Composing Sound With Whistling Bottles

Wang Chung-Kun is a new rising star in the Taiwanese art scene. He also founded i/O Lab with Yao Chung-Han, a sound art organization that is becoming increasingly well-known in the region.

Wang focuses on the integration of sound in kinetic-driven installations. His works are intriguingly complex, yet minimally fabricated, managing to push one single, simple sound into a long and intricate loop.

The Sound of Bottles, Wang’s installation embedded above, explores the simple gesture of blowing over the top of a glass bottle in order to produce sound. The bottle’s shape creates a wide range of tones, while the water level and the position and pressure of the air flow within the bottle’s body controls the sound frequency. The two bottles in this installation work together to create sonic clashes. An electromagnetic air valve creates a rhythm by sending 0/1 signals to a computer through an Arduino, which switches the air pressure on and off. As a physical sound is produced, real-time sampling is processed, and all these sounds overlap to compose a tonal sonic experience. The concept behind Wang’s work came from an attempt to record sonic and mechanical movements that combine together to create a brand new kind of soundscape.