Tuning of The World

The soundscape—a term coined by the author—is our sonic environment, the ever-present array of noises with which we all live. Beginning with the primordial sounds of nature, we have experienced an ever-increasing complexity of our sonic surroundings. As civilization develops, new noises rise up around us: from the creaking wheel, the clang of the blacksmith's hammer, and the distant chugging of steam trains to the "sound imperialism" of airports, city streets, and factories. The author contends that we now suffer from an overabundance of acoustic information and a proportionate diminishing of our ability to hear the nuances and subtleties of sound. Our task, he maintains, is to listen, analyze, and make distinctions.

93 Feet East, Brick Lane, May 31, 2004: This was the first show of our May / June European Tour in 2004. We just come off a crazed US tour with Fourtet a month earlier, and a few months before that we did our first and very well-recieved tour of the UK after the big Wire article. Vibracathedral Orchesta & Jack Rose were also on the bill.

Tuning the World tells the unknown story of how the musical pitch A 440 became the global norm.

From his beginnings in the experimental art and noise scene in late 90s in Paris, Fred Bigo’s eclectic but deliberate blend of rock, noise and infectious rhythm has gained him loyal fans from all over the world. His music bears a full understanding and respect for the varied spectrum of popular music. Fusing this with a contemporary and experimental edge, he has drawn the attention of musicians and producers, having worked together with Foetus, Kid Congo Powers, Tim Gane, Ian Svenonius and Depeche Mode, His versatility and skill has brought him into collaboration with a range of composers and performers including Zbigniev Karkovsky, Kasper Toeplitz and Antonia Baehr. His musical personae include Electronicat, Bader Motor, Melt Famas and currently ‘The Magic Ray’, with which he has built up an impressive catalogue of releases on international labels. His dynamic live concerts have gained him the reputation of being a wild and unpredictable stage presence, assured to send any crowd into a rhythm-induced frenzy.