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Hastings Of Malawi
Choreological Exchanges
Sub Rosa - Cat No: SRV529
- updated:2023-08-11
Hastings Of Malawi, a British Dadaist group associated with Nurse With Wound. “Choreological Exchanges” uses sounds from pre-electronic telephone switchboards—including signals, noise, and the voices of operators. An analog release on 〈Sun Rosa〉.
Recorded at the height of the global pandemic, and at a time when remote communication was becoming increasingly prevalent, "Choreological Exchanges" is part of Hastings Of Malawi's continuing investigations into the medium of communication itself.
Prior to telephony becoming digital, all phone calls were routed through mechanical telephone exchanges, and the majority of the sounds on side one are the sounds of these exchanges and some of the voices of the engineers who worked with them.
"It is a dance record but not in the way that these are usually understood. An invitation to dance appears twelve minutes in on the first side. It is a dance within the wires, movement around noise used as a sculptural aterial rather than unwanted signals and a joyful exploration of sonic materiality.
The second side begins with the voice of a telephone engineer, who states that in the top floor switch room of the exchange is the only vestige of human control. Is this top floor switch room the human brain? The sounds on this side, float between the mechanical telephone exchange and the body where the messages are created and interpreted - it is an exploration of the relationship between thought and the material devices in which telephone sound is propagated and transformed. Side two ends with a long list of randomly generated words created by digital voice synthesis".
Hastings of Malawi
Prior to telephony becoming digital, all phone calls were routed through mechanical telephone exchanges, and the majority of the sounds on side one are the sounds of these exchanges and some of the voices of the engineers who worked with them.
"It is a dance record but not in the way that these are usually understood. An invitation to dance appears twelve minutes in on the first side. It is a dance within the wires, movement around noise used as a sculptural aterial rather than unwanted signals and a joyful exploration of sonic materiality.
The second side begins with the voice of a telephone engineer, who states that in the top floor switch room of the exchange is the only vestige of human control. Is this top floor switch room the human brain? The sounds on this side, float between the mechanical telephone exchange and the body where the messages are created and interpreted - it is an exploration of the relationship between thought and the material devices in which telephone sound is propagated and transformed. Side two ends with a long list of randomly generated words created by digital voice synthesis".
Hastings of Malawi
A trio that made its first recording in 1981. From the band’s formation through the early ’90s, the original trio consisted of Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill, and Heman Pathak, along with David Hodes and John Grieve (both of whom also participated in Nurse With Wound’s first recording).
Below is a portion of the information—apologies for the DeepL translation—that I’m posting. I think it adds depth to the listening experience, so please give it a read. (Saito)
“This is a dance record, but not in the conventional sense. On Side 1, an invitation to dance emerges 12 minutes in. It is a dance within the wires—not a series of unwanted signals, but a movement centered around noise used as sculptural material, a joyful exploration of the materiality of sound.
Side 2 begins with the voice of a telephone technician who says that the only trace of human control can be found in the switching room on the top floor of a telephone exchange. Is this top-floor switching room the human brain? The sounds on this side float between the mechanical telephone switchboard and the body that creates and interprets messages. This piece explores the relationship between the physical apparatus through which telephone sounds are transmitted and transformed, and thought. Side 2 concludes with a long list of words randomly generated by digital speech synthesis.”