Turntable History

Arnold Dreyblatt (born 1953) is an American composer who has studied with La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros, and Alvin Lucier. A member of the German Academy of Art, he has released work on labels such as Table of the Elements, Canteloupe, Tzadik, Hat Art, and Dexter's Cigar. Turntable History is a 40-minute multi-channel sound composition conceived as part of an audio-visual installation in the circular vaulted brick space of a historical water container in Berlin in 2009. The original sound content is derived from recordings Dreyblatt made of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner ("Siemens Magnetom Symphony Maestro Class") in a radiological practice in Berlin. Dreyblatt then analyzed and deconstructed the original recordings and grouped the audio segments by pitch, rhythm, and density. The resulting five-channel composition of harmonically resonating, pulsating signals sounded within the voluminous reflective space (with long delay times) is wonderfully captured in this recording.