Infrasound
A spatial acoustic concert by Scott Arford and Randy Yau.
All of life is a cycle. All that exists is vibration. Over 15 years ago, sound artists Scott Arford and Randy Yau put forth the framework for a project that explores the complex relationship between sound, space, perception, and the body. Their Infrasound series of spatial acoustic concerts are driven by this presiding manifesto:
"Hear with your body. This is not about music. This is not about performance or the performer. The goal is sound and the explicit translation of sound into physical force. The goal is internal and external realization. It is about provoking new modes of perceiving and experiencing one’s own body—triggering variable and autonomous psycho-physiological response. It is about the total acoustic sense of space—observing sound to measure the capacity of architecture. It is about the phenomenon of resonance or sympathetic vibration—all things working in one continuum."
The Infrasound series thrives on dynamic spaces that offer audiences unique and intimate experiences with architecture and their bodies. With sound, we activate the space—turning architecture into a moving, breathing organism. Concerts are usually performed for standing audiences where audience members have the ability to move around and experience sound pressure levels and its effect on the body and materiality of the space (walls / floor / ceilings / furniture / fixtures). In conjunction with Soundwave ((7)) Architecture, Infrasound at StoreFrontLab offers the opportunity to create an experience that focuses equally on architecture and the body. With its long and narrow layout, StoreFrontLab will enable concentrated levels of standing waves— allowing audiences to intimately engage physically with sound.
Together for over 15 years, sound artists Scott Arford and Randy Yau have performed the Infrasound series all over the world. The sitespecific series of concerts are performed only once per setting where the duo measures resonant frequencies of the space to develop a unique score based on the acoustic nature of the architecture. The resulting experience allows audience audience members to hear with their body and realize the physical effects of sound on the body and architecture. Arford and Yau have been invited to perform Infrasound in numerous settings, festivals and galleries. Some past concerts include:
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Gray Area Foundation for the Arts, Lausanne Underground Film Festival (Switzerland), Agnes B. Gallery (France), Gantner Center (France), Recombinant Media Labs SF, San Francisco Art Institute, Sounding Guangzhou Festival (China) and Sounding Taipei Festival (Taiwan). Infrasound has also been performed in various architecture themed festivals, including: Liquid Architecture 4 (Australia), Tuned City (Berlin), and Observatori Festival held at the City of Arts & Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
Happenings