The Narrative Sounds of Christmas
(2008)
Invited by Christian Marclay to DJ at his yearly The Sounds of Christmas series, I proceeded to concoct a set where no one will hear what I will be playing. My plan was to DJ and ‘translate’ the soundtrack with my own self-reflexive improvised speech (through a wireless lapel microphone). This is radio DJ banter taking entirely over the mix. A DJ mime gone the route of Dan Graham circa ‘Performance, Audience, Mirror’. Turning my usual taciturn self into a verbo-motor, I will speak about the context, the recordings I’ve picked (all versions of ‘Silent Night’), my manipulations of the records, what I’m hearing, etc. I will also hum and convey the sounds I’m hearing through voice —think of it as an a cappella DJ. The narrative of the inner speech of DJ exteriorized.
This iteration of The Sounds of Christmas was presented by DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art, December 14 – 20, 2008 at the Fonderie Darling. This event was in conjunction with the exhibition of Marclay’s Replay at DHC/ART.
