Sound Exhibition :
8 February 2025 Saturday 2:30-5:30pm
9 February Sunday 2:30-5:30pm
Running time : 40 minutes. Suggested donations : £2. No booking required.
Performance :
Session One : 8 February Saturday 6pm
Session Two : 9 February Sunday 6pm
£7 | 8 places only each session | Please email divfuse@gmail.com for tickets
Bayt Yakan of Luca Nasciuti (UK) was selected from DIVFUSE Sound Archive No. 5 Open Call for work that is based on field recordings.
Bayt Yakan 2024 is a collection of field recordings that mark and map the essence of a newly restored historic house in Cairo, Egypt. It features 5 edited recordings of playback sound performance-walks recorded within the walls of Bayt Yakan, revealing the relationship between sound, environment, and heritage. By activating the surroundings, Luca maps the building and courtyard, creating an auditory experience that reflects the character of this location.
During the performance at the house, pre-recorded material was played back through a portable loudspeaker, allowing Luca to interact with the building and the objects within it. This interaction highlights the importance of space in shaping sound and music. The recordings weave together the indoor and outdoor sonic environment with Luca’s slow journey within the building, inviting listeners to engage with the layers of sound that define the historic site.
Bayt Yakan serves as a reminder of the interaction between history, memory and embodied experience that shape our environment. By mapping the space through field recordings and layering recorded soundscapes in the same location, the project highlights the complexity of urban regeneration and cultural conservation. What is to be saved and who holds the power over these sites becomes the guiding principle for this auditory investigation of space.
The house the city, the homeowner, dwellers, past and present converge and collide in this collection of performances where time is recorded in a loop, traces of presence and absence are felt and spaces are transformed with memories.
Bayt Yakan is a home in historic Cairo al-Darb al-Ahmar restored and opened to the community by Ola & Alaa el-Habashi.
An album of the work will be released on Flaming Pines in early 2025. A special thank you from the artist to Ola for opening the doors for the recordings.
Luca Nasciuti is a composer of electronic music and artist who explores listening practices, the soundscape and the limits of noise. He performs his music internationally. He has worked extensively with theatre, dance, and film. He is curating and producing The Field Recording Show, a radio show with sound artist Kate Carr for Resonance Extra and he is a writer for the online magazine on art and culture CLOT.
Image from Luca Nasciuti