The Applause emanating from the empty concert hall in the back courtyard of Bluecoat Chambers has been composed from almost 400 'live' recordings in the artist's record collection, spanning a variety of musical styles from improvised jazz to rock, pop, folk and classical music. It brings together the sounds of audiences recorded over the last forty years in many parts of the world, from New York Carnegie Hall and Brixton Academy to massive outdoor festivals and obscure clubs in Tatlin or Cape Town.


Every 'live' album in the collection was digitised. The sound of the music was then deleted, leaving bursts of applause distributed over the playing time of the original recording, separated by periods of silence. All the resulting tracks were mixed together, so that in some parts of the final work very large 'audiences' were created by random overlay, whereas in others a single pair of clapping hands may still be heard for a brief moment or there may be no sound at all.


After its inauguration in Liverpool as a public sound installation, LIVE will be released on a vinyl LP, the limited edition of which will be the same as the number of the records used in the production of the work. The album will be launched in October 1999 at the Alten Gramophon-Fabrik in Hanovewhere the world's first phonographic record was commercially pressed in 1898.
Credits: Produced and presented by the Foundation for Arts and Creative Technology, Liverpool, with thanks to Charles Essche (independent curator), Aleliergemeinschaft Gramophon, Hanover, Tosh Ryan and Matt Wand. Financially assisted by Machester Metropolitan University.

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The Applause emanating from the empty concert hall in the back courtyard of Bluecoat Chambers has been composed from almost 400 'live' recordings in the artist's record collection, spanning a variety of musical styles from improvised jazz to rock, pop, folk and classical music. It brings together the sounds of audiences recorded over the last forty years in many parts of the world, from New York Carnegie Hall and Brixton Academy to massive outdoor festivals and obscure clubs in Tatlin or Cape Town.


Every 'live' album in the collection was digitised. The sound of the music was then deleted, leaving bursts of applause distributed over the playing time of the original recording, separated by periods of silence. All the resulting tracks were mixed together, so that in some parts of the final work very large 'audiences' were created by random overlay, whereas in others a single pair of clapping hands may still be heard for a brief moment or there may be no sound at all.


After its inauguration in Liverpool as a public sound installation, LIVE will be released on a vinyl LP, the limited edition of which will be the same as the number of the records used in the production of the work. The album will be launched in October 1999 at the Alten Gramophon-Fabrik in Hanovewhere the world's first phonographic record was commercially pressed in 1898.
Credits: Produced and presented by the Foundation for Arts and Creative Technology, Liverpool, with thanks to Charles Essche (independent curator), Aleliergemeinschaft Gramophon, Hanover, Tosh Ryan and Matt Wand. Financially assisted by Machester Metropolitan University.