GuteLjaudKarte 2021: Silverhättan – “the Foxhole”

The sound installation is in a foxhole which serves a miltary purpose.
Reading up about Gotland I found there had been quite a strong military presence.
I discovered that from the late 1940s, most of the northern part of Gotland became a heavily fortified, military only zone, a status that was only rescinded in the early 1990s. 

The foxhole faces water and begs contemplation.
I considered the servicemen and women who were the foxhole’s original occupants and the amount of time they must have spent on sentry.
They may have felt boredom, with an underlying tension, given their task. 

I decided to take a recording of the Swedish National Anthem and stretch it to 30 times slower than the original.
I used that as an audio source and then processed it through 48 separate plug in settings, including filters, EQ, distortion and modulation.
These channels are used solo and in combination.
Some of the audio is distressed and sometimes it is clean. Occasionally I added some subtle bass drone, reinforcing certain parts.
It is a meditative durational piece which is very effective when experienced in a semi-somnambulistic state.
It’s about 47 minutes long and should be looped.
I think it should work very well in the location, and I would hope that some visitors will spend some time with it, and allow it to unfold.