There's a new sound installation at Jodrell Bank Observatory which combines the sounds of pulsars and the voice of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
"For the opening of Asia Triennial Manchester 2011 the artists, Tasawar Bashir
and Brian Duffy collaborated with astrophysicist Dr Tim O’Brien, who
provided all the cosmological sounds, to perform a live version of the Infinite Qawwali.
For the duration of ATM11 the Infinite Qawwali
will be presented as an installation of sounds and abstract Islamic
geometric visuals at the University of Manchester’s recently opened Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre. The whole installation is inspired by a 1000 year-old Sufi poem called Conference of the Birds by Farid Uddin
Attar where 30 birds embark upon an epic journey to the edge of the
known world in search of a golden feather and its owner the King of the
Birds, the Simorgh.
A live data feed based on whatever the giant Lovell radio telescope
happens to be listening to will trigger a sound bank of 30 sounds that
include different cosmological sounds and a range of vocals taken from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahib’s masterpiece Allah Hoo (God Is) to create an endless self-generating qawwali. The radio data will also trigger a visualisation of a classic Islamic geometric pattern.
Qawwali is a
centuries-old devotional music form inspired by the universal wisdom of
Muslim Sufi thinkers. Traditionally, the music begins as a vocal drone
and raaga to build steadily into a high-energy experience, inducing hypnotic states in musicians and audience members..."
It's on at the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre until 27 November.
Hear the piece about it on Radio 4's Front Row podcast from Thursday 27th October (about 20nminutes in).
