FALLAND

The Sounds of Dilapidated Houses is a work where the audio material is the sound of three abandoned crofts in Toten, Norway. The crofts are in different stages of decay. The sound material consists of sounds recorded on the various sites during a period of eight months, which includes three seasons.

The work refers to the process: nature - culture - nature; to the human entry into – and exit out of – nature. Man is present in nature with his culture for a limited period of time. When this period is over, nature takes back the places, and gradually wipes out all traces.

I direct my attention to the sonic aspects of these sites, as they appear today, which of course is different from the time the places were inhabited. Although people have moved out of the houses, the houses still houses sound; the houses still have a sonic potential.

I consider the places as an instrument or as a sound emitting object, and see what sonic possibilities they have. The work consists of sounds of the visitor as well as of the visited. The way I approach the sites and the sound objects conveys simultaneously the sound of respect, the sound of care, and the sound of reverence. Visiting these places, I always felt being a guest, even if the places have been uninhabited for a long time.