Sound artists have experimented with everyday noises for centuries. Now this music is making a comeback.
Music constructed from everyday sounds is enjoying a new boom. It began in the late 1940s with musique concrète and experiments by sound pioneers such as Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage. Later, musicians such as Blixa Bargeld and Jean-Michel Jarre took up the torch and successfully transplanted it into in pop and rock music.
Music constructed from everyday sounds has enjoyed great success in pop and rock music. “Soundhunters – A Musical Expedition” follows the French duo KIZ as they chart this music from its beginnings to the present day. Who are today’s sound artists? Where do they get their inspiration? And how have they developed their art? Our explorers visit musicians from different generations, both established artists and newcomers. They are at home in a variety of styles – from pop and jazz to noise and electronic music using fascinating sound installations. KIZ’s first port of call is London, where they meet multi-instrumentalist Cosmo Sheldrake who uses a recording device and a laptop to capture the sounds around him for his often humorous work. Matthew Herbert followed the life of a pig from birth to death and made a whole album from the noises he recorded. Then we head via Paris and Berlin to New York. And pioneers of experimental electronics like Blixa Bargeld of Einstürzende Neubauten and Jean-Michel Jarre show us how to get the best out of noise and voices.
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