After Maceda: Music for 1000 Bicycles (2022 - 2024)
generative sound sculpture/performance
iniciated by Dayang Yraola, curator from Quezon City, Philippines
“After Maceda, Music for 1000 Bicycles“ is a mobile sound sculpture. The collaborating artists Dayang Yraola, Tintin Patrone, Nils Knott and Cooperfrau Melissengeist produced sound works that will be uploaded on mobile music players which will be fitted on 100 bicycles performing a 40 minute choreography.
This work is inspired by Jose Maceda’s composition “Music for 1000 Automobiles in the Freeway“, proposed in 1968. His idea was to produce music on cassette and have them mounted on cars that will run along an American freeway. He called it “gigantic structure of sound or a soundmachine“. As per records, it appears that this proposal was not realised in his lifetime.
“Music for 1000 Bicycles“ is a project by Dayang Yraola and similar to Maceda’s work in a sense that the music will be delivered using moving vehicle. It is significantly different however, as the conception of “1000 Bicycles“ is triggered by the extended lockdown that was experienced in 2020. Particularly, Manila had the longest lockdown in all Asian countries. When the mobility in the City was loosen, only minimal public transportation was allowed. Although there had been bikers in the City before the pandemic, their numbers significantly grew. This did not only changed the cityscape, it also significantly affected the soundscape of the city.
The ride in Hamburg, Germany, was organized in collaboration with Nils Knott and Cooperfrau Melissengeist.
Funded by Musikfonds e.V. by means of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM), as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR recovery programme
Music for 1000 Bicycles is a generative moving sound project.
PART I: Sound artists and musicians are asked to produce an audio work inspired by outdoors sound experience. The composition or composite has to focus on moving sound (i.e. rain fall; flock of birds; train; traffic crossing).
Music for 1000 Bicycles is an outdoor sound performance project.
PART II: In an identified place and date, these audio works will be made available to biker groups. Bikers will uploaded the audio works on mobile digital music players with loud speakers. These music players and speakers will be fitted on bicycles. The bikers then will follow the route, speed and duration while playing the audio work, based on the choreography of participating artists. "Rides" are to happen in different cities in different countries.
Music for 1000 Bicycles is a documentary project.
PART III: These "rides" (performances) will keep on happening until there are 1000 bicycles recorded on video. This will then be stitched into a documentary video. Final ride is scheduled for 2024.
