In this sound piece, 60 artists and activists respond to
Ultra-red’s question: “What is the sound of the war on the poor?” Contributors include: Alejandra and Aeron, Knut Asdam, Checkpoint 303, Christopher DeLaurenti, Michelle Dizon, Ashley Hunt, Jack Tactic, Anton Nikkila, Isabelle Noel, Elliot Perkins, PSBEUYS, Jennifer Rarick, Rural Racism Project, Terre Thaemlitz, and
Ultra-red. One-minute tracks span commentary on housing issues in Detroit, ambient street sounds, negotiations at a checkpoint in Ramallah, the sounds of protest, a conversation on libraries in juvenile prison, Finnish folk music, and more.
Ultra-red focus on the politics of sound in our present, and how we convey the politics of sound in our past, a past invariably reconciled to a memory that differs from our original experience. How can the loss of housing be rendered in digital audio? What about a protest in which one found solidarity with an anonymous compatriot?
Ultra-red tests the veracity of sound, creating records available for our use. Art, for this group of activists, researchers, and artists is an aesthetic challenge. It comes up against, among others, issues of migration, racism, and community formation. The piece is important in what it makes available, both through recordings and through its form of distribution: all tracks and CD covers are accessible via their open-source website titled Public Record.
