Laurie Anderson's Recycled Sound

Last week we explored inventive ways to upcycle old VHS tapes (see blog entry 2nd Take on the VHS Tape). Musician Laurie Anderson has her own spin on reusing tape to create new sound. She created a violin bow strung with magnetic audio tape instead of horse hair. By drawing the bow across the violin strings, she can play the sound captured on the section of tape backwards and forwards.

Laurie Anderson repurposed a section of tape to say a phrase in dutch when drawn forwards across the strings. By pulling the bow back, the phrase is played backwards, sounding out a phrase in english. What an inventive way to repurpose not only an old audio tape, but also sound itself! To see more of Laurie Anderson's musical inventions, take a look at her website: http://www.laurieanderson.com/