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Touched by Sound: Re-imagining the Legacy of Michel Waisvisz (Part 1)
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Tune in for episodes two and three of Sonic Trax, Sonic Acts' new podcast series, where we explore the organization's rich archive. Join us as we uncover the captivating stories behind the evolution of sound art and its lasting impact, bringing these insights closer to you!
In the two-part podcast Touched by Sound: Re-imagining the Legacy of Michel Waisvisz, hosts Sève I.V. Janssen and Flavien Gillié explore the profound impact of artist, performer, and instrument maker Michel Waisvisz (1949–2008). Through personal archives, interviews with collaborators, and sounds from the Sonic Acts Archive, the duo reimagines the sonic legacy of this key figure in Amsterdam’s experimental music scene and the international arts community (notably as the director of STEIM). Waisvisz was a true trailblazer in technological art, electronic sound art, and performance!
From the moment digital technology became available, he constructed experimental instruments and software activated by bodily movements such as The Hands (1984) and Crackle Synth (1974), both pressure-sensitive, touchable devices. This podcast features his sound archives, combining personal reflections from Waisvisz and his close collaborators, testimonials from those inspired by his work today, performance fragments, and radio archives spanning the 1970s to the 2000s. This exploration highlights Waisvisz' transformative approach to turning circuits into instruments of expression and vernacular moments into timeless artworks. In this process, voices, instruments, and the environmental context converge as equals, conducting a conversation where each responds with equal significance.
The first episode centres around Michel Waisvisz as a composer of the present and combines personal recordings with an interview with the artist and researcher Kristina Andersen, the caretaker of his archives today. The episode explores Michel Waisvisz’ distinctive spirit through the textures of his archives, where every crackle and hum becomes a tactile reminder, and Kristina Andersen talks about how materiality can connect generations and offer a sense of continuity, even between those who have never met.
Please note:
Some of the archival sounds featured in this episode include Michel Waisvisz speaking in Dutch and French. In the first excerpt (Dutch, >6:40), Michel discusses his practice, describing it as musical theatre, though acknowledging that the term does not fully capture its essence. In the second excerpt (French, >9:15), a reporter and Michel highlight how his electronic music devices generate new, futuristic, and otherworldly sounds. In the final excerpt (Dutch, >15:15), we hear Michel reflecting on an analogy between striving for a climax in music performance and the myth of Tantalus.
Credit:
The sound archives of Touched by Sound (Part 1) originate from the archives of Michel Waisvisz: Bologna 16-07-1982; Lisboa 14/15-02-1987; Bimhuis Amsterdam solo 08-09-1978; France Culture June 1987; Cologne 24-11-1978; Toklos Zurich 08-2-1986; Hands Houston 13-04-1986; various minidiscs, and excerpts of an interview with Kristina Andersen at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam, conducted on 2 March 2024.
Artistic development: Sève I.V. Janssen
Editing and mixing: Flavien Gillié
Voiceover: Leon Rogissart
Sonic Acts Archive projects are supported by the Mondriaan Fonds and Cultuurloket DigitALL. Realised by Paradiso and Sonic Acts as part of New Perspectives for Action, a project by Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the European Union.
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