Acoustics are rife with linearity. A system is considered linear if the equations that govern it follow the simple rule that the sum of the inputs to the system yields the sum of the outputs. When a signal is pushed to high amplitudes, distortion may be encountered, resulting in an altered waveform and added harmonics. The sound-transmission process in the ear itself is characterized by nonlinear distortion at high sound intensities, as hair cells within the inner ear have a tendency to process sound nonlinearly, even when the original sound wave is “clean”.

The signals of the contact microphones are being pushed to the point of feedback—a sonic distortion that is unpredictable in nature, where perceived loudness doesn’t increase proportionally with the sound intensity. This nature proposes an alternative approach to exploiting of a mixer that is highly reliant on composing through active listening and anticipation. With two contact microphones in play, each feedback signal is of unique resonant register due to the differences in mixed frequency and amplitude, where one source is being mixed to isolate lower-range frequencies while the other mid-range. This characteristic dynamic between the mid-range and low-range signals facilitates a phasing in the room, akin to a humming drone, where both waveform patterns are interfering with each other—hopping in and out of aural perception, eventually amalgamating into one sustained drone.

Due to the triangulated movement of air within the pipe, the breaching point between the feedback from one side to the other exists in the center tension point. Although the structure houses two unilateral feedback outputs, these two signals will eventually meet, becoming a ceaseless, conglomerate drone. Once the frequencies of one side of the pipe trespass the elbow joint, leaking into the other side, a vibrational equilibrium settles. This coalescence can most clearly be heard when the mixing levels are being actively adjusted on the mixer, as the output of both signals is constantly shifting, or in a state of “tuning”. The combination of both the mid-range and low-range frequencies vibrating from both sides of the pipe produces a difference or “phantom” tone in the room, corresponding to the mathematical difference between the two original frequencies being amplified—frequencies that naturally exist within the pipe structure through its dimension and material.

Writing from the Circuit exhibition catalog, printed in collaboration with Misplaced Press.

Julia Kim

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2024