Sounding out Mausoleum
Hamilton Mausoleum’s famous echo was showcased in a unique project at the weekend.
The longest echo in the world lent itself to some experimental sounds put together by Serbian “sound artist” Robert Pravda.
Robert creates installations, composes for theatre shows and performs live electro-mechanical music. He was invited to travel from Holland and take part in the Sonica Festival, which “explores the boundary where music, visual art, live performance and digital technology meet”.
The event saw Robert playing some experimental sounds in the iconic 128ft sculpture via a “stereo re-imagined as a gyroscope”.
Sounds were played through a “Monoid mk II” – an installation involving a kinetic loudspeaker that rotates 360-degrees on three axis.
The Advertiser attended the opening of the event last Thursday and Robert said: “This is my first time in Scotland and I’m loving it so far.
“I am a spacial sound artist, and worked on the project to explore the relationship of sound and space. I hadn’t heard of the mausoleum before, but researched it before my trip. I’m delighted to attend and witness the amazing acoustics for myself.”
Sonica is a year-round touring programme dedicated to a worldclass visual sonic arts, punctuated by an 11-day biennial festival in Glasgow, from October 26 to November 5.
Cathie Boyd, artistic director of the Sonica Festival, said: “Sonica is delighted to be able to use Hamilton Mausoleum as a venue. It’s an outstanding building of national heritage and few venues have such a glorious 15-second delay, which makes it such a special venue for hosting sonic art installations.”