Between Copper and Zinc

Between Copper and Zinc

Between Copper and Zinc is a modular instrument that drops small, hollow brass tubes. Dispensers containing the tubes are hung throughout the ceiling of a tall building. The tubes fall in a composed manner, creating a musical rain.

Kunrad’s interest lies in the singing, buzzing sound that the flying tubes produce, starting from the point: “How does it feel to be inside a music chord?”

Kunrad collects and experiments with various materials that stimulate him sonically. During one of these experiments, he discovered that brass tubes in free fall produce a complex sound. If you throw a handful of brass tubes into the air, a singing, buzzing sound, a cluster of complex sounds, is created. With sand or soil on the floor, this sound suddenly breaks off with a thud, and the tubes do not rattle on the floor. In this way, the focus is on the singing of the tubes during their fall.

Between Copper and Zinc consists of five dispensers, each with two magazines full of tubes. In total, 1000 tubes fall during a performance. There are four types of magazines that are modularly deployable: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass

The length of the tubes makes a difference in pitch. Brass with a high zinc content was chosen to achieve a clear and complex sound. The placement of the droppers in space creates an interplay between the visitor, the space, and the chord that is divided into individual elements. Each building has a different height and reverberation. This, together with a composition made for the characteristics of the space, make each performance a unique experience. 

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