LATIN AMERICAN POLITICAL CHANTS
workshop presented in the ICA, London
as part of 'Talk Show' (May 2009), a month-long season
of artworks and events based on the act of speech.

In a group of 30-40 people, we utilised archive material (audio only) as an attempt to relate in some way to a crucial political moment through its ‘sound qualities’. We aimed to embody and transform some of the political chants in a series of exercises with our own voices.

Link to ICA documentation page>

POLITICAL CHANTS FOR THE FUTURE
music album (mastered by Alexandre Marino)

Using audio material recorded live during the workshop at the ICA and taken from the epic documentary 'La Batalla de Chile' (dir. Patricio Guzman), I edited a series of new chants. Audio loops that disarticulate the meaning of the original chants whilst maintaining their formal structure. The aim is to resist the nostalgia and melancholia implicit in those 70's political chants. The political chants for the future are experienced as blocks of sound or sound weapons for cities of 50-100 million people.

Link to music album released by Al Reves (mp3 or wav)>
also available on CD through leandro@nerefuh.com.br

THITH-THITH-THITH-THUP-VAM-VRM / POLITICAL CHANTS FOR THE FUTURE
sound installation for 6 speakers in collaboration with Matt Lewis for the group exhibition 'Manufacturing Today' (april-May 2010), Kultur Bunker, Dora, Trondheim, Norway

In 1970, Salvador Allende was the first declared Marxist to be democratically elected president in the American continent. His plans for a socialist nation, and indeed, for a socialist continent, met a tragic end with the bombardment of the presidential palace in 1973. During the nearly three years of his government, the streets of Chile staged a multitude of protests for and against the Unidad Popular. Political chants marked territory and replicated messages nationwide and beyond. Chants (rhythmic order-words) functioned as beams and were crucial for an alternative communication network that included free radio, mural painting, public speeches, popular music, etc.

cd cover by Caetano Carvalho

Five of the 'chants for the future' were also included in the festival Zeppelin 2009, titled 'Sons del Poder-Escoltes de la Por' (Sonidos del Poder/Eschuchas del Miedo); presented in the Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona (CCCB). They are also part of the aural art archive (archivo de arte sonoro) Sonoscop.