Signal Tide — Two Passes: A Special Audio Mix by Kovács/O’Doherty
From Kovács/O’Doherty's 2016 Art + Technology Lab project, Signal Tide. The artists produced a series of experimental music performances featuring a call and response with a live satellite. The work was developed to be a poetic reply to the erratic signals of LES-1, a defunct spacecraft that ceased to function in 1967 but unexpectedly started transmitting again in 2013. Signal Tide was essentially a sound and extraterrestrial radio installation, which combined the satellite’s wavering signal overhead with a special generative musical score based on sacred harp singing melodies—a tradition of sacred choral music originating in New England.
Signal Tide Companion — An Interview with the Artists
Joel Ferree from the LACMA Art + Tech Lab spoke with Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty about the inspiration behind Signal Tide, and the project's research and development. Included in the interview are anecdotes about tracking the signal of the LES-1 satellite from LACMA's rooftop, studying the folk music traditions of New England, recording the musical score, and more.
Fleeting Days
(00:00–09:57)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 348b in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Sung by Esther Wade, Patrick DeDauw, Xarah Dion, and Philippe Doyle-Gosselin. Music played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, Sophie Trudeau, and Tom O’Doherty. Recorded and mixed by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal.
Accompanying sound [from 08:25] derived from the signal of the LES-1 satellite, recorded by Kata Kovács, Tom O’Doherty, and Kris Slyka, with audio processing by Stephan Esterhuizen.
Fleeting Days (Filaments)
(09:57–18:01)
Mixed and arranged by Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty. Played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, Sophie Trudeau, and Tom O’Doherty. Recorded by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal.
Fleeting Days (Outro)
(18:01–27:12)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 348b in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Sung by Esther Wade, Patrick DeDauw, Xarah Dion, and Philippe Doyle-Gosselin. Music played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, Sophie Trudeau, and Tom O’Doherty. Recorded by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal. Mixed by Tom O’Doherty.
The Lone Pilgrim
(27:12–28:17)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 341 in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Played by Collin Findlay. Recorded and mixed by David Bryant at The Pines, Montréal.
Funeral Anthem
(28:27–39:05)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 320 in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Sung by Esther Wade, Patrick DeDauw, Xarah Dion, and Philippe Doyle-Gosselin. Music played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, and Sophie Trudeau. Recorded by and mixed by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal.
Accompanying sound [from 34:44] derived from the signal of the LES-1 satellite, recorded by Kata Kovács, Tom O’Doherty, and Kris Slyka, with audio processing by Stephan Esterhuizen.
Funeral Anthem (Filaments)
(39:05–47:05)
Mixed and arranged by Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty. Played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, Sophie Trudeau, and Tom O’Doherty. Recorded by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal.
Funeral Anthem (Outro)
(47:05–53:34)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 320 in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Sung by Esther Wade, Patrick DeDauw, Xarah Dion, and Philippe Doyle-Gosselin. Music played by David Bryant, Drew Barnet, James Hamilton, and Sophie Trudeau. Recorded by David Bryant and Drew Barnet at The Pines, Montréal. Mixed by Tom O’Doherty.
Accompanying sound derived from the signal of the LES-1 satellite, recorded by Kata Kovács, Tom O’Doherty, and Kris Slyka, with audio processing by Stephan Esterhuizen.
The Lone Pilgrim
(53:34–56:53)
Derived from the sacred harp song of the same name, ref. 341 in ‘The Sacred Harp’. Played and recorded by Tim Eriksen and Zoë Darrow.
This mix is a collection of the recordings that were eventually incorporated into the generative score that accompanied the broadcast of the LES-1 signal in the Signal Tide performances at LACMA. Kata Kovács and Tom O’Doherty have worked as a collaborative duo since 2011. Their work combines elements of durational and time-based art, minimalist movement, and electroacoustic music and sound. This work often applies rigorous processes to simple but frequently-overlooked phenomena — they are interested in processes, sounds, and movements that come close to imperceptibility, and the ways in which this material can be transformed through repetition, patterning, layering, and archiving. They live and work in Berlin, Germany.
Mastered by Diego Ferri