Aural sunbeam (six records of gongs and singing)

I decided to reimagine the recording of “Six Records of Gongs and Singing”: six phonograph records of drums and singing. Originally recorded in 1914 on Atchin Island in Vanuatu, these recordings were made using wax cylinders by anthropologist John Willoughby Layard. Later, in the late 1930s, they were transferred to 78rpm records, and in 1979, they were transferred to reel-to-reel tape.

In my recording of “Aural Sunbeam (Six Records of Gongs and Singing),” I am reinterpreting these historical sounds to capture the essence of the museum’s recording. My objective is to create a captivating narrative and sonic experience that may enhance a listener’s engagement with this remarkable historical artifact through our shared cultural memory. I believe that culturally significant artifacts that hold historical narratives can be used to gain new insights into the past.

My interest in preserving the music is equally important to me as the voice of anthropologist John Willoughby Layard in these recordings. For me, it deepens the connection between time and place, bringing history to life. I hope that my “Aural Sunbeam (Six Records of Gongs and Singing)” will create a new physical, emotional, and sensory connection to the original content.

Six records of gongs and singing reimagined by Jeff Düngfelder.

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Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds