that contains 10 magnetic tape players with a 30 minute per side cassette tape and 20 speakers. The stereo signal coming from each player represents two parts of the composition, creating an spatialized 20 channel environment inside the devices helmets.
.namklaw pays tribute to the first portable audio player, the walkman, and the influence it had in the way we listen to music, generating a soundtrack to our day to day lives. Taking this idea a bit further, .namklaw becomes a portable spatialized sound art device. The complete installation consists of 10 devices, worn to take strolls around specific places, therefore creating a moving sound hive that fills the space from different points.
For this new activation of the piece, we have worked on an algorithmic sound composition based on the translation of data from the pollination patterns of the American bee (TribeMeliponini) in Latin American agro-ecosystems. From these data the scores for piano of each one of the parts have been written. The graphic scores allows you to see the routing of the notes to each channel, making it easier to understand the relationship between the sound piece and the hardware.
Video that documents the process of construction of the bejuco devices. The sound track is the algorithmic piano piece.
