THE ACT OF RECORDING

The year of 2012 marked the 135th anniversary of the invention of sound recording for reproduction and while audio technology has evolved significantly since the days of Edison’s cylinder-based phonograph, the basic principles behind the act of recording have remained somewhat unchanged. To understand what makes us want to record sound, one must simply try to recall a unique moment that cannot be relived or a profound experience that cannot be replicated. Such memories make evident the natural human impulse to preserve anything that is evocative and singular. As an example, it is not uncommon for music fans to go to great lengths to record the live performances of their favourite artists in order to revisit them at a later date or to share them with absent friends.

Recording is mostly a social, collaborative activity and in this capacity it appears as more primal or instinctive than the commonly more isolated and lonelier processes of mixing and mastering.

As far as the preserving of one’s own music, a passage in Wim Wender’s film Until the End of the World may resonate with artists that record themselves frequently. In the aforementioned film, a scientist accidentally develops a machine that records dreams and its use becomes addictive to some of those who try it. Such individuals eventually appear to know themselves and each other more profoundly through the exchange of their ‘recordings’.

The sound recorder is the ‘mirror with a memory’ for those who listen. With it we can capture glimpses of our reality, producing ‘pictures’ as we express ourselves. These may ultimately serve as reminders of who we were and of our dreams.