Dan Scott

Sproutbaurecord was a month long sound installation documenting the formation of a temporary community, Sproutbau, in Bremen, Germany. In August 2007, 50 artists converged on Tenever, Bremen, to turn a tower block into a sustainable living utopia, prior to its demolition later that year. Sproutbaurecord opened a recording studio and over the course of a month fostered the Sproutbau group dynamic, capturing residents’ experiences and moments in sonic form, turning the everyday sounds of the building itself and artists at work into musical tracks and sound sculptures.

The transformed ‘field recordings’ reflect the experience of a temporary community forming and defining itself in relation to a specific physical space. Every day a track was released via the Sproutbaurecord blog, played live within the community and placed in perpetuity on the internet in copy-left format. The project aimed to shift the dynamics of production and reception, transforming passive listeners into active creators.

Excerpts:

Wir Weben

We’re Digging

Wailing Doors

Stairwell 48

Music for a Found Sink

See the sproutbaurecord blog for a day by day record of the installation, including all 24 tracks recorded.

Sproutbaurecord, installation and in the field, Bremen, Germany, 2007.