Echolocation, Robert Jarvis‘ sound installation for an ‘orchestra’ of bats and accompanying ‘choir’ of bat detectors will be performed at the Wolfslaar nature reserve, outside Breda (The Netherlands) on Saturday 16th June as part of this year’s Interference Festival. The fun begins after sunset, as dusk falls and the bats come out to feed. As they fly around and make use of their biosonar radar capabilities in search of insects, Jarvis uses Kyma to capture the bat signals and extract information from them to control a musical score. The result is an evocative surround sound musical experience as night falls, deepening each listener’s relationship with the environment and creating a magical and memorable experience for all. Some responses to previous performances:
Echolocation by Robert Jarvis 16 Jun 2012 — 22:30 Open to the public and Free! Wolfslaar 4834 Breda Zuid Oost Breda NetherlandsI couldn’t believe that I was listening to real bats – what a variety of noises, and to see them in real time was an absolute knockout. The whole thing was fantastic.
I was enchanted by the bat chatter… what a genius idea, and so beautiful.
This is the kind of music that makes people think and transforms their experience of bats, of humans, of sound, of communication. This kind of transformative experience is the whole reason for art.