photo's: Marc Adriaenssens
With his sound installation ‘Sonare Machina’ sound artist and performer Hans Beckers emphasizes the aesthetics and rhythms of sound, noise and silence. Using self-made instruments, he shows how objects that are not generally considered fit to play music on can in fact become musical instruments.
Sonare Machina could be seen as an ‘orchestra of sounds’ whose soloists includes egg slicers, dessert bowls, sieves, poppy seeds, … The installation exists of 29 found objects with an interesting and subtle sound quality that are transformed into an orchestra or a choir of ‘objets trouvées’. Each instrument is separately driven by an old switchboard relay and can be considered a musician with an individual contribution and improvisatory style.
The installation is programmed according to different random factors; this is essential for the specific sound and the musicality of the installation. During the performance of the Sonare Machina, the performer always has to be alert and concentrated, to be able and respond at any time to the random functioning of the installation. The performer has not a complete control over his orchestra ; he never knows exactly what is going to happen. These unevenness and unpredictability that occurs during the live performance makes the performance each time a new and different experience.