Author: Douglas Kahn
Editor: Arie Altena
Design: Femke Herregraven
Copy Editor: Mark Poysden
64 pp., 17 x 24 cm, October 2012
Print copies are sold out!

‘What is the nature of electronic music?’ asks Douglas Kahn, a professor at the National Institute for Experimental Arts at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Kahn locates his answer in ‘electricity and electromagnetism’, ‘the crack of lightning and its echo in thunder’, or what he calls ‘The Aelectrosonic’.

This compact publication centres on Kahn’s thought-provoking essay, tracing the origins of electronic music back to the 19th century, when Thomas Watson listened to sounds carried by telephone wires. Alongside an introduction by Arie Altena, it includes visual materials documenting the evolution of sonic art forms. The Aelectrosonic was published to accompany the 2011 instalment of the Kontraste Festival, Imaginary Landscapes.

About Kontraste

The Kontraste Festival took place in Krems, Austria, with serial editions curated by Sonic Acts. Highlighting the medieval Klangraum Krems Minoritenkirche and collaborating with venues across the city, the festival combined a unique regional setting with a strong international line-up. Its programme featured cutting-edge sonic experiments, contemporary music, and related art forms, offering unconventional concerts, performances, installations, and lectures in thematic and interdisciplinary contexts. 

Contents

Imaginary Landscapes Of Electrical Nature Or, A Journey Along Some Of The Inspirators For The 2011 Kontraste Festival – Arie Altena

The Aelectrosonic – Douglas Kahn