Baggrunden i baggrunden

The project explores how physical distances can be used as a disorientation strategy in concert and recording situations that challenge Western performance and listening ontologies. Building on a previous project, Multiplayer, where Western musical instruments were examined as "critical sites," Niels Lyhne Løkkegaard continues his work rethinking how musical instruments can be placed in relation to both human and non-human listeners. The project investigates how these distances can create musical situations where the sound of the instruments is not necessarily at the forefront, but instead becomes part of a larger soundscape, where the instrument and the environment integrate, opening up new ways of listening.

In this project, experiments are conducted by placing musical instruments, such as a string quartet, far from the audience – in some cases, up to several hundred meters. The distance between performer and listener is explored as a compositional tool, and the physical distance studies will take place both in the urban environment of Copenhagen and in the mudflats of the Wadden Sea around Ribe. By creating musical situations where listeners are far from the instruments, the project challenges both the acoustic control typically found in concert halls and studios, and the Western understanding of how music should be perceived and listened to.

The project consists of several phases, including fieldwork, critical listening, and the composition of so-called distance studies. These will be carried out by Løkkegaard himself and in collaboration with ensembles, including a string quartet from Esbjerg Ensemble. Through experimental compositional strategies and reflections on the interaction between humans and music, the project aims to create new artistic practices that offer an alternative to the traditional concert experience and open up new ways to understand the relationship between humans, music, and the environment.