“Ear Lights, Eye Sounds. Expanded Cracked Everyday Electronics”. Ediziona Periferia, Luzern, 2014. Large 4to in hardcover, no jacket as issued. 23 x 31 cm, 272 pages, illusrated richly. English text

First edition

“(1–3) Making the audiovisual recording for the exhibition My first sonic Lok at Bahnmuseum Albula, Bergün, 2013. Installation of various analog sensors to record the vibrations and electro-magnetic waves during the operation of the locomotive on the world-famous Albula route. Gion Caprez, Andy Guhl. Live sound mix in the driver’s cab of the locomotive RhB GE 6/6 704 «Davos», 65-ton, 2400 HP engine, 11 kV, 16.7 Hz. (4) Eight different converters from physical waves—used as microphone or speaker. (5–6) My first sonic Lok, 170° video still, from the exhibition at Bahnmuseum Albula, Bergün.Taken from the audiovisual recording of a train locomotive ride on the Albula line. Visual of the cracking sounds of this high-voltage machine recorded by a video camera attached to the window of the locomotive”. This book about the experimental musician Andy Guhl at first looks loud and somewhat confusing, but this is part of its programmatic intent. It is a reference to Guhl’s musical credo: for four decades, he has often moved on the border between music and noise with his disassembled and rewired everyday electronic devices. In addition, two important design decisions remind the reader that a book, like live music, has a temporal dimension: the left hand pages show full-bleed still images from audiovisual performances by Guhl, creating a strong rhythm as one leafs through; and on the right-hand pages, a continuous stream of various images and texts flows from top to bottom in a seemingly mechanical layout. On these pages, the unusual paper, reminiscent of carbon paper, is extremely susceptible to the traces left from being touched and scratched. The inevitable rapid wear on the volume, particularly on the cover, transforms each book into a unique art object”