Weben Song by Hannes Strobl

“The things around us speak like housings that make something sound, like musical instruments…” wrote Jacob Böhme in 1622 in his work De signatura rerum.

While working on a performance-installation (doublelucky productions) at the former Leipzig Cotton Mill (founded in 1884 and at the time the largest cotton mill in continental Europe), I began experimenting with the sound of the supporting cast-iron columns that ran through all floors of the building. Each of these iron columns has its own sound signature, which consists of a fundamental frequency (keynote) and the distribution of a series of overtones or partials (sound spectrum). These spectral properties and patterns determine the unmistakable timbre and unique sound quality and serve as the foundation for the composition Weben (Weave) Song — they are the elementary sonic building blocks from which the composition is derived.

Fine overlapping spectral fabrics and rhythmic beat patterns unfold over time, weaving ever-new structures.

Hannes Strobl works as a musician, composer and sound artist based in Berlin. The essential starting point of his music is the sonic potential of the electric bass guitar and the electric upright bass. Its characteristic expressive repertoire is expanded through the use of advanced playing techniques in combination with live electronics, dissolving the boundaries between instrumental and electro-acoustic music. One important focus of his compositional work lies on musical expression forms against the backdrop of urban sound spaces. On the other hand on installation works, where the starting point lies in the relationship between sound and architectural space. Since 2000 Hannes Strobl has been developing this concept together with Sam Auinger in the project TAMTAM. In collaboration with David Moss and Hanno Leichtmann the project DENSELAND was founded in 2008 and with Reinhold Friedl the project P.O.P. (Psychology of Perception) in 2012.

Crónica is an artist-run, non-profit label dedicated to sound art and electronic, computational, and experimental music.

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