Yann Leguay – Technical Involution

Sonic Acts Podcast

NIGHT AIR: SHOCK WAVES Technical Involution by Yann Leguay 5 November 2021 – OT301, Amsterdam, The Netherlands In his lecture ‘Technical Involution’, artist Yann Leguay speaks to the dematerialisation of sound and the evolving effects of interfaces. He follows with a performance of ‘Volta’, based on an electrical arc produced by a plasma speaker so powerful that it emanates magnetic disturbance. Yann Leguay’s work focuses on the notions of dematerialisation, the use of interfaces and the materiality of sound. He has been called a ‘media saboteur’ by the Consumer Waste label, seeking to fold the sound materiality in on itself using basic means in the form of objects, videos, and performances. Since 2007, he has also been producing installations, sculptures, and publications that integrate a critical approach to the meaning of technological evolution. In concerts he pushes the boundaries of accepted norms of audio behaviour, using uncommon machinery for the playback of audio media: opened hard-drives as turntables, an angle grinder as a microphone, the sound of the electricity, etc. His records are equally unusual: readable silkscreen record, a 7” single without a central hole, or a record composed from recordings of vinyl being scratched by scalpel. In an evening of talks, performances and films, Shock Waves considered the materiality of sound as a powerful means of resistance and control. The programme included talks by María Edurne Zuazu, Elena Cohen, and Yann Leguay, films by Aura Satz, an installation by Paula Montecinos and Pedro Matias, along with a performance by White Rose, and DJ set by Noise Diva. NIGHT AIR Night Air is a series of Sonic Acts events that aim to make pollution visible by bringing forth the various side-effects of modernity: from exploitation of people and resources to perpetual inequalities brought about by the destruction of the environment and common land – in other words, capitalist practices that shape both our environment and human-nonhuman relations. More information about Shock Waves and its participants can be found at https://sonicacts.com/archive/night-air-shock-waves CREDITS Curation & production: Sonic Acts Design: Toni Brell https://tonibrell.de Video editing: Marie Debarbieux https://mariedebarbieux.wixsite.com Sound mastering: Poul Sven de Haan faboem.nl