PARRAMATTA .- Powerhouse Parramatta has today announced the release of new musical commissions created in collaboration with industry partner, German music software company Ableton, to mark the launch of Sounding the Collection, a groundbreaking project that brings the vast Powerhouse collection of objects to life.
Sounding the Collection is a response to the Powerhouse’s extensive collection digitisation project that commenced in 2019 and catalogues the unique sounds of over 100 objects. The archive imbues a sonic dimension to objects from the museum’s 500,000-strong collection, enriching the understanding of their context and function by providing an auditory experience of each artefact’s technological and social histories. Unique sounds range from the clicking of an Atari console to the distinct buzz of a handmade massage machine created by Majid Rabet.
Powerhouse has made these recordings available for download through a major new collaboration with Ableton, offering industry a distinctive new way of engaging with the archive. Musicians, researchers and sound designers are invited to repurpose and reinterpret the recorded tracks through a ‘sample pack’. Powerhouse is committed to expanding Sounding the Collection, continually adding to this public archive and providing new applications for these unique sounds through internal and external projects.
Three music producers, South Korean electronic duo Salamanda, Naarm/Melbourne-based HTRK vocalist Jonnine, and current Powerhouse Generations Fellow, Western Sydney-based Hip Hop artist SOLLYY were invited to compose new songs using audio samples from Sounding the Collection. Salamanda found new melodies in the photograph album with built in music box to produce ‘Museum Folk’; Jonnine found links to her personal history through the long case clock by Thomas Earnshaw to write ‘Shipwrecked’; while SOLLYY locked into the driving rhythms of the small steam engine used at a gold mine to create his track ‘STEAM ENGINE BLUES’.
In addition to Sounding the Collection, Powerhouse is host to several projects that activate and listen closely to its objects, including the Oscillations podcast series, collaborations with Research Fellows and performances with collection instruments.
‘Powerhouse is thrilled to share the Sounding the Collection initiative and the unique compositions that resulted from each commissioned piece. We are looking forward to listening to more new works inspired by audio samples from our collection,’ said Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah.
‘The samples are whatever you make of them. You can go into it and have an idea you already want to convey, or a story you already want to tell, and these samples can get you there. It's up to you how you interpret the use of them, how you want to stretch them. We live in such a time now where you can make a sound out of anything. You are just bound by your idea and your interpretation of whatever you think that sounds like,’ said Powerhouse Generations Fellow SOLLYY.
Powerhouse sits at the intersection of arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. We are undertaking a landmark $1.4 billion infrastructure renewal program, spearheaded by the creation of the flagship museum, Powerhouse Parramatta; expanded research and public facilities at Powerhouse Castle Hill; the revitalisation of the iconic Powerhouse in Ultimo; and the ongoing operation of Sydney Observatory. The museum is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. We are also undertaking an expansive digitisation project that will provide new levels of access to Powerhouse collections.
