Foundry Vault
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Three to FourThe Foundry, 86 Great Eastern Street The reinforced strongroom of the Foundry is a reminder of the building’s past as a bank, as well as an expression of its present as a centre for socialising, arts and creativity in this exciting and energetic part of London. A wind harp on the Foundry’s roof is ‘played’ as the strings hum with the movements of air across them or are plucked by drops of rain and snow. The harp also responds to the vibrations of the building itself and the urban activity around it – slamming doors, passing traffic, planes flying overhead. The sounds heard in the strongroom are the sounds of the vault resonating to this activity. The vibrations also translate into a pulsating, ever-changing wall of pure colour distilled from the physical qualities of the space. The unique voice and character of the Foundry normally go unheard and unseen, but Three to Four allows the building to speak, an expression of the space and its surrounds. “Strange… creates a haunting, irresistible sound that makes you want to listen.”
Three to Four consists of a purpose-built wind harp that has been placed on the roof of The Foundry. This harp has two primary strings that are tuned to two of the resonant frequencies of the vault room: 35Hz and 26.25Hz. These particular frequencies were chosen because they have a common harmonic frequency of 105Hz, which is three times 35Hz and four times 26.25Hz – hence the title of the installation. The vibrations of the harp strings are sensed using electric pickups. The signal is amplified and transmitted down a cable through the building to the vault where it is processed by a computer before being turned into the audio played through the speakers in the vault and the projected visuals. The colour wall is constructed by measuring the amplitude of the strings’ primary frequencies and their common harmonic. These amplitudes are turned into red, green and blue brightnesses that are combined to produce the colour that is projected onto the wall. The sound that is heard is not just the sound that is being played, it is also the sound of the walls of the vault responding to the generated sound. The installation is created by the Foundry building itself as it responds to its environment. Three to Four is unpredictable and unique; our tribute to The Foundry. You can listen to some sample audio from the installation. On the final night of Three to Four, a special audio performance was held with Michael Ormiston and Candida Valentina, Britain’s foremost Mongolian Overtone singers. You can listen to a few minutes of that performance, featuring the sound of the wind harp and singing bowls. More pictures and audio can be found at The Foundry archive page for Three to Four.
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