40 zebra finches are exploring an aviary for three months at Barbican Centre on amplified guitars and cymbals installed on sandy islands planted with grass. The spontaneous everyday activity of the beautiful tiny feathered creatures on the sensitive strings makes a complex soundscape from the speakers around the gallery.
There is no composition, structure and melody in this music. This is the music of the self-abandoned, free life, the repetition and interference of the patterns of continuous everyday activity.
Arranging the twigs, toddling on the strings, the different types of arrival: the gliding stir and tumbling throb; the light and dynamic variations of departure, the positioning and preening - these are the continuously flickering patterns without any compositional intent which have a comforting, captivating effect on the visitor.
There is a joyful aesthetic contrast between the tiny soft animals with their beautiful coloured feathers and the masculine, professional instruments: the sight and the sound together gives you a lightweight happiness.
A meditative experience.
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