Shownotes Transcript
This past China National Holiday (Oct 1-6) I just happend to be in Shanghai and was fortunate enough to attend an outdoor sound installation/ music event at the newly opened RAMA square area just behind the Rockbund Art Museum, (RAM). The square has been under construction for as long as I can remember (18 years) and was just opened to the public in time for the holiday. The square and alleyways serve as a gathering area and also links the various buildings around the city block together. All the surrounding buildings are historical landmarks and house galleries, offices, and restaurants.
'RAM Assemblies' is a public performance art program that was curated for the grand opening of the space and included sound installations, performance art, and art installations set in RAMA square. The mainstays of the Shanghai sound art community were all represented in some way there. Curated by 殷漪 (Yinyi) and produced by 陈韵 (Chen Yun). The outdoor sound installations- 'Activations'- was one element of the program with speakers placed around the areas of the public area. The installations featured selected sound artists 孙玮 (Sunwei)，马海平 (Ma Haiping), 汪晚 (Wang Wan)， 王长存 (Wang Changcun)， B6，陈维 (Chen Wei).
After a short tour of the area by Chen Yun I wanted to somehow document this event with a recording. I thought it would be best represented with a continuous sound walk that showcases the life of the area between each of the speaker locations. I began to record a first take with the intention of recording each speaker individually, but then thought it would be more interesting to create a loopable, continuous piece to paint a complete picture of the event- à la 清明上河图- if you will.
So I started again.
The walk took me through narrow alleyways with transient footsteps and the bang of the bathroom entrance door, to quiet pockets of respite in small squares, to the busy pedestrianized street along Huqiu Lu with photo takers young and old, past the lively main square, and finally ending with a tour group waiting and boarding their bus along Sichuan Zhong Lu before returning again to where I began. It was a great portrait of this area of downtown Shanghai in a nutshell. It felt so wonderful to record on the Shanghai streets again. Every time I go back, I still try to find the words to fully explain how I feel that represents how much the city has meant to me for about a 1/3 of my years so far. Is it possible to feel 'fernweh' and 'heimweh' at the same time?
This time, the early fall weather was perfect with a slight dryness in the air, a gentle constant breeze and din that was so familiar to all my senses. Perhaps it is just meant to be unsaid, unquantified by words, and experienced silently with an open ear.
[8090, R82 mini]