Cycle

Originaly an electroacoustic composition, later video and live performance.

The main object of interest is the 𝒃𝒊𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆 - a mode of transport, a lifestyle or a target of a culture war. In the hegemony of automobilism, this simple and efficient way of getting through the city is often considered “extreme”. The aim of this recording is emancipation of the bicycle. Field recordings made during city commutes, the noise of cars, sounds of bicycles, bicycle played as a musical instrument. Cycle.

sound

Listen to the composition on Bandcamp:

I am passionate about cycling, both as a sport and as a means of transportation. While on my bike, I started to notice interesting acoustic phenomenons - soundscapes that are coming and going very quickly, various rapid movements, the doppler effect - and I wondered what it would be like to convey it in a recording.

The idea evolved into a broader concept revolving around cycling in the city. In the Czech cultural environment, this mode of transport is tragically marginalized, thus I also wanted the project to have an agitative aspect.

I started with recording commutes around the city, making a DIY mount for my recorder to secure it to the rear rack of one of my bicycles, also plugging in a couple of contact microphones which were attached to the frame of the bicycle - I wanted to record not only the environment, but also the bicycle itself.

Later I made some recordings in a bicycle workshop where I played the bicycle as a musical instrument, using mallets, percussion brushes and a violin bow. I also made electromagnetic recordings of a hub dynamo. I sampled some Czech politicians, who are not the biggest fans of cycling, too.

These processes were then synthetised into a ~20 minute composition of five parts, the form of which is cyclical.

video

I later expanded the project by making a video, using a GoPro camera attached to various spots on the bike (e.g. the spokes of the front wheel) complemented by an old VHS-C camera mounted to the rear rack. I reused parts of the original recording, also leaving in some of the original sound from the cameras. I focused on the less cycling-friendly parts of the city’s infrastructure (which in Brno is pretty much anywhere).

live performance

I also played live on several occasions.