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(Among) II (n.d.)

Bengt Emil Johnson

Johnson

Ti­tle of the com­pi­la­ti­on: OU. Sound Poetry.
An Anthology
Ti­tle: Bengt Emil Johnson: (Among) II (Track 02, Platte 4/4)
Editor: Henri Chopin
Publisher: Alga Marghen, Milano
Da­te: o.J.
Me­di­um: CD

 

Bengt Emil Johnson's piece (Among) II is a sound work by the Swedish artist published in 1978. In it, he experiments with sound-producing objects that have no relation to music but are examined by Johnson for their suitability as musical instruments. Noises can be heard that make the listener think of the acoustic atmosphere in a jungle full of animal sounds. Through the use of reverberation and echo, Johnson creates different distances of the individual sounds to the listener and creates acoustic spaces. The sounds are reminiscent of birdsong, calling sounds, scratching and knocking, but remain so far removed from the living original that the artificial origin always remains present. The mood oscillates between animated liveliness and mysterious withdrawal, and towards the end of the piece seems reminiscent of the setting of a scary film.

The piece appeared in Henri Chopin's Revue OU, a magazine of experimental and transdisciplinary art that was close to Dadaism, Lettrism and concrete poetry.

PS