IN A DIFFUSE DIAGONAL / BETWEEN ME AND WHAT I THINK

In a diffuse diagonal / Between me and what I think

Daniel Neumann, 2015
 

This is a stereo sound experiment made for the group show "Chuva Obliqua / Oblique Rain" at Spatium Gallery Lincoln, NE. The sound piece is made exclusively using an older analog parametric equalizer that was connected in a way that its chassis feeds back part of its signal and makes the equalizer oscillate. The filter turns into a very unpredictable signal generator - an equesizer - which is impossible to fully control. The piece is based on the decontextualized quote that became the title. In a sense Neumann put himself into a performative place where there was friction between his musical/sonic thoughts and the sounds he was able to create with this uncontrollable device. So on one level the device becomes the externalized "diffuse diagonal". And then further, the mesmorizing sound can be used as such by the listeners. The quote stems from the poem Oblique Rain by Fernando Pessoa to whom the entire show was dedicated.