Welcome to listen the sound artwork, which was recorded in the Kaivoksela mines in August 2024. You will have the best listening experience when you use headphones. In the mining area, there is a sign in the place where the piece was recorded.
Composed: by Amanda Kauranne
Performance: Sabrina & Saarten tyttäret & Amanda Kauranne
Recording, mixing and mastering: Mikko H. Haapoja
All echoes heard in the piece are completely natural echoes, recorded from inside mine shafts. The work was recorded with several different microphones, such as an ambisonic 3D microphone, which accurately captures the different dimensions of the surrounding soundscape. The listener can sense the movement of the singers on different sides of the mines.
The piece is mixed for binaural listening, so it should be enjoyed with headphones. In the work, the vocal collective Sabrina ja Saarten tyttäret and the folk singer Amanda Kauranne stand in a ring right behind the listener. The natural soundscapes of the mining area play their part in the work – a forested urban landscape accompanied by the sounds of cars, trains and airplanes.
The work is inspired by the history of the mining area. The residual rock mass surrounding the mines shows e.g. traces of the work, that historically was accompanied by singing. The rhythm and work song-like energy of the first part of the composition have been derived from this tradition. The second part, on the other hand, refers to the musical history of the active years of the iron mines and the fashion dances of the time. There were cattle in Kaivoksela for a long time – local residents said that they used to get milk from Grufva gård when they moved to the newly built suburb in the 1960s. Traditional cattle calls make the mines ring and also seek echoes from past times and generations.
Vantaa city and Helsingestiftelsen have supported the project. Thank you!
Kaivoksela-seura ry. 