For the Record

September 19-29, 2024
Various/Artists, 19 Essex St, NYC

For the Record is a sculptural sound installation titled For the Record at Various/Artists as part of a new boxed vinyl LP release, “P’shal P’shaw,” released with Raster Media (DE).

The storefront installation features custom lathe-cut "singles" made from the album, which are played through a 1982 Rock-ola Jukebox. A variety of hanging microphones capture each song, and custom software spatially and granularly manipulates the sound within the room. Participants are invited to play the jukebox.

The back room contains a raster -based video series exploring oral discourse connections, gradually abstracting participant profiles influenced by phonetic sounds' frequency and dynamics. Its soundtrack is a polyphony of 28 voices reciting a script with all the phonemes removed, leaving only transients and attacks. This is taken from a composition present on side A of the record.

“P’shal P’shaw" is a limited edition vinyl record out with Raster Media (DE). The LP is accompanied by a booklet detailing Keddie's research into phonetic mimicry and the shifting phonetics of American English. This multimedia project explores the auditory and rhythmic nuances of phonetic expression through text, sound, video, data, and customized learning software. The album examines the sonic landscape of eight diphthongs in US English through repeated exemplary words, recorded with participants from diverse backgrounds.