Electronic Frequencies

01/ AQUALIZER. 2:48 for wavemotion when walking in town

02/ ANTENNAPHONE. 2:07 for long-distance listening

03/ OPEN AIR CONCERT. 3:04 a concert for open spaces

04/ TRAFFIC TRANSFORMATOR. 1:54 to enjoy busy highways

05/ FLIRT. 2:42 for stereo-flirting with yourself and others

06/ DISCOLIZER. 2:30 hightens club experience

07/ SATELITE. 2:03 to receive signals from outer space

08/ SOUNDFLUTE. 0:57 to play with sounds made by people in a café

09/ SNOW. 0:24 for listening to snow falling
10/ LULL. 3:02  for relaxing wavemotion when travelling

11/ LEVEL. 2:00 to find your balance

12/ FUNNEL. 2:24 to be used near brooks waterfalls and rivers

13/ FUR 2:23 for listening to surfaces in wintertime

14/ EARTH CONNECTOR. 1:38 for shuffling over soil

15/ BREATH. 1:58 your breath as an instrument

16/ SOUNDTRIP 9. 10:55 Bjørn Sverre Kristensen

17/ Spectrum blue presents AVAILABLE LIGHT #1 2:59
inspired by the wonderphone soundbyte Lull 9 ©illumination +47

18/ Wet. 9:40  *

We listen with our ears. Yes, of coursel Nevertheless- or maybe because this is so obvious and taken for granted – few of us think about it on a daily basis: Our listening apparatus is not like a microphone, which objectively registers the sound around us. We hear that particular sound – and only that – which hits our eardrums.

Tina M. Buddeberg and Elin T. Sorensen are well aware of all this. With their wonderphones they choose sounds from different environments distort them, amplify, filter, mix and blend them, thus creating and contributing with new sounds. In this way they create an unknown universe of sounds which is then presented exactly where it belongs: into the ears. And without using any modern electronics
The first time I heard about this project 1 thought it sounded quite outrageous. This first impression didn’t exactly improve, when Elin and Tina came along to our laboratory wearing their wonderphones. However I didn’t need to listen for a long time before I was captivated by the idea. I had never before listened to such sounds as these, and at the same time I couldn’t help admiring the sculptural value of the ‘apparatuses‘.

Tina and Elin approached us for help with recording the sounds from their wonderphones. They wanted to give other people the opportunity to ex-perience the sounds without necessarily having to walk around in all those dif- ferent surroundings adhering to the wonderphones: in snowscapes, nearby a waterfall, in a tram, and so on. Their own initial attempts to record the sounds didn’t work out, it just didn’t sound right.
We succeeded in making recordings that make you believe to be there yourself. The solution is quite obvious: when the wonderphones make sound being sent directly into the ears, it should of course be recorded there Either with small microphones installed at the eardrum of a person, or – as it is done on this cd due to practical reasons – in the ears of an acoustic manne- quin. To make sure that the sound that was recorded in the left ear also would be heard in the left ear (and only there) during playback – and the other way around for the sounds for the right ear – earphones must be be used to listen with. Using speakers, the sound would be blended, both speakers would be heard by both ears, and so the effect would be lost. Also the sound should be adapted so that recording and earphone <fit together>, (or technical: be <equalized>).This is done on this cd, and that’s why an earphone comes with each cd. The sound becomes only entirely authentic when listening to it with this earphone
In fact the idea of recording sound in the ears of a person or an acoustic mannequin isn’t new. This technique has been known for a long time as the only method that delivers completely authentic sound. It’s pretty obvi ous – we do only have two ears, and if the sound in them is right, so too will be the sound experience, Everything wil follow, the precise reverberation and sound timbre, irection and distance to the sound sources. Much better than modern surround and multichannel systems, As if truly being there by your- self. But that’s a different story,
Back to the wonderphones, I think it was incredibly exciting working together with Tina and Elin, To experience people who work with my subject, but without beeing restrained by the theory and systematics, which feature in my own world as a scientist, People who just throw themselves into it and in- vestigate by trial and error. In this case it is the ear that decides, and not all those many measurings and explanations. And the result is wonderphone – acoustic walkmen – which I can guarantee would not be invented in our labo- ratory ! Listen yourself and enjoy it.
Henrik Møller; professor in acoustics, Aalborg University.

Elin T. Sorensen and Tina M. Buddebergs “wandermen” are variations around a theme: we have a specific environment and to that belongs an appa- ratus; an acoustic headphone, which is able to heighten the actual sound ex- perience. With this as a starting point they have developed a series of prototy- pes of walkmen, a kind of stoneage walkman made out of single parts. Sound intake takes place acoustically, and the filtering and transformation of the sound depends upon the materials and their acoustic resonator. The walkmen function as extensions of the ears, and are shaped in order to exclude and distorte sound. They have visual qualities as objects, alt- hough the project is mainly concerned with principles of sound and listening. Due to the sound distortion taking place inside the walkmen, the listener be- comes conscious about Iistening as a sensual perception; as they sharpen and heighten the listening sense, and focus attention to the everyday sounds that always exist in our surroundings.

Each particular walkman has a title and a function that is adjusted to the environment it is at home in. In the same way as species fom the world of animals or plants, the different walkmen-are marked-by the environment they belong to, and by the sounds they are ment to capture. Tubes, funnels, and bottles of transparent or coloured plastic or glass, and other parts which could contribute to the treatment of the respective sounds give an individual expres sion to each single walkman. They are like variations around a species. The project can be read as an indirect comment about the market analytics ever-expanding article selections by continuous segmentation of the market. This has lead to the fact that a bicycle, i.e., is not the same as before One bicycle fits to an uneven ground, another one fits on the flat on asphalt paving, one can be carried up mountains, another one can be used both on gravel and asphalt, etc. The consequence of this-is that there are not only more and more producys being sold, but also that the areas of usage of the products are being defined and analyzed.
The walkmen prototypes become like paradoxical imitations of a similar line of thought: we have such and such an activity, which product could contribute to the improvement of that experience ?
Concerning the walkmen the areas of usage become far more widespread compared to what is reckoned as such, for they turn into ironic comments to this market-developement way of thinking. For relaxing wave motion while travelling, to enjoy busy motorways or for listening to surfaces in wintertime are not thought of as experiences being called for and even less for adapting products to. The walkmens’ pointing towards such acoustic non-ex- periences leads to having a poetic quality; they refer to that what is withdrawn from attention.
Yngvild Henmo; 
journalist and art critic.

Models Ina Eriksen, Torbjørn Morstøl, Anne Engebretsen, Snorre Ytterstad. Irene Fremme, Andreas Heuch, Stein K. Sørensen, Olav Hauge, Agathe Léger, Jan Hovo, Ingo Hoffman
Thanks to:
Poznan, Artur Gurholt AS, Pelton Norge, Kværner Energi AS, Tetebrotin, Heidi B. Sundby, Bjørn Sverre Kristensen, Unn Hofstad, Audun Strype Arne Solstad ved Sintef, Henrik Møller og Flemming Christensen ved Akustisk Laboratorium, Eli Kjønsberg, Viggo Pedersen, Jennifer LLoyd Ingo Hoffmann, Christiane Eisel, Arve Red, familien Holmen, Geir Harald Samuelsen, Bretningen, Dag Nordanger, Marie Lovoll, politihestene, Jan Skomakerstuen og Jazid, Skansen, Kafé Pascal, Theatherkafeen, Yngvild Henmo, Jone Kvie, Pineapple Publishing, Trine Wester.
Wonderphone has been supported by Norsk Kulturrád, Norsk Kassettavgiftsfond, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond & Bp

DESIBELPRODUKTER AS.

Wonderphone.
Wonderphone Project
Bok · Uten språklig innhold · 1999.
Utgitt [Oslo] : Albedo , 1999.
Omfang 1 plate (46 min) : digital + 1 sett høretelefoner.
Opplysninger: Albedo: ALBCD 018. – Prosjektansvarlige: Tina Mareen Buddeberg og Elin Tanding Sørensen. – Innhold: Aqualizer : for bølgeskvulp i byen ; Antennofon : for å lytte til det som er langt borte ; Friluftskonsert : en konsert under åpen himmel ; Trafikk transformator : for å nyte trafikkerte veier ; Flørt : for stereoflørting med seg selv og andre ; Discolizer : høyner opplevelsen på diskotek ; Sattelitt : for å motta signaler fra det ytre rom ; Lydfløyte : for å spille på ly transformator : for å nyte trafikkerte veier ; Flørt : for stereoflørting med seg selv og andre ; Discolizer : høyner opplevelsen på diskotek ; Sattelitt : for å motta signaler fra det ytre rom ; Lydfløyte : for å spille på lyden av mennesker på café ; Snø : for å lytte til fallende snø ; Lull : for avslappende bølgeskvulp ved reiser ; Vater : for å finne balansen ; Trakt : for bruk ved bekker, fosser og elver ; Pels : for å lytte til overflater om vinteren ; Jordkobler : for subbing over jorden ; Pust : pusten som instrument / Wonderphone. Lydtur / Bjørn Sverre Kristensen. Available light #1 / Nicholas Sillitoe.

* Wet by Roland Kuit 2024 Weather and resonators in Kyma to complete broadcasting time.