Sound Body: The Ghost of a Program

The author considers the importance of the voice as a transformative instrument in 20th-century art, particularly in relation to the tape recorder and digital audio technology. He examines his collaborative work with sound poet Bob Cobbing in the 1970s and compares this with a recent gallery installation created with artist John Latham. Research from the 1970s into acoustic voice masking and resonance is contrasted with the use of analog tape process-ing and the sonic potential of computer audio software programs both in studio work and in improvised performance. Finally, the author discusses the implications of these con-frontations between body and machine.