Freeze-Thaw

Publication

1 Minute Autohypnosis (CD and download), Mute Sound Records, Zaragoza, Spain.

Description

This 60-second long field recording was included on an idiosyncratic collection of sixteen similarly brief pieces, entitled 1 Minute Autohypnosis Sex War Noise Faith White Truth Light Europe Death Seed Red Net. This CD came in a transparent sleeve, adorned with mailing addresses and a bonus credit card with which can use to purchase karma, or perhaps faith, or maybe noise.

But you cannot buy the CD. Instead, it arrived at your door if you were one of the sixteen contributors. Otherwise you can download the music freely from Mute Sound.

Interview

I was compelled to conduct an interview with instigator Pedro Bericat. It’s short and appropriately cryptic. (All spellings and typography preserved as received.)

To get things rolling, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born in Zaragoza, Spain in 1955. I have work along my life in different fields: painting, installations, video, performance, sound, mail art…

How did you conceive of the “1 Minute Autohypnosis” project?

As I work in sound and in mail art, I thought (with Luis Marco) to create a sound project doing a call to the mailartist to involve them to make sound, with the network spirit.

Can you say a little more about your previous mail art projects / experience?

I practise an Immaterial Project since the 80’s relating plastic and sound (Descentralized Congress and Mail Art Calls). In the 90’s I work with injected transistor radios (radioterrorisme-noise) giving back distorted information to the media -UNSTABLE MEDIA- Since 2000 I work with STAALPLAAT SOUNDSISTEM exchanging audio and latex objects. -MUTE SOUND-

And do tell about painting, your own sound art etc.

Hipnotic painting and sound, trying to autohipnotize -NETWORK-

This concept of hypnosis is important to your projects. What does it mean for you? Does it involve any particular working methods?

Yes, Collective Hypnosis under different names: SEX, WAR, RED, etc. In order to obtain the internal whistle called “BRAHMAN”. Mantras and Yantras (daily TANTRAS).

The compilations include an enormous variety of different pieces and sounds. Do have have a selection process? Or is it important to include everything you are given?

There is no selection, we try to not repeat any author. We include as much as we can in our “Active Silence” (Mute Sound)

How often do you put out calls for new work?

If you ask about the “Autohypnosis…” project, the call is open, have no deadline.

Are the past CDs available for purchase?

No, we only made a small edition for the authors. The CDs are only available online.

Is there anything else you’d like readers to know?

We are open to other projects, sound, mail art, performance, etc. Be free to send your work! Thank you very much.

The spirit of mail art is alive and well in the twenty-first century, thanks to Pedro and cohort. This is the 13th in a series of 1 minute autohypnosis compilations. They are all available on Mute Sound as downloads, so what are you waiting for? You have only your mind to lose.

[Originally published at Theatre of Noise, 13 November 2012.]