Turning tunnel toots into music
Mt Victoria tunnel’s deafening chorus of car horns could hit all the right notes for a musical masterpiece to be made in Wellington.
The tunnel is known for its controversial tooting traditions, and now Hutt Valleybased composer Chris Winter will work his magic on the sound.
Winter is calling it Carcophony – he just needs top tooters to sound their horns.
‘‘The way I see it I am not glorifying the process, I am just recording something that’s already there,’’ he said.
Winter thought of the idea up to a decade ago when he used to drive to Miramar every day – but he doesn’t toot himself.
‘‘I am not really for or against it, but I certainly know it’s a pain for cyclists and pedestrians. This isn’t about encouraging it, it’s about documenting it.’’
The toot tradition started as a way to honour murdered teenager Phyllis Symons, who was buried by her boyfriend as the tunnel was being built in 1931.
In January, former city councillor ChrisCalvi Freeman said the tunnel should have no tooting signs, but the public retaliated.
The tooting prevailed, recently featuring on TV series Wellington Paranormal.
Winter planned to use the tunnel when it was closed for monthly maintenance, but his application was turned down. ‘‘Now I’m going to use random punters in the tunnel.’’
The tonal quality of the toots and the type of horns would all influence the final piece, he said.
Scrubbing the revving of engines from the toots and writing the music will take months of work. The finished piece will be submitted as an assessment for Winter’s master of fine arts degree at Victoria University by the beginning of February.
The musician has previously completed a range of sonic projects and worked on Second Unit as a sound designer. He wants people to volunteer samples of their toots so he can collect them for the piece.
At times the project seemed a ‘‘strange thing’’, even to him, but he’s pursuing it anyway.
‘‘There have been moments of ‘Why am I bothering?’
‘‘But I think in the end, it’s quite good to generate more discussion around it, and the fact that there’s more discussion around it means that it might change.
‘‘I think it’s worth talking about.’’