Gilles Aubry, “The Amplification of Souls”
Book/CD
Edited by Gilles Aubry, Kathrin Wildner
2014 adocs publishing, Hamburg/Germany, metroZones
ISBN: 978-3-943253-09-2
www.adocs.de
In this publication, Gilles Aubry presents elements from his sonic research within Christian charismatic churches in Kinshasa, DRC. He explores the noise aesthetics of religious sound practices involving audio amplification, feedback, distortion and recording technologies. His documentation includes spiritual services, predications, sound-checks, rehearsals, a church video-archive, film-soundtracks, as well as the preparation of an evangelization campaign in the city center. While focusing on material aspects of sounds Aubry finds signs which attest of the complex relationships between Christian faith, traditional beliefs, neo-colonial representations and urban politics in Central Africa. At the same time, he suggests correspondences with ”first-world” noise music aesthetics.
The CD contains a 34′ excerpt of a spiritual deliverance service (Amplified Souls, track 2) including collective prayers, predication and speaking-in-tongues recorded at the Libambu Ministry Church in Kinshasa. The Amplification of Souls (track 1) is a 30′ audio-essay in which various sound sources have been combined together according to a material-based form of cultural interpretation.
The 80 pages book contains an interview with Gilles Aubry, an essay by musicologist and cultural anthropologist Johannes Ismaiel-Wendt, along with text fragments and photos from Aubry’s research in Kinshasa.
Order your copy (19.80€) at www.adocs.de
Official release event on 1.11.2014: Public presentation and live performance by Gilles Aubry at Savvy Contemporary, Richardstraße 20, 12043 Berlin, 17h
Sound excerpts of CD track 1 & 2