Reificating Noise Figures in Conceptual Spatiality: An Adequate Mode of “Listening“ to Noise

Presenter: Adrian Brendstrup (MA, University of Copenhagen)

Abstract

This talk introduces a novel framework for analyzing compositions of noise art through a spatial lens, moving beyond traditional temporal analysis of sound & music. At the core of this approach are Noise Figures – a concept I developed to encapture the perceiving of noise elements as abstract objects, existing in a perpetual state of becoming within conceptual space. Though they reject physical extension in space, they also defy temporality. Noise Figures can represent any noise sample, artefact, or microsonic particle - from a single glitch clip to a long drone texture, and even entire compositions or albums. These are reified as whole objects rather than temporary phenomena. For example, when imagining an entire noise album as one unified figure, we realize that a multitude of smaller sound artefacts aggregates this whole. These smaller artefacts can themselves be imagined as Noise Figures. However, when scrutinized as part of a bigger entity, I use the term Noise Figurines for these detailed sonic elements; a distinction enabling for analysis on both macro- and micro level. By applying Stockfelt’s concept of Adequate Modes of Listening, in conjunction with the terminology and spatiality of Smalley’s Spectromorphology, the listener engages with noise as a spatial entity, experiencing both the overarching Noise Figure and the intricate Noise Figurines that shape its interior structure, texture, and form. This model challenges conventional perceptions of noise as transient and disruptive, proposing that noise compositions are complex, crafted objects existing within conceptual space. The presentation invites all to consider how this reimagined relationship between noise and space offers new insights into noise art’s cultural and philosophical impact.