AUDIUM VI: Rewind
Wonder what San Francisco’s avant-garde sounded like in 1975? Audium celebrates its 50th anniversary with a rare revival of Audium VI– a timeless tape piece by co-founder Stan Shaff, newly reimagined by his son David Shaff.
Field recordings and electronic textures will transport you onto a rumbling freight train, into a fog horn-filled bay, and alongside children’s voices that chase each other around the room. Audium VI was originally composed on tape and premiered in Audium’s then-brand-new home at 1616 Bush Street in 1975, marking the debut of a radical new form of spatial sound performance. One can only imagine what audiences at that time must have thought.
Fast forward 50 years, the technology has changed but Audium’s original aesthetic remains intact. Now, following in his dad’s footsteps, David Shaff has reworked his father’s sounds for Audium’s current system and will perform each night.
To mark Audium VI’s revival, artists and Audium archivists Blanca Bercial and Emma Scully have created an immersive, interactive lobby experience with objects from the theater’s historic archive. Audience members can explore tactile relics, rummage through a desk full of archival materials, and answer a rotary phone with a surprise message. For tech-minded visitors, the original Audium control board will be on display.
AUDIUM VI: Rewind
Wonder what San Francisco’s avant-garde sounded like in 1975? Audium celebrates its 50th anniversary with a rare revival of Audium VI– a timeless tape piece by co-founder Stan Shaff, newly reimagined by his son David Shaff.
Field recordings and electronic textures will transport you onto a rumbling freight train, into a fog horn-filled bay, and alongside children’s voices that chase each other around the room. Audium VI was originally composed on tape and premiered in Audium’s then-brand-new home at 1616 Bush Street in 1975, marking the debut of a radical new form of spatial sound performance. One can only imagine what audiences at that time must have thought.
Fast forward 50 years, the technology has changed but Audium’s original aesthetic remains intact. Now, following in his dad’s footsteps, David Shaff has reworked his father’s sounds for Audium’s current system and will perform each night.
To mark Audium VI’s revival, artists and Audium archivists Blanca Bercial and Emma Scully have created an immersive, interactive lobby experience with objects from the theater’s historic archive. Audience members can explore tactile relics, rummage through a desk full of archival materials, and answer a rotary phone with a surprise message. For tech-minded visitors, the original Audium control board will be on display.