Back in 2014, sound artist Stuart Bowditch produced a series of pieces for an exhibition that was taking place in the old Co-operative Bank in Colchester. Created solely using sounds discovered in the thirty rooms of the old edifice, it was installed as a loop playing on an in-car DVD player for the amusement of the visitors, and perhaps to draw them closer to the building and to catch a ghostly glimpse into its previous use.
The resulting record is a beautiful package, with 3″ CD in a hand-cut bespoke sleeve, a couple of inserts and a small sticker. Spread across five tracks with titles like “Fire Alarm Bell”, it would be easy to dismiss this as folly, but somehow the pieces hang together really well and slowly you feel yourself drawn to the place in question. Now, I have never been to the Co-operative Bank in Colchester, but somehow, having these esoteric soundbites capturing elements of its essence, it no longer matters what has happened to the building. There is a part of its presence captured right here, rendering it a permanent place in history.
Resonant bells at different tempos and tones make a sound like a blunt wind chime in a room with some clocks whose alarms require winding. There are different distances and volumes, as though you are hearing sound in various rooms, but as you move on so the pieces become calmer and quieter. “Cooperative” sounds like one of those nineteenth century mechanical music devices that played huge discs with little teeth, but some have been replaced with wooden ones, rendering the playback mysterious. The rhythmic subtleties of “Transaction” are a little more calming, with a greater sense of space here, as though the rooms are growing in size as the recording progresses. There is the rhythm of an electro-mechanical clock that eventually dissipates and leaves the other sparse sounds drifting. The abandoned rooms are visible in the mind’s eye, but anyone who has ever worked in an office will recognise the flurry of metallic noises that usher the recording out. The pulse of “Offices” is made up of the opening and shutting of filing cabinets, with a rhythmic device that sounds like an alarm with no sense of urgency. The chatter of keys in locks and telephone keypads lend a humanity that draws you back to the building and its original use.Alchemy 4 is a pretty fascinating insight into one man’s ingenuity and willingness to capture a snapshot of time and place in an unusual but very effective way. Regardless of where you live, having a little piece of Colchester in your house could be really good for you.
-Mr Olivetti-
