Out of the works presented to me, Alvin Lucier’s work interested me the most.
The initial impression that the title gives is that the piece would be the sounds of the room or building it is recorded in.
Beginning to listen, I am given the feeling that I am listening to an audiobook, the cadence and speed that he uses when he speaks gives the impression he is telling a story. The stutter on ‘rhythm’ is odd and quite jarring, and changed my idea of what I am listening to-it no longer feels practiced, and professional. Around 2 minutes in, Alvin repeats himself, and repeats his stutter. The reiteration draws my focus into the irregularities in his speech, exactly what we have been told not to do. Skipping forward to around 9 minutes,I noticed the stark difference to the beginning of the piece. What I’m hearing sounds like it has been taken straight from a film like Alien, humanoid but not human. Towards the middle and end of the piece, I am fascinated by just how much his voice has been taken over by the reverberation in the room and the sounds of the building; his voice sounds to have been reclaimed by his environment.