"Ausmisten" by Christoph Theiler
LIVE from Studio RP4 Vienna
LIVE from Studio RP4 Vienna
Following the legendary broadcast of Orson Welles' radio play "War of the Worlds" which, in 1938, sparked off a mass panic in New York as well as more recent global polical developments, Christoph Theiler has created a radiophonic piece which revives motifs of Welles' radio play in form of a remix.
For the live remix in the studio, two narrative layers are woven with eachother, or rather: an actuality is laid over another actuality. On the one hand, Christoph Theiler creates fiction, a story, which due to cryptic digit codes, scattered information bits and seemingly incoherent news flashes remains fragmentaric; the basic mood of this narration is threatening. In formal respect, these fragments refer to classical newscasts or to announcements with instructions how to behave in cases of emergency.
On the other hand, he stages quite an experimental live performance in the studio: The artists' aim is to create a dynamic soundscape by means of using high frequency sounds and applying fluid electric conductors. For the set, 16 radio transmitters with weak radiation and 8 radio transceivers are installed in situ. High frequencies that are emitted by the transmitters are routed into liquids, semifluid substances or into metallic fabrics which, again, turns these into transmitter antennas. In this sound laboratory, the artists impinge on the dynamics of the sound by shaking, stirring or moving the newly achieved antennas.
A totally different actuality repeatedly butts into this highly concentrated situation of artistic experimentation - this is represented by the preproduced information bits broadcast on air which interrupt and disturb the performance and irritate and even trouble the audience.
A simultaneous webcast of the performance transports the project "Ausmisten" to "embedded" listeners via the internet.
For Christoph Theiler, "ausmisten" (german for to clean out) represents a term which can act conjunctively for all Austrians beyond all political and ideological borders. Hence, on the occassion of the national holiday a closing of ranks would become possible.
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