Jacob Kirkegaard - Labyrinthitis

CD - 1 track - 38:10
Special wallet limited edition

Commissioned by Medical Museion in Copenhagen, Summer 2007

The Danish Arts Council has elected Labyrinthitis as one of the 3 best and most remarkable releases of 2008. There is also a very fine review (In Danish here http://www.kunst.dk/artikel/statens-kunstfond-praemierer-tre-cd-udgivelser/)

Jacob Kirkegaard has turned his ears inwards: His new work LABYRINTHITIS is an interactive sound piece that consists entirely of sounds generated in the artist’s auditory organs – and will cause audible responses in those of the audience.

LABYRINTHITIS relies on a principle employed both in medical science and musical practice: When two frequencies at a certain ratio are played into the ear, additional vibrations in the inner ear will produce a third frequency. This frequency is generated by the ear itself: a so-called “distortion product otoacoustic emission” (DPOAE), also referred to in musicology as “Tartini tone”.

By arranging the tones from his ears in a composition and playing them to an audience, the artist evokes further distortion effects in the ears of his listeners. At first, each new tone can only be perceived "intersubjectively": inside the head of each one in the audience. Kirkegaard artificially reproduces this tone and introduces it, "objectively", into his composition. When combined with another distorting frequency, it will create another tone... until, step by step, a pattern of descending tonal structure emerges whose spiral form mirrors the composition of resonant spectra in the human cochlea.

(The effect in your ears will not appear when listening to the sound file at www.fonik.dk)

Paradoxical as it may sound: we can listen to our own ears. The human hearing organ – still often perceived as a passive unidirectional medium – does not only receive sounds from the outside, it also generates its own sound from within itself. As a matter of fact, it can even be “played on”, just like an acoustic instrument.

Reviews

zxzw (UK):

You might have witnessed Jacob Kirkegaard perform at ZXZW 2007. He has a new record out called LABYRINTHITIS. We’ve heard it and it is one of the best conceptual and great sounding records ever. The description is like this: “Jacob Kirkegaard has turned his ears inwards: His new work LABYRINTHITIS is an interactive sound piece that consists entirely of sounds generated in the artist’s auditory organs – and will cause audible responses in those of the audience. LABYRINTHITIS relies on a principle employed both in medical science and musical practice: When two frequencies at a certain ratio are played into the ear, additional vibrations in the inner ear will produce a third frequency. This frequency is generated by the ear itself: a so-called “distortion product otoacoustic emission” (DPOAE), also referred to in musicology as “Tartini tone”. By arranging the tones from his ears in a composition and playing them to an audience, the artist evokes further distortion effects in the ears of his listeners. At first, each new tone can only be perceived “intersubjectively”: inside the head of each one in the audience. Kirkegaard artificially reproduces this tone and introduces it, “objectively”, into his composition. When combined with another distorting frequency, it will create another tone… until, step by step, a pattern of descending tonal structure emerges whose spiral form mirrors the composition of resonant spectra in the human cochlea.” Boomkat (UK):

Jacob Kirkegaard is trying to mess with your head - specifically with your ears. This latest album from the experimental composer "consists entirely of sounds generated in the artist's auditory organs". More than that though, these sounds made by Kirkegaard's own ears have been treated in such a fashion as to prompt a fairly bizarre reaction from your own lugholes: when two frequencies at a certain ratio are played back into one's inner ear, additional vibrations arise within the organ itself, resulting in a third frequency. Kirkegaard's composition is a kind of generative piece of music then, creating a distortion effect that can only be evident subjectively. To further complicate matters, Kirkegaard reproduces this tone artificially, which when combined with another distorting frequency, generates another subjectively observed tone. It's all a bit confusing and would perhaps seem a little too heavy on concept to be an especially enjoyable listening experience - it's actually rather difficult to read the explanatory text and not feel as if you're being... interfered with in some way. In actuality, Labyrinthitis is a fascinating investigation into the mechanics of sound, both in terms of how we perceive it and how as listeners we might help create it. Biography

Jacob Kirkegaard is an artist with an interest in the scientific and aesthetic aspects of resonance, time and hearing. His performances, audio/visual installations and compositions deal with acoustic spaces and phenomena that usually remain inaccessible to sense perception. With the use of unorthodox recording tools such as accelerometers, hydrophones or home-built electromagnetic receivers, Kirkegaard manages to capture and explore "secret sounds" - distortions, interferences, vibrations, ambiences - from within a variety of environments: volcanic earth, a nuclear power plant, an empty room, a TV tower, crystals, ice... and the human inner ear itself.

A graduate of the Academy for Media Arts in Cologne, Germany, Kirkegaard has given workshops and lectures in academic institutions such as the Royal Academy of Architecture in Copenhagen and the Art Institute of Chicago. During the last ten years, he has been presenting exhibitions and touring festivals and conferences throughout the world. Among his numerous collaborators are JG Thirlwell, Ann Lislegaard, CM von Hausswolff, Philip Jeck and Lydia Lunch. He is a member of freq_out.

You can find out more on his website - www.fonik.dk

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