Infrasound and the Planetary Imaginary / Brian House

Infrasound and the Planetary Imaginary / Brian House

Although it cannot be heard by humans, infrasound permeates the atmosphere. Because the air absorbs it far less readily than ordinary sound, these extremely low frequencies can travel vast distances, originating hundreds or even thousands of miles away. If humans were capable of perceiving frequencies below 20 Hz, planetary processes, such as shifting ocean currents, wildfires, turbines, receding glaciers, industrial HVAC systems and superstorms, would directly shape how the planet is imagined and understood.

In his research, House has developed infrasonic “macrophones” designed to render these otherwise inaudible frequencies audible. The system consists of wind-noise reduction arrays connected to microbarometers and enhanced through custom signal processing. The technique adapts methods originally used by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization to detect distant nuclear weapons tests.

In this context, however, the technology is used not to monitor explosions but to listen to a planet in transition. Rather than simply extending the boundaries of scientific knowledge, the work invites encounters with forces and agencies that exceed human perception, phenomena that link distant places through the shared medium of the atmosphere. Framed as both a poetic and political act of listening, the event will begin with a talk introducing the research and instruments, followed by a multichannel presentation of infrasonic field recordings.

Time: 4:30-6pm
Place: Harvard Music Department, 3 Oxford St, Classroom 9
in partnership with Shelemay Sound Lab

Brian House is an artist who investigates the rhythms of human and nonhuman systems. Through sound, subversive technology, and multidisciplinary research, he makes our interdependencies audible in order to imagine new political realities. House is a Creative Capital awardee and has exhibited at MoMA, Los Angeles MOCA, Ars Electronica, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, among other venues. The New York Times Magazine, The Wire, and TIME’s annual “Best Inventions” issue have featured his work, and his research has been published in Leonardo, Journal of Sonic Studies, Media Art Study and Theory, and e-flux Architecture. His latest album, Everyday Infrasound in an Uncertain World, is available from Gruenrekorder. House holds a PhD in computer music from Brown University and was Associate Scholar at Columbia University’s Center for Spatial Research. He is currently Assistant Professor of Art at Amherst College.
https://brianhouse.net

Shelemay Sound Lab The Shelemay Sound Lab offers resources for editing, reviewing, and creating multimedia projects in stereo and multi-channel formats. Equipped with modern and legacy audio technology, we support interdisciplinary creativity and diverse engagement with sound. Through workshops, listening events, an artist-in-residence program, and personalized guidance, the lab hopes to enrich Harvard’s exploration of music, sound, production, and scholarship.
https://ssl.fas.harvard.edu/

The Walking Festival of Sound

Walking Festival of Sound is a transdisciplinary event exploring the role of walking through and listening to our everyday surroundings. It combines a number of free and public events including walking performances, walking seminars and listening sessions, all taking place in diverse public spaces and online. Walking Festival of Sound facilitates a meeting point for the international network of practitioners and researchers interested in sound and walking. Through diverse events we explore how walking and listening practices can augment and challenge the way we perceive, navigate through, and care for our shared environments. In 2019 the festival took place in two cities, Stockholm, Sweden and Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. In April 2021, the festival moved to Krakow, Poland and Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2022, the festival visited Seoul, Korea and Vancouver, Canada. Zurich, Switzerland, was the festival's site in 2024. In 2026 the festival visits Cambridge and Boston in the USA.

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