Suspended Sound Line

SUSPENDED SOUND LINE (KLANGBRÜCKE), BERN, SWITZERLAND

At the end of the 90s, a new building was added to the Gewerblich-Industrielle Berufsschule Bern gibb (Bern Industrial Vocational School). Since then, a bridge with simple steel structures and a sound installation has served as a flyover between the old and new buildings. When crossing the bridge, passersby are immersed in an unsual and fragile world of sound. [1] The “sound bridge” was designed by the American musician and sound artist Max Neuhaus and Frank Geiser.

Recording of Max Neuhaus’ sound installation. © Tobias Reber.

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1999

CONTEXT

The "sound bridge" by the American musician and sound artist Max Neuhaus produces a sound that cannot be clearly defined and whose tones cannot be musically classified. The "melody" has no beginning and no end and disappears as soon as one leaves the bridge. Everyday noises mix with the bridge sounds and influence or drown them out, depending on the noise level of the outside world. Despite this existing connection and communication with everyday life, entering the Suspended Sound Line always becomes a spatio-temporal experience and an entry into a mysterious parallel world. [1]

References

[1] Suspended Sound Line. Retrieved: 20 July 2023. https://catalog.particip-app.ch/de/artwork/49687.

Entry submitted by: Beat Hohmann.
Audio: Tobias Reber.
Photo: AnBuKu, Wikimedia.