On-Site Installation & Performance commissioned for Sonorama Festival, Besançon 2009

Futurist Dream Bridge, Prepared Bridge & Punk Bridge (Sonorama-Besançon, France)

Co-curator Philippe Franck invited me to play on the bridges of Besançon for the once only

Sonorama Festival. I chose three bridge sites for their local history and poetic resonance.

Futurist Dream Bridge, Pont de la Republique (Sonorama-Besançon, France)

8 Channel On-Site Sound Installation

Bridges from around the world are played along the Pont de la République in a Global Bridge Symphony. Listeners walking along the bridge create your own mental orchestration of the symphony, with a different location playing on each speaker. Traverse sonic bridges between Bangkok, Brisbane, Glasgow, London, New York, Rotterdam, Singapore and Sydney.

Pont de la Republique, 8 Channel On-Site Sound Installation, Sonorama Besançon 2009

‘Let us cross a great modern capital with our ears more alert than our eyes… and create mental orchestrations of stations, iron foundries, spinning wheels, printing works, electric power stations, railways…’ and bridges!! Futurist Manifesto, The Art of Noises.

Sound Engineer: Jasmine Guffond

Prepared Bridge - Pont de Chardronet (Sonorama Besancon, France)

A bridge prepared for playing. Acoustic, metal and wooden ‘instruments’ are added to the railings to invite stroking, percussion and improvisation. Live amplification of the structure, for playing acoustic architecture. Sonic intervention and experimentation on the bridge are encouraged by visitors and musicians.

Co-Production: Sonorama-Besançon & Jodi Rose

Local kids playing on the Prepared Bridge, Sonorama Besançon 2009

Punk Bridge - Pont Battant

‘That bridge goes to the dark side of Besançon’, says my local history informant…

Pont Battant echoes with echoes of a rumoured Einstürzende Neubauten concert held on, near or underneath it in 1989. Local post-industrial punk noise band ‘Elwis Presley Lieben Toten’ are invited to create a live concert under the bridge in the spirit of the original legendary Neubauten gig. Crossing over the bridge you hear a mixture of live and historic noise and silence, from the past to the present, or maybe the future…

Avec la participation and live concert de Elwis Presley Lieben Toten

Co-Production: Sonorama-Besançon & Jodi Rose

Read about the festival in my travel blog for Viator